Living well for longer: everyday habits that add up

This week, The Sydney Morning Herald ran a long feature on what researchers now say about lifestyle and brain health as we get older. Much of the advice in it will sound familiar: move your body, eat well, sleep, and stay connected with the people around you. None of it is new or flashy, and that's partly the point.

Living well for longer isn't about chasing a perfect routine or a younger number on a screen. It's about everyday habits that are realistic enough to keep doing, and that add up over months and years. Here's what the Australian guidelines suggest, how to make room for them in a normal week, and how Thrive can help you see your own habits building up.

What the Australian guidelines suggest

The Australian Government's movement guidelines were updated this year. For adults aged 18 to 64, they suggest being active on most days, preferably every day, with a mix of:

30 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous activity on most days
muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week
activities for mobility, balance and coordination on 3 or more days a week
several hours of light activity spread through the day.

The guidelines for people aged 65 and over follow the same pattern. Both also suggest breaking up long stretches of sitting as often as you can, and getting good quality sleep with consistent bed and wake times: 7 to 9 hours for adults, and 7 to 8 hours from 65.

That can look like a lot written as a list. The guidelines make a helpful point, though: some activities count twice. Walking up and down stairs, for example, counts towards both your moderate activity and your balance and coordination. You don't need to tick every box every week to be doing something worthwhile.

Movement you'll actually keep doing

The best activity is usually the one you enjoy enough to come back to. A brisk walk with a friend, gardening, a swim, a dance class or a weekend ride all count.

Professor Kaarin Anstey, quoted in the SMH feature, put it simply: "If people are getting the chance to be physically active, they usually feel better and sleep better." She added that activity can also be social, which is a nice reminder that a walking group or a regular hit of tennis does more than one job.

If you've had a break from exercise, start where you are. A little more than last week is a good place to begin.

Strength training: why it matters more as we age

Strength work often gets left out, yet it's one of the most useful habits to keep as the years go on. healthdirect explains that we naturally start to lose muscle slowly from around 30, and more quickly after 50. Keeping your muscles strong helps with the everyday things that keep you independent: getting up from a chair, carrying the shopping, managing the stairs and staying steady on your feet.

The Australian guidelines recommend muscle-strengthening activities on at least 2 days a week for adults of every age, including people aged 65 and over. It doesn't have to mean a gym. Standing up from a chair a few times without using your hands, wall push-ups or a resistance band at home all count. Start gently and build up slowly. If you're not sure where to begin, or you live with a health condition or an injury, check with your GP or a physio first.

Thrive can help you keep it going. The app includes workouts, plans and training programmes if you'd like some structure, and your sessions sit alongside your everyday activity. To see how things are changing, you can take a Body Composition reading whenever you choose, using the electrode on the Band, and follow your muscle in the app over the weeks. Like any reading from a wrist band, it makes most sense as a trend rather than a single result.

Balance and mobility matter too. Tai chi, yoga, Pilates or simply standing on one foot while the kettle boils are all ways to fit them in.

Sleep is part of the plan

It's easy to think of sleep as whatever is left over at the end of the day. The guidelines put it alongside activity for a reason, and they mention consistent bed and wake times as well as how long you sleep. A steady routine, most nights of the week, is often a more realistic goal than a perfect night.

Staying connected

The SMH feature spent time on something that doesn't show up in a step count: time with other people. Conversation, community groups, learning something new and doing things you love with others were all part of the picture. Small, regular contact counts. A weekly walk with a neighbour or a phone call with a friend is a habit worth protecting.

How Thrive helps you see it add up

Habits are hard to judge day to day. One good week can feel like nothing has changed, and one busy week can feel like you've undone everything. Thrive helps you look at the longer view.

Activity and workouts. Thrive shows your everyday movement and your workouts, and Today's Load gives you a sense of how much your body has done. The app also tracks walks, runs and rides with GPS through your phone, and includes workouts, plans and training programmes if you'd like some structure.
Sleep and recovery. The Band shows your sleep, sleep stages, HRV and resting heart rate night by night. Today's Vitality, a score from 0 to 100, brings your day together in one place.
Your own baseline. Thrive learns what's usual for you. Your baseline starts as Emerging and becomes Established once enough consistent information has been collected, so you can compare recent weeks with your own normal rather than someone else's.
Patterns that go together. Thrive's correlations engine looks for habits and patterns that tend to go together. You might ask Ask Thrive, "How has my sleep looked in the weeks I walked most days?" or "What changed when I started strength sessions twice a week?"
Doing it with others. Thrive Loops lets you share selected information with a participating trainer, health professional or someone you trust. You decide what to share and with whom, and you can change or revoke access at any time.

If you're building up to a longer goal, our 60km November walking plan is one gentle place to start.

Taking it to your GP

What Thrive shows isn't a diagnosis, and Thrive isn't designed to tell you that something is wrong. Think of your trends as one more way to help a conversation with your GP along, next to how you've been feeling.

If you're starting something new after a long break, or you live with a health condition, a quick chat with your GP before you begin is a good idea. You can open the app during the appointment and show them how your activity and sleep have looked over recent weeks.

If you have questions about your thinking, mood or memory, your GP is a good place to start. Dementia Australia's National Dementia Helpline (1800 100 500) is also free, confidential and open around the clock.

Before you buy

You'll need a compatible iPhone or Android phone, because the Thrive app is on the Apple App Store and Google Play, in Australia and eight other countries. The app stores are only for downloading the app, though; they aren't where you buy the Band or a Plan. You can buy at thrivehealthband.com, or at a participating World Gym Australia location or health and wellness clinic.

The Thrive Health Band is A$660 for the first year under the launch offer (usually A$740). That includes the Band, which is yours to keep, and 12 months of the Thrive by Optihealth app, My Health on the web, Health Fingerprint, Ask Thrive, Thrive Loops and your data, paid once upfront. Prices are in AUD and include GST. Free Australia-wide shipping during the launch offer (usually A$14.99).

Nothing renews automatically. After your first year, you can get a new band plus 12 more months for A$660, or keep your band and renew the Thrive Connected Plan for A$240 a year (A$20 a month).

You're also covered by a 12-month Thrive Care Warranty, and consumer guarantees under Australian Consumer Law always apply. See Returns if something is wrong with your purchase.

Common questions

Do I need to do everything in the guidelines straight away?

No. The guidelines describe a full week, not a starting point. Pick one small change, keep it going for a few weeks, and build from there.

Is it too late to start strength training?

The Australian guidelines include muscle-strengthening activities for adults of every age, including people over 65. Start gently, and check with your GP first if you have a health condition or haven't been active for a while.

Does Thrive include workouts and training programmes?

Yes. Thrive includes workouts, plans and training programmes, and the app tracks walks, runs and rides with GPS through your phone.

For more answers, see Questions.