RELATED: 5 Ways to Train Your Brain for Lifelong Mental Fitness. Nutrition plays a major role in how your body ages. One great example is the Mediterranean diet , which has been named the Best Overall Diet in by U. It's a holistic, nutrient-rich diet rich in plant-based foods, whole grains, nuts , seafood, and healthy fats —and even lets you enjoy red wine in moderation.

The Mediterranean diet involves eating fish twice each week and cutting back on excess salt. Research shows that this type of diet may help you age better by warding off heart attacks, strokes, and premature death, according to Harvard Medical School.

An added bonus: Dr. Benabio says that foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, such as walnuts, extra-virgin olive oil , salmon, and flaxseed, help your skin manufacture the essential oils it needs to protect itself and can help skin look younger.

In contrast, sugary, carbohydrate-heavy , and unhealthy fatty foods—think, chips, soda, and white bread—can speed up the aging process, Dr. Benabio warns. RELATED: The 30 Healthiest Foods to Eat Every Day. Chronically overeating—eating way past feeling healthily full and satisfied—can lead to health risks, including shorter life span, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.

To age well and live longer, it's best to stick to a balanced diet and healthy eating patterns. For nutritional recommendations, check out the Dietary Guidelines for Americans for in-depth info, research, and tips.

Staying active is a vital part of aging well. The average woman can lose 23 percent of her muscle mass between ages of 30 and 70, says exercise physiologist Fabio Comana, a faculty instructor at the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

You lose muscle more rapidly as you age, but exercise— resistance workouts in particular—can increase mass and strength, even well into your 90s, Comana says. Staying fit may also reduce age-related memory loss, according to a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Plus, Alzheimer's disease accounts for approximately 60 to 70 percent of all dementia cases, says Comana, adding that increasing physical activity can decrease this statistic by 25 percent.

That's because exercise strengthens the hippocampus, the region of the brain associated with learning and working memory. RELATED: 5 Ways Being Physically Inactive Affects Our Mind and Mood. Belonging to a community and staying connected with people you love is a big deal.

Spending time with friends and relatives isn't just fun, it can help you live longer. Those of us with strong social ties were shown to have a 50 percent higher chance of living longer than those with poor or insufficient relationships, according to a study published in the journal PLOS Medicine.

Too much time in the sun can cause wrinkles, not to mention skin cancer. But wearing sunscreen can help prevent your skin's aging. And while the sun's UV rays do trigger vitamin D production, which is essential for bone health, that's hardly a good reason to expose yourself.

Benabio says. Wear sunscreen every day—even on days when you'll be indoors or traveling—making a habit of incorporating an SPF into your regular skincare routine.

Buy a sun hat you love and a pair of sunglasses with legit UVA and UVB protection. You probably know that you need seven to nine hours of sleep each night and that a solid power nap can help make up for lost night of Zs.

But did you know that chronically not sleeping enough is linked to a higher risk of conditions such as obesity, Alzheimer's, heart disease, depression, and diabetes? And it turns out that "beauty sleep" isn't a myth. During sleep, your body releases a growth hormone that helps restore collagen and elastin, the essential building blocks of young, healthy skin, says Dr.

Recent research has also shown a connection between insomnia and accelerated aging of the brain, Dr. Benabio points out. In other words, chronic lack of sleep adversely affects your brain structure and function and can speed up the aging process. Levy BR, Slade MD, Murphy TE, Gill TM.

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Balić A, Vlašić D, Žužul K, Marinović B, Bukvić Mokos Z. Omega-3 versus omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. Int J Mol Sci. Leung C, Laraia BA, Needham BL, et al. Soda and cell aging: associations between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and leukocyte telomere length in healthy adults from the national health and nutrition examination survey.

Am J Public Health. Cercato C, Fonseca FA. Cardiovascular risk and obesity. Diabetol Metab Syndr. Yu F, Vock DM, Zhang L, et al. J Alzheimers Dis. Wang S, Liu HY, Cheng YC, Su CH. Exercise dosage in reducing the risk of dementia development: mode, duration, and intensity-a narrative review.

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