Longevity Expert Valter Longo Shares 4 Daily Habits to Live to 120

While the rest of us are making plans to live to 100, Dr. Valter Longo, a longevity expert, is aiming just a little higher with plans to reach his 120th birthday.

Reach Age 120 With Dr. Valter Longo

“I’d like to make it to 120. But whatever I get, it’s okay. At least I’ll have no regrets saying, ‘Well, I didn’t do all the right things.’” – Dr. Valter Longo

Dr. Valter Longo is the director of the Longevity Institute at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and Professor of Gerontology and Biological Sciences. Having been born and raised in Italy, which houses many centenarians, Dr. Valter Longo’s work delves into how humans can not only live longer, but also healthier.

With plans to live to age 120 and decades of longevity research, Dr. Longo has uncovered which practices can improve healthspan and lifespan.

The Longevity Diet

“Some dietary interventions are much more powerful than we had imagined.” – Dr. Valter Longo, CNBC Make It.

For Dr. Longo, real longevity starts in the kitchen, which is why he’s developed the Longevity Diet, an eating plan that adopts philosophies from both the Okinawan and Mediterranean diets. The Longevity Diet can help promote good health and longevity by not only providing the body with necessary nutrients, but also helping to reduce the risk of chronic conditions.

He explains that adhering to this diet means avoiding red and white meat, eating more vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish three to five times a week, and minimizing your fruit, dairy, and egg intake.

Fasting

For Longo, fasting is at the core of one of his most well-known habits – The Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD).

The 5-day diet that requires 12-hour intermittent fasting, individuals follow a plant-based diet, while also consuming 700 servings of calories daily, sugars, and proteins, and at least 70 ounces of water each day.

According to Longo, FMD works to encourage autophagy, which can lead to healthier cell aging, better brain health, and reduced inflammation, all of which are great for longevity.

According to a 2024 animal study, three rounds of FMD reduced the biological age of mice by 2.5 years,

“This study shows for the first time evidence for biological age reduction from two different clinical trials, accompanied by evidence of rejuvenation of metabolic and immune function.” – Dr. Valter Longo

Stay Active

Living an active life is essential if you want to live long, and especially if you want to live well.

As for how much, Dr. Longo’s recommendation aligns with the World Health Organization (WHO)’s guidelines of at least 150 minutes of activity per week. That said, he also recommends an additional hour of either walking, taking the stairs or even running errands,

“Some of these things have been abandoned, but they were very normal for people that made it to 100 years of age,” said Longo to CNBC Make It.

Get Enough Sleep

Dr. Longo emphasizes the importance of quality sleep, and Dr. Yashica Khalawan, a South African-based general practitioner, agrees. If you’re struggling to get enough rest, Dr. Khalawan suggests the following:

• Eat dinner 3 hours before bedtime.
• 1 hour before bedtime, switch off all devices. Limit liquid intake to avoid bathroom trips.
• Listen to relaxing music and take a warm bath/shower. The cooling of body temperature helps signal sleep.
• Create an environment that supports sleep:
  • Room temp 68 degrees Fahrenheit (ca. 20 °C)
  • Darken the room
  • Sound machine to block out outside noise
• Invest in a quality mattress and pillow that supports the alignment of the spine
• During the night, avoid checking the time, as this increases sleep anxiety.

Want to know more?

Dr. Valter Longo is not the only one exploring the fountain of youth, yet others are taking a less conventional approach. Take tech entrepreneur and biohacker Bryan Johnson, who has admitted to using his own blood plasma, as well as that of his father and his son, for a multi-generational plasma exchange that may help him live longer.

References

Brandhorst, S., Levine, M. E., Wei, M., Shelehchi, M., et al. (2024). Fasting-mimicking diet causes hepatic and blood markers changes indicating reduced biological age and disease risk. Nature Communications, 15(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45260-9

Onque, R. (2025). Italian longevity expert’s 4 daily habits for a long, healthy life: ‘I’d like to make it to 120’. [online] CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/23/italian-longevity-experts-4-daily-habits-for-a-long-healthy-life.html

Onque, R. (2025). I grew up in Italy and have studied longevity for 36 years: 2 ways to eat for good health and a long life. [online] CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/18/ive-studied-longevity-for-36-years-2-ways-to-eat-for-good-health.html