The Top 10 Longevity Articles That Defined 2025

If 2025 taught us anything, it’s this: people aren’t looking for extreme optimization. They’re looking for clarity.

Across nutrition, movement, brain health, and everyday choices, the stories that rose to the top were about understanding how to build capacity and make smarter choices in a noisy world. We’re honored to help create some clarity around the research that matters and the health decisions that give you agency. 

Here are the 10 Super Age articles our readers came back to again and again, and what they say about modern longevity[lon-jev-i-tee]nounLiving a long life; influenced by genetics, environment, and lifestyle.Learn MoreClose.

The Top 10 Longevity Articles of 2025

1. Foods With the Most Microplastics (and What to Eat Instead)

It seems like every month there’s a new study telling us that microplastics are everywhere: from our bones to our bottled water. Earlier this year, we talked to the lead researcher of the New England Journal of Medicine study that linked microplastics to a higher risk of cardiovascular events: He told us: “Our findings suggest that even low-level chronic exposure to micro- and nanoplastics, especially polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride, may increase cardiovascular risk.”

We unpack the research, list the 7 foods and beverages with the most plastic particles, and suggest ways to decrease your exposure.

2. The Top Ten Longevity Cities of 2025

For years, the concept of Blue Zones, regions with exceptionally high life expectancy, has shaped conversations around longevity. However, recent research from Oxford demographers called some of these claims into question, suggesting that historical inaccuracies in birth and death records may have exaggerated lifespan data in certain regions.

Instead of relying on anecdotal longevity hubs, we created a list of the longest living cities on the planet that focuses on verifiable life expectancy data, infrastructure-driven health factors, and well-documented wellness behaviors. We also suggest how you can bring their wisdom into your daily life.

3. The 5 Microhabits That Rewire Your Brain for Longevity

Small, daily actions can work with your brain’s natural reward systems to create what behavioral scientists call “habit loops” (cues, behaviors, and rewards) that, when repeated over time, rewire your brain. These shifts aren’t just cognitive, they’re structural. Even two minutes of the right activity can nudge your brain toward a more resilient, long-lived trajectory.

4. How Much Water Do You Really Need to Stay Hydrated?

We’ve all heard the rules: eight glasses a day, half your body weight in ounces, drink only when thirsty. Hydration advice is everywhere, and often contradictory. But what really matters isn’t a catchy formula, it’s what the science says.

Proper hydration sharpens your mind, steadies your mood, supports metabolism, and even lowers your risk for chronic disease. The question is: how much water do you actually need to drink each day to stay healthy, energized, and strong for the long run? (And, importantly, does coffee count?) This article sets the record straight.

5. How to Build Muscle Safely (The Super Age Guide for Men and Women)

One of the year’s most shared pieces. Muscle finally got framed as insurance. To live long and thrive, you need to be strong. Full stop. We pulled together a crew of incredible experts to create the definitive guide to building muscle for men and women.

“Muscle mass[muh-suhl mas]nounThe total weight of muscle in your body, critical for longevity.Learn MoreClose may be the most important biomarker for healthy aging,” says Matthew Laye Ph.D., adjunct professor at The College of Idaho and chair of the Health and Human Performance Department. Furthermore, VO₂ Max, your body’s ability to deliver oxygen to your muscles, may rival muscle as a predictor of longevity. Luckily, the same exercises that build muscle, boost VO₂ Max. Win win! 

6. This Sleep Routine Supports Deep Rest

In longevity research, sleep consistently emerges as one of the most powerful predictors of long-term health, independent of diet, supplements, or VO₂ max. And better sleep begins the moment you wake up. When your days take on a supportive rhythm, your nights follow naturally.

We curated a sleep routine that outlines the most impactful behaviors according to modern sleep research. Small shifts in timing, light, temperature, and wind-down rituals stack together to help your body settle, repair, and wake restored.

7.  What to Eat for a Healthier Microbiome[mahy-kroh-bahy-ohm]nounThe community of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi) living in a particular environment, especially the gut.Learn MoreClose

Inside you lives a vast ecosystem of trillions of microbes, tiny allies that may be shaping how well and how long you live. Known as the gut microbiome, this community influences everything from how efficiently you digest food to how resilient your immune system is, how steady your mood feels, and how quickly your body bounces back from stress. 

The more diverse and balanced your microbiome, the more it supports healthy aging, protects against chronic disease, and helps preserve vitality over decades. Scientists now see gut health not as a side note, but as a cornerstone of longevity, and they’re building new tools to measure exactly how your diet supports (or undermines) it. We translated the complex science into a smart guide to everyday food choices.

8. 17 Ways to Protect Your Brain Starting Now

We have more power than ever to influence how our brains age. A comprehensive study published this year in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry identified 17 modifiable risk factors that can dramatically shape our brain health and longevity.

The research confirms that our daily choices (what we eat, how we move, how we connect, and even how we think) can dramatically shape our healthspan[helth-span]nounThe number of years you live in good health, free from chronic illness or disability.Learn MoreClose. We unpacked the research into a comprehensive map for how we can protect our brains as we age.

9. The Best Foods for Healthy Longevity, According to Harvard

We know you’ve heard it before: Eat more plants. Cut the processed stuff. Hydrate, sleep, repeat. It’s the wellness advice equivalent of “back up your files.”

But a study published this year in Nature Medicine offers one of the clearest, most comprehensive confirmations we’ve seen that how you eat in your 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s really does shape how you live (and feel) in your 70s and beyond. We’re not talking about vague advice or short-term trials. This is real-life, long-haul evidence showing that what you eat now has a direct impact on how you function decades down the line.

10.  6 Signs Your Cortisol[kawr-tuh-sawl]nounA hormone that helps manage stress, energy, and alertness.Learn MoreClose Is Out of Sync And What do Do About It

Cortisol isn’t the villain it’s been made out to be. It’s a finely tuned hormone that helps us wake up, stay focused, and respond to challenges. The trouble begins when your natural cortisol rhythm is interrupted and you enter a chronic state of cortisol release.

We dug into the research to create a science-backed guide to how cortisol works, how it affects your longevity, and how to spot when it’s no longer serving you. (Hint: it’s not just when you feel “stressed.”)

Bonus: The Intelligence of Your Fascia[fash-ee-uh]nounConnective tissue that supports muscles and helps with movement.Learn MoreClose Network

This is the article we got the most emails about, thanking us for highlighting the importance of fascia. Once dismissed as inert, fascia, the body’s connective tissue network, is now recognized as a dynamic, living organ essential for movement, posture, and even emotional health. 

This vast, fibrous web envelops muscles, bones, nerves, and organs, connecting the entire body in a continuous matrix. As we age, changes in fascia are increasingly linked to stiffness, pain, and mobilitymoh-bil-i-tee]nounThe ability to move freely and easily through a full range of motion.Learn MoreClose loss, which is why supporting healthy fascia is emerging as a vital strategy for aging well and living actively.

What was your favorite article this year?