When talking about how to improve longevity, we often think of well-known healthy habits like staying physically active, eating a balanced diet that includes lots of whole foods, and managing stress levels.

And while those behaviours are, indeed, the cornerstones of a long, healthy life, there are other less-obvious habits that can make a significant difference, too. We asked longevity experts for their recommendations beyond the standard ones that immediately come to mind.

Before we dive in, it’s important to note that increasing longevity isn’t just about adding years to our lives. It’s about improving the quality of those extra years. That’s where the conversation about lifespan vs. health span comes in.

Lifespan refers to the total duration of one’s life from birth to death, while health span refers to the “period of life spent in good functional health,” Dr. Douglas Vaughan, director of the Potocsnak Longevity Institute at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, told HuffPost.

“It reflects quality of life and physiological integrity – not just survival,” he added.

Advancing age is a top risk factor for developing health conditions such as certain cancers, heart disease and dementia. Increasing your lifespan isn’t as meaningful if you’re not able to enjoy those additional years due to debilitating physical or mental health challenges

“Simply extending lifespan would likely also increase the burden of disease, resulting in a larger portion of one’s lifespan being affected by poor health,” said Sebastian Brandhorst, research associate professor at the University of Southern California’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

“Instead, researchers aim to develop strategies to increase health span, by definition delaying the onset of disease and increasing the quality of life well into the older age.”

Health span is sometimes defined as years spent “free from chronic disease” – a definition thatErin Martinez, a Kansas State University associate professor who specialises in healthy aging and adult development, takes issue with.

“I have a chronic disease and always will, yet I consider myself healthy and thriving. Health span isn’t about achieving some disease-free ideal; it’s about your definition of good health and vitality,” she explained.

Instead, we should think of health span as existing on a spectrum, “not a pass/fail grade,” said Martinez.

“Getting sick doesn’t mean your health span is over or that you’ve failed. Your definition of ‘good health’ simply evolves. The cliché is true: It’s not about the years in your life, but the life in your years,” she added.

Below, learn more about the seven healthy habits our longevity experts swear by:

1. Living with purpose

One of the strongest predictors of a long and fulfilling life is having a sense of purpose – “a clear ‘why’ for your days,” said Martinez.

“The Japanese call this ikigai, or........

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