Five everyday habits that are ageing you faster than if you were smoking cigarettes, says longevity expert 

Smoking is widely recognized as one of the fastest ways to age the body, impact key elements of health and lead to fatal consequences further down the line. 

However, longevity expert and author Ralph Montague from The Longevity Clinic says that while smoking does of course age you and bring down your biological age, there are other everyday habits that we’re doing that may in fact be worse than smoking. 

“Many people assume that aging is inevitable. However, in reality, a large proportion of biological aging is driven by some of the everyday habits we see as normal, perhaps sometimes even ‘healthy’.” 

These are five of the most common behaviours that Ralph sees ageing people faster than they realise: 

1. Chronic poor sleep 

“Not everyone needs eight-hours sleep a night, however the sweet spot for most of the population is between 7 to 8 hours, with anything less than six hours being reckless for most people. 

"Getting less than what your body needs will increase inflammation, disrupt hormones and impair cellular repair.  

"Sleep is when your body will do most of its maintenance work and once you have been maintained, the body can in fact now look to improve! 

Skipping it or continuing to sleep past a respectful bedtime will accelerate aging at a cellular level.” 

2. Ultra-processed food as a daily staple 

“Highly processed foods spike blood sugar, promote inflammation and damage metabolic health over time.  

"You can be slim and still metabolically unhealthy if your diet is dominated by ultra-processed foods, so don’t just look at the scales when you feel as though you’re having a bad week, as there may be things going on inside that you can’t see.” 

3. Sitting for most of the day 

“Even people who exercise can age faster if they spend long periods sedentary, which is common in office workers.  

"Prolonged sitting is linked to poorer cardiovascular health, insulin resistance and reduced muscle mass, all key markers of accelerated aging.  

"Though a very underrated aspect of this is when you start to hit your 60s, 70s and 80s. You will experience back, hip and knees issues if you have spent most of your life sitting in an office chair without regular stretching, movement throughout the day and frequent massages. 

"Make sure you get up and walk around at least every hour for 5 minutes and your monitor is eye level along with a great chair that supports your lower back!” 

4. Everyday poisons that you treat as ‘harmless’ 

“There are two types of poisons, ones that you choose as you enjoy the experience and feelings of them such as sugary snacks, alcohol and cigarettes. 

"Then the second type that often you don't even know is killing you. Everywhere around us today we have poisonous chemicals killing you and your family, a death by a thousand cuts. 

"It's in your water, it is in your hand wash, it is in your food, it is in your food storage containers, it is in the candles you have to make your house smell “nice”, literally it is everywhere! 

"A great step in this process is to move to natural soaps, washing detergent, glass containers, filtering water etc. I will even blow out candles when out for dinner at the table as I don't want to be breathing in that smoke, much to the dismay of the waitress who has just lit it!” 

5. Living in a constant state of stress 

“Your problem is living in a constant state of stress. Addictions such as alcohol allows you to escape this feeling and get a much needed break or relief. 

"Resistance to reality is arguably the biggest cause of your disease or stress. Simply by accepting or allowing things to just be, will help you incredibly. 

"Stress affects so many different parts of everyday life. It’ll raise your cortisol levels, affecting your sleep, weight, immune function and cardiovascular health. Stress doesn’t just affect how you feel in day-to-day life, but it’ll directly influence how quickly your body ages.”

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