Want to Stay Strong and More Independent as You Age? Research Suggests Running—and These 2 Habits.
When it comes to living longer, research consistently points to exercise as a key factor in longevity. But simply adding more years to your life is only part of the benefit. The other major aspect that exercise, including running, provides is better health as you age.
Also known as your “healthspan,” this translates to how long you can maintain your health with minimal effects from chronic disease. In other words, movement doesn’t just help you live longer, but it improves the quality of those years.
“Living longer is important, but healthspan is also about living better,” according to researcher Frank Hu, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He tells Runner’s World that quality of life should be as much of a goal as hitting those milestone birthdays.
“Understanding what you can do for healthy aging is crucial, because maintaining health as you get older becomes more challenging, and tends to require more effort,” he says. “But it's absolutely possible, with the right approach.”
How Running Boosts Healthspan
Any type of exercise has protective effects, but running seems to be particularly potent when it comes to healthspan, for several reasons.
One important aspect is through protection of DNA markers, specifically telomeres. These are the protective caps at the end of chromosomes, often compared to the plastic tips on shoelaces that prevent the threads from unraveling. Longer, more intact telomeres predict longer lifespan and healthy aging.
One study, published in 2023 in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, demonstrated how running can affect these important DNA markers. Looking at time spent running and biological aging in 4,458 adults in the U.S., researchers found those who ran at least 75 minutes weekly had significantly longer telomeres compared to participants who weren’t runners.
Another reason running can contribute to healthspan is because it increases cardiovascular resilience, due to the way running improves VO2 max—the measure of how efficiently your body uses oxygen—as well as lowering resting heart rate and making arteries more elastic. All of those can reduce risk of heart disease as you age.
Research in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, examining more than 55,000 adults with a 15-year follow-up, found that runners had up to a 45 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Even running just five to 10 minutes per day at speeds slower than six miles per hour (a 10:00 pace) was associated with reduced risk of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease.
There’s also the cognitive aspect, which is an essential part of healthy aging. Research in Scientific Reports from 2021 that looked at moderate-intensity running in 26 healthy participants found that even a single, 10-minute session on a treadmill had a beneficial effect on the brain’s executive functions, as well as mood regulation.
Exercise isn’t the only factor for better healthspan, but it can be an even bigger booster when you combine it with other healthy habits. A study led by Hu and published in BMJ in 2019 looked at the benefits of lifestyle choices and found other meaningful strategies include not smoking, limiting alcohol, eating nutritious foods, and maintaining a healthy weight, in addition to regular activity.
The combination of these can lead to notably lower risk of major chronic diseases that can affect both longevity and quality of life. Those include cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
“These results were not particularly surprising, because they’re similar to previous studies highlighting the way healthy lifestyle habits, including physical activity, can prolong life and improve healthspan,” Hu says.
Tips on Boosting Healthspan Even More
When considering how to boost quality of life in addition to longevity, the factors associated with healthspan are similar to those related to performance overall, particularly intensity.
It doesn’t take much time working at a higher effort to improve healthspan. A recent study in European Heart Journal looking at data from more than 475,000 people found that those who incorporated vigorous activity into their weekly routines showed much lower risk of chronic diseases like diabetes, kidney disease, and dementia, as well as major adverse cardiovascular events. The research found that higher intensity for just 4 percent of total activity time made a difference.
“For runners, this should be encouraging, because it emphasizes that even short bursts of higher-intensity efforts can contribute to potential benefits,” says the study’s principal investigator, Minxue Shen, PhD, professor and vice director at Xiangya School of Public Health at Central South University in Hunan, China. He tells Runner’s World that this might include brief sessions of sprinting or running up hills.
“What surprised us with this research is the extent to which intensity appeared to matter for certain immune-related and inflammatory conditions,” he says. “For some of these diseases, the proportion of vigorous activity seemed to be a stronger predictor for health than total activity volume, which suggests that intensity may have distinct biological effects beyond what you get from simply moving more.”
Adding resistance training to your routine can also provide significant advantages in terms of quality of life. Research in PLOS One from 2019, assessing the effects of aerobic and resistance exercise, as well as a combination of the two, found that having both approaches resulted in improved cardiovascular health.
Other research has highlighted healthspan-boosting advantages with strength training such as increased muscle mass and stronger bones, which are both crucial factors when it comes to healthy aging, according to Neel Anand, MD, professor of orthopedic surgery and director of spine trauma at Cedars-Sinai Spine Center in Los Angeles.
“The longer you can maintain bone density and joint health, as well as muscle mass, the better it will be for your quality of life because those are important parts of mobility,” he tells Runner's World. “Greater mobility leads to injury prevention, lower risk of chronic diseases that are worsened by inactivity, and simply more independence and capability as you get older.”
Similar to intensity, it doesn’t take strength training every day to make a difference. A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, examining close to 150,000 individuals for up to 30 years, found that about 90 to 120 minutes of strength training weekly—which could look like three 30- to 40-minute sessions—showed a 19 percent lower risk of early death from heart disease and a 27 percent lower risk from neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s. The study noted that those who did both strength and aerobic training, such as running, had the lowest mortality risks, compared to those who didn’t do either type of exercise.
Everyone has different factors when it comes to lifespan and healthspan, including genetic variables, says Hu, which is why incorporating many healthy habits like nutrition, stress relief, quality sleep, and social connection are all important—but physical activity like running should be at the top of that list, with intensity and strength added right after.
Elizabeth Millard is a freelance writer focusing on health, wellness, fitness, and food.