How to stay alive longer

By Luke Paolillo  

Tuesday, February 24^th, 2026 

Exercising regularly can keep people young and healthy, but there is new research being done on exactly what sports or activities increase people's life span and how. Best Sports For Longevity 

In January, the New York Times wrote an article on “The Best Sports for Longevity.” They highlight evidence that shows that staying active is one of the best things we can do to extend our lives. Activity lowers the chances of certain conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and even depression. The federal governments guidelines on staying healthy is a minimum of 150 minutes of an exercise that gets your heart rate up to the point where you can maybe break a sweat and still talk but won't be able to sing, and two days of strength training but, it seems that just a few minutes a day of a vigorous exercise also help the odds of a longer life. How Little Exercise Can You Get Away With?  

One sport seems to be the best when it comes to longevity and that's Tennis. The NYT’s summarized a Danish study that says how people who play tennis typically live 10 years longer than people who aren’t physically active, and tennis players tend to outlive runners, cyclists, and swimmers. More research done in the U.S. and Britain backed up this Danish study. The research showed overall people who played racket sports in general not just tennis, had lower death rates when compared to people who partake in other forms of exercise. Experts think that racket sports mix of sprinting, stopping, changing direction, hand eye coordination, all play into this. Racket sports help older people maintain balance and overall coordination which can limit injury, such as falling and breaking something, which can be unreversible when at a certain age.  

Another major highlight of the benefits is what happens in the brain. While playing tennis and other racket sports your mind needs to make instant decisions in one second, where the ball is going, how to move to that spot, how to position after the ball is hit, all of this keeps the brain healthy and maintains the cognitive ability for longer in our elders especially. On top of the physical and mental benefits, there are also social benefits. These kinds of sports have matches called doubles where it's a 2 v 2, leagues that people are a part of and often hitting partners. These situations in sports help foster healthy relationships that are related to being happier and healthier for a longer life. Which sports offer the biggest longevity boost? 

Overall, science shows it’s less about one miracle sport and more about moving and mixing up what you are doing. A new study of around 100,000 adults found that people who did a wide variety of activities were better off than those who stuck to the same 1 or 2, regardless of the total amount of time exercising. This could mean combining tennis, running, strength training, or yoga all on a weekly basis has the best potential for longevity. Exercise variety—not just amount—linked to lower risk of premature mortality