Oxford Longevity Project

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21/08/2026

“All we need is the morning, for that is blessing enough.”

In this short clip from the Smart Ageing Summit, Sir Christopher Ball, co-founder of the Oxford Longevity Project, shares the Indian proverb and morning routine that helps him begin each day with calm gratitude.

A former Warden of Keble College, Oxford, Sir Christopher took up running at the age of 67 after surviving triple bypass surgery. Five years later, he set a world record by completing 10 marathons in 10 consecutive days, proving that it is never too late to redefine what is possible.

He also explains why he prescribes SMEDs. Watch the full talk to discover what SMEDs are and why they have become a guiding principle in his approach to healthy ageing.

We tend to treat brain health as a matter of diet, exercise, and mental workouts. A new study in the Journal of the Amer...
17/08/2026

We tend to treat brain health as a matter of diet, exercise, and mental workouts. A new study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society adds a less obvious candidate to the list: optimism.

Researchers followed just over 9,000 US adults, all aged 70 or older and dementia-free at baseline, for up to 14 years. Optimism was measured with a validated questionnaire at the start, and the team tracked who went on to develop dementia.

The finding:

Higher optimism was associated with a meaningfully lower risk.

Each one standard deviation increase in optimism corresponded to a 15% lower hazard of developing dementia, and the relationship was graded, with those in the most optimistic quartile at roughly a third lower risk than the least optimistic.

It held for both men and women, and in the subgroups analysed.

What makes this more than a feel-good headline is the rigour around causation. A reasonable objection is that early, undiagnosed dementia might reduce optimism, rather than the other way round. The authors tested this directly by excluding anyone diagnosed in the first two years; the association barely moved. It also survived adjustment for depression, education, physical health, smoking, and physical activity.

The actionable part: optimism is only modestly heritable and, importantly, can be shifted. Interventions designed to build optimism have been shown to work, and one trial even improved cardiovascular risk markers. So this points to a modifiable psychosocial asset, not a fixed personality verdict.

Still, at a time when effective dementia treatments remain limited, an upstream, trainable factor like outlook is a hopeful direction, and a reminder that how we relate to the future may be part of how we protect our brains.

Learn more: https://agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jgs.70392?utm_campaign=publicity_wly&utm_content=wrh_4_6_26&utm_medium=email&utm_source=muckrack&utm_term=jgs

14/08/2026

Movement doesn't have to mean setting aside an hour for exercise.⁠
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In this clip from the Smart Ageing Summit, Oxford-based natural movement coach Wendy Welpton .movement shares her Everyday Ease Method - a practical approach to helping us move more by making movement part of the things we already do.⁠
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Her simple framework, B.O.S. (Breaks, Opportunities, Stacking), shows how small changes throughout the day can help us rebuild movement variety, reduce sedentary time, and reconnect with how our bodies are designed to move.⁠
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Because healthy ageing isn't just about exercising more - it's about moving well, more often.⁠
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Watch this practical and inspiring excerpt from Wendy's talk, presented by the Oxford Longevity Project.⁠
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Catch the full talk on our YouTube. Link below!

https://youtu.be/vIGeSsyHvCI

"Sit less, move more" is the advice, it’s also quite vague. A new study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine puts s...
10/08/2026

"Sit less, move more" is the advice, it’s also quite vague. A new study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine puts some useful numbers on it.

Researchers ran a two-week experiment with nearly 20,000 adults, embedded in NPR's Body Electric podcast. Participants took a 5-minute walk at a set frequency in their normal working lives: every 30, 60, or 120 minutes. The team measured both whether people could realistically do it and whether it made a difference to how they felt.

Three findings stand out:
It's doable, and it helps. Across every group, people reported less fatigue, better mood, and lower negative feelings by the end. The benefits were dose-dependent: more frequent breaks produced bigger gains in energy and positive mood.

The effect was immediate: people felt better in the moments right after a walk, not just at the end of the fortnight. That matters, because short-term "this feels good" is what tends to turn a behaviour into a habit.

And imperfect still worked: Adherence was modest (almost nobody broke up their sitting perfectly), yet meaningful improvements showed up anyway. As the authors put it: ‘frequency targets are a goal to strive towards, while imperfect adherence still yields benefits’

The practical sweet spot was hourly: frequent enough to help, feasible enough to sustain, and the option most people chose. There was also no downside at work; if anything, engagement and performance ticked up slightly.

The takeaway for anyone chained to a desk: a 5-minute walk, roughly once an hour. Aim for consistency and a routine that works for you to make this habit stick.

Learn more: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2026/06/16/bjsports-2025-111221

07/08/2026

What if the most important health science has been happening in kitchens for thousands of years?⁠
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In this clip from Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times, presented at the Smart Ageing Summit, Bill Tara and Marlene Watson-Tara share why thousands of years of evidence point to a simple truth: health begins in the kitchen.⁠
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From ancient food traditions to modern research, one message continues to resonate—the food we eat has a profound impact on our health and wellbeing.⁠

Watch the full talk here: https://youtu.be/kKVStS6iBJ4
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05/08/2026

What if one of the most promising longevity interventions cost just 6 cents a day?

In this clip from *RadioActive*, hosted by Sir Muir Gray and Leslie Kenny , Dr discusses a fascinating primate study suggesting that vitamin C may help protect against brain shrinkage.

If these findings ultimately prove to translate to humans, Dr Norwitz estimates the cost could be as little as 6 cents a day, making vitamin C a remarkably low cost potential longevity intervention.

Watch this thought-provoking excerpt to hear why this emerging research has captured his attention.

We tend to frame ageing around loss of ability. A major new WHO-led paper in Age and Ageing makes the case for flipping ...
03/08/2026

We tend to frame ageing around loss of ability. A major new WHO-led paper in Age and Ageing makes the case for flipping that.

It brings together two ideas that are often treated as rivals:

Frailty: from geriatric medicine, identifies when someone has become vulnerable to stressors and needs more tailored, specialist care.

Intrinsic capacity: from the WHO's healthy ageing framework, describes the mental and physical abilities a person can draw on, across six domains: movement, cognition, vitality, vision, hearing, and psychological wellbeing.

The authors argue these are complementary, not competing. Intrinsic capacity supports prevention and early action across whole populations. Frailty marks the point where clinical complexity calls for specialist input. Used together, they connect everyday prevention with complex care.

Two points stand out for anyone thinking about healthy longevity:
First, the framing is deliberately empowering. "Frailty" as a label can be stigmatising and, at worst, used to withhold care. Intrinsic capacity shifts the conversation from what is lost to what can be preserved, restored, or enhanced.

Second, decline across these domains is heterogeneous and often reversible. These capacities respond to attention, and earlier than many assume.

The practical takeaway: know your six capacities, and work with them long before any label applies.

Source: "Frailty and intrinsic capacity," a New Horizons paper in Age and Ageing (2026), the journal of the British Geriatrics Society.

31/07/2026

Most people are more dehydrated than they realise.⁠
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At the Smart Ageing Summit 2026, Prof Mark Kendall explains why dehydration is far more common than most of us think—and why it matters for healthy ageing.⁠
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We may have *accidentally on purpose* cut the video just before he reveals what chronic dehydration does to the body...⁠
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Spoiler: it doesn't just make you thirsty. It places stress on multiple organs, including the heart, kidneys, and lungs, and is associated with a higher risk of major chronic diseases such as dementia and type 2 diabetes.⁠
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Watch this clip, then tell us: are you drinking enough water each day?⁠
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See his full talk on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/1iLQlKyVDpo
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Friendship is one of life's greatest gifts.⁠⁠This International Friendship Day, we're celebrating the incredible bond sh...
30/07/2026

Friendship is one of life's greatest gifts.⁠
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This International Friendship Day, we're celebrating the incredible bond shared by the Five Friends of Oxford Longevity Project—five people united by a shared passion for healthy ageing, purpose, and making a difference.⁠
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Because living longer is even more meaningful when we have people to laugh with, learn from, and support along the way.⁠
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Tag a friend who's been part of your journey and let them know how much they mean to you. 👇⁠
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Happy International Friendship Day!⁠
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Meeting fruit and vegetable guidelines may not be enough to protect your heart - at least not when it comes to one key p...
27/07/2026

Meeting fruit and vegetable guidelines may not be enough to protect your heart - at least not when it comes to one key plant compound.

Flavanols are naturally occurring compounds found in foods like berries, apples, tea, and dark chocolate. They're not vitamins or minerals - they're a separate class of bioactive compound with growing evidence for cardiovascular protection, including a large randomised controlled trial showing they reduce cardiovascular mortality at 500mg per day.

A study published in Food & Function assessed flavanol intake across 30,000+ adults in the US and UK - and found that fewer than 25% of people who met standard fruit and vegetable guidelines reached that 500mg threshold. The average UK intake is around 250mg per day, with more than half the population consuming under 150mg.

The reason: flavanol content varies enormously across different fruits and vegetables. Eating your portions doesn't guarantee you're getting the compounds. Apples, berries, grapes, tea, and high-cocoa chocolate are among the richest sources - but they're not staples in most people's diets.

The researchers conclude that current dietary guidelines are not sufficient to ensure adequate flavanol intake, and that specific guidance on flavanols may be needed.

For those interested in health and longevity: this is a nutrient that rarely gets measured or discussed in clinical settings, yet the evidence behind it is stronger than many that do.

Learn more: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.24.26346949

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