The 5 Lifestyle Habits That Matter More Than Supplements (And How to Actually Stick to Them)

You Cannot Out-Supplement a Bad Lifestyle

In an age where health advice is dominated by trendy supplements and quick fixes, it is easy to overlook the basics. But here is the reality: no supplement can replace the foundational habits that underpin long-term health. While powders and pills can play a supporting role, your daily decisions carry far more weight.

A nationwide cohort study found that adults who consistently followed five key lifestyle behaviours: not smoking, avoiding excessive alcohol, exercising regularly, eating sufficient fruits and vegetables and maintaining a healthy weight, lived nearly 12 years longer than those who did none of these things (Lo et al., 2024) 

So, what are these core habits? And how can you actually make them stick?

1. Diet: More Than Just Calories

Poor diet is now one of the leading causes of early death globally. A comprehensive analysis across 195 countries showed that low intake of whole grains and fruit, combined with excess sodium, contributed to over 11 million deaths annually (Afshin et al., 2019)

You do not need a perfect diet. Focus on simple, repeatable actions:

• Include vegetables in every meal

• Cook more meals at home

• Replace ultra-processed snacks with whole foods

These daily choices compound into long-term change.

2. Sleep: Your Body’s Built-In Recovery Tool

Sleep is often neglected but plays a critical role in metabolic, cognitive and immune health. Adults require at least seven hours of quality sleep per night to maintain basic physiological function (Cappuccio et al., 2010)

Improve your sleep by:

• Keeping a consistent bedtime and wake time

• Limiting caffeine intake after mid-afternoon

• Reducing screen exposure and dimming lights an hour before bed

Prioritising sleep improves everything else: energy, focus, training results and even emotional regulation.

3. Stress: The Silent Saboteur

Chronic stress disrupts sleep, worsens food choices, suppresses recovery and increases the risk of chronic disease. Long-term stress has also been associated with reduced quality of life and a higher likelihood of preventable illness (Lo et al., 2024)

To reduce stress:

• Try five minutes of mindful breathing daily. Don't need to do any fancy routine just lay there aware of your breath with you being aware of your thoughts. 

• Replace passive screen time with a short walk

• Make time for weekly face-to-face social contact

The aim is not to eliminate stress entirely but to buffer its long-term effects.

4. Movement: Not Just Exercise

Exercise does not have to mean intense training. The World Health Organization recommends 150 minutes of moderate movement per week, and research confirms that even regular low-level activity increases life expectancy (Tsering, Lama and Prasad, 2023)

Instead of aiming for perfection:

• Walk after meals

• Stand or pace during calls

• Stretch while watching television or upon waking up or before heading to sleep. 

Frequent, low-effort movement adds up and supports mobility, energy and metabolic health.

5. Mindset: The Habit Filter

Mindset shapes not just how we think but how we act. Research has shown that people who frequently use failure-related language: expressing helplessness, pessimism or defeat live significantly shorter lives. One study found that this “failure mindset” was linked to up to 17.5 years of reduced lifespan, often due to preventable causes such as poor diet, smoking or inactivity (Penzel et al., 2016)

This mindset impacts health by undermining motivation and the belief that change is possible. In contrast, a success-oriented mindset makes it more likely that people will sustain behaviours like regular activity, better food choices and stress reduction.

To improve mindset:

• Focus on progress rather than perfection

• Replace “I always fail” with “I am working on it”

• Surround yourself with people who reinforce positive behaviours

Mindset is not a luxury. It is the filter through which all your health behaviours are reinforced or eroded.

Our Final Thought

Long-term wellbeing is built through small, repeated actions — not hacks, not perfection, and not just pills. The basics still matter the most: how you eat, sleep, move, think and respond to stress.

Get those right, and you will need fewer interventions later. 

Reference list

Afshin, A., Sur, P.J., Fay, K.A., Cornaby, L., Ferrara, G., Salama, J.S., Mullany, E.C., Abate, K.H., Abbafati, C., Abebe, Z., Afarideh, M., Aggarwal, A., Agrawal, S., Akinyemiju, T., Alahdab, F., Bacha, U., Bachman, V.F., Badali, H., Badawi, A. and Bensenor, I.M. (2019). Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet, 393(10184), pp.1958–1972. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(19)30041-8.

Cappuccio, F.P., D’Elia, L., Strazzullo, P. and Miller, M.A. (2010). Sleep Duration and All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies. Sleep, [online] 33(5), pp.585–592. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/33.5.585.

Lang, F.R. and Rupprecht, F.S. (2019). Motivation for Longevity Across the Life Span: An Emerging Issue. Innovation in Aging, 3(2). doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igz014.

Lo, W.-C., Hu, T.-H., Shih, C.-Y., Lin, H.-H. and Hwang, J.-S. (2024). Impact of Healthy Lifestyle Factors on Life Expectancy and Lifetime Health Care Expenditure: Nationwide Cohort Study. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, [online] 10, pp.e57045–e57045. doi:https://doi.org/10.2196/57045.

Penzel, I.B., Persich, M.R., Boyd, R.L. and Robinson, M.D. (2016). Linguistic Evidence for the Failure Mindset as a Predictor of Life Span Longevity. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 51(3), pp.348–355. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-016-9857-x.

Tsering, S., Lama, J. and Prasad, S. (2023). Enhance longevity through a healthy lifestyle.