5 Things This Longevity Expert Does Every Day for Better Health

Plus, what you can do to live longer — and better

Kristen Fischer,

AARP

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Published March 24, 2026

African American man with short hair wearing a light and dark blue athletic jacket and navy shorts walks along a paved path in a sunlit park

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Key takeaways

Following a Mediterranean-style diet to prevent inflammation is key to good health for cardiologist Dr. Eric Topol, author of the book Super Agers.
He exercises most days, prioritizes consistent sleep and maintains strong social ties for optimal health.
Spending time in nature has been key to his long-term health, Topol says.

When it comes to living a long and healthy life, Eric Topol likes to follow the science: eat blueberries, yogurt, walnuts and other healthy foods; get plenty of brain-cleansing deep sleep; spend quality time with friends and family; and regularly take in the beauty of the California coast — all while avoiding harmful habits like smoking and ultra-processed foods.

Since 2007, the 71-year-old cardiologist at the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California, has studied super agers — people who reached 80 without developing one of the three most-common age related ailments: cancer, heart disease or a neurodegenerative disease like dementia. That’s why he knows a thing or two about what works well for optimal aging and wrote the book Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity.

While genetics can play a part in how well we fare in our latter years, our health is largely based on what we do. And there’s a lot we can do to age well, says Topol.

Here’s what this aspiring super ager does each day to stay at the top of his game.

1. He eats against inflammation

Topol is a fan of the Mediterranean diet, which is aimed at fighting inflammation by focusing on fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, olive oil, poultry and seafood. He’s not a proponent of red meat — Topol says he hasn’t had it in about 45 years.

portrait of Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and longevity expert

Longevity researcher and cardiologist Dr. Eric Topol

Courtesy Christopher P. Michel/National Academies

Maintaining immune health is key to combating harmful inflammation, which can be caused by immune system dysfunction, Topol tells AARP. “You can’t get inflammation without activating your immune system,” he says.

“The root of [preventing] these three age-related diseases, which is critical, is to keep our immune system at high-level functionality,” he says. You don’t want your immune system hyperactive [and] attacking itself, but you don’t want it underactive so you’re not protected either, he adds.

Part of improving immunity can come from staying up to date on vaccines, he says, pointing to a 2025 report that shows that the shingles vaccine lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease and events, dementia and death in those over 50.

With vaccines, “we have an intervention besides lifestyle,” he says. Lifestyle factors are effective at maintaining the immune system, but other drugs are in the works that may help as well.

What you don’t eat is just as important to beat inflammation, so people should avoid ultra-processed foods as well as excess salt, sugar, artificial sweeteners and other additives, Topol says.

What goes on his plate every day? Nonfat Greek yogurt, blueberries, low-sugar granola, almonds, walnuts and salads with carrots, tomatoes and various greens.

Worth noting: Topol doesn’t take any supplements because he’s “waiting for the data to prove that they’re helpful.”

2. He stays physically active

Nothing beats a good workout to support healthy aging, Topol writes in Super Agers. In fact, he says, exercise may be the single most effective medical intervention known.

“That’s the highest priority for me,” Topol says. “Most people are not exercising enough. That’s the number one thing.”

He works out five days a week at home. Most days, he does a rigorous 30 minutes on an indoor bike, but he also adds planks, sit-ups, balance training, jumping rope, kettlebells, dumbbells and resistance bands.

“I kind of alternate,” says Topol, who views his equipment as different stations to go through.

He’s not looking to try to get to the next level in terms of his fitness level and doesn’t aim for perfection. “I found the things that I can do well and keep doing,” says Topol, adding that he’s stronger than he’s ever been in his life.

3. He prioritizes sleep

Another thing his research taught him: Ample sleep is a must for good aging. Nearly two years ago, when evaluating studies about the importance of sleep for health, he started to get serious about improving his z’s.

“The data was so striking,” says Topol, noting that deep sleep is what helps us eliminate metabolic waste, including amyloid-beta and tau, which are linked to dementia. In the medical world, this waste removal system is known as the glymphatic system, which also distributes valuable compounds like neurotransmitters and amino acids.

A consistent bedtime most nights helps him sleep better and acquire more deep sleep, as does regular exercise. Topol uses an Oura Ring to track his progress, which he says has helped him to increase his deep sleep from an average of about 15 minutes per night when he started to about 45 minutes.

Some experts say you should spend about 10 to 20 percent of your sleep time in this phase. The amount of time you experience in this phase of sleep tends to decrease with age, Topol says.

One-third of adults say they don’t get enough sleep at night, so this is something people should consider working on if they’re not getting enough rest, he says.

4. He spends time in nature

Studies show that being outdoors has positive impacts on our health, which is easy for Topol to do since he lives in the year-round good-weather hub of San Diego. He’s always been big about getting outside practically every day, he says.

Many people don’t get outside a lot, something he calls “nature deficit disorder” in Super Agers. He sometimes prescribes nature walks to his patients, based on the evidence that shows how beneficial time outside can be.

A wide range of the benefits from being outside include better sleep, lower risk for cardiovascular disease, better cognitive function, improved immunity, lower stress, eased depression and lower blood pressure, Topol writes in Super Agers.

5. He stays connected with friends and family

Topol has always maintained strong social ties with others, usually going out socially every week, which he believes is key to his well-being. In the book, he points out a slew of research linking social isolation and loneliness to negative health outcomes, including dementia and heart disease.

Whom you don’t hang out with is just as vital for health, Topol points out. He references a Feb. 18 study in PNAS that examined biological aging clock data from saliva samples. The more negative social ties a person has, the more it can speed up the aging process, the findings show.

“They [negative relationships] accelerate aging and inflammation,” he says. “Being socially engaged is really good … and the data for it is solid,” Topol adds.

The bottom line

Topol makes leading a healthy lifestyle a priority and also integrates wearable technology while paying attention to advances in modern medicine. That said, he knows that what works for him may not work for everybody.

Regardless of what healthy-aging steps you take, do what you can to prevent or delay age-related diseases and to slow the aging process. These are our best bets for optimal health.

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The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Kristen Fischer is a contributing writer at AARP based at the Jersey Shore. She has also written for Health, WebMD, and McKnights and is the author of Zoo Zen: A Yoga Story for Kids.