No preprints and no press releases. Each entry links to the paper on PubMed. These are summaries of what a study found, not advice on what you should do.
Brain healthHuman trial, moderate evidence
A coached lifestyle program protected thinking skills a bit better than going it alone
In 2,111 at-risk US adults aged 60–79, two years of structured exercise, MIND-style diet, brain training and regular group check-ins lifted cognitive scores slightly more than a self-guided version of the same habits. Both groups improved, and the extra benefit held for APOE4 gene carriers too.
- Study
- Structured vs Self-Guided Multidomain Lifestyle Interventions for Global Cognitive Function: The US POINTER Randomised Clinical Trial
- Journal
- JAMA, Aug 26, 2025 (Vol 334, Issue 8; online Jul 28, 2025)
- Design
- Randomised clinical trial, 2,111 adults at elevated risk of cognitive decline, 5 US sites, 2 years; structured vs self-guided program
- Authors
- Baker LD, Espeland MA, Whitmer RA, Snyder HM, Leng X, et al. (US POINTER Study Group)
SleepLarge human study, strong evidence
A consistent bedtime may matter more than hitting 8 hours
Tracking sleep patterns in 60,977 UK adults over 7 years, researchers found how regular your sleep schedule is predicted death risk more strongly than how many hours you actually slept.
- Study
- Sleep regularity is a stronger predictor of mortality risk than sleep duration: A prospective cohort study
- Journal
- Sleep, Jan 2024 (Vol 47, Issue 1, zsad253)
- Design
- Prospective cohort, 60,977 adults with valid actigraphy data, UK Biobank (1,859 deaths over follow-up)
- Authors
- Windred DP, Burns AC, Lane JM, Saxena R, Rutter MK, Cain SW, Phillips AJK
Longevity drugsAnimal study, early evidence
Clearing "zombie cells" extended survival in aged mice, but human evidence is still early
A two-drug combination that clears senescent ("zombie") cells improved physical function and extended post-treatment survival by 36% in naturally aged mice. It's a mouse study: nothing yet shows the same longevity effect in people.
- Study
- Senolytics improve physical function and increase lifespan in old age
- Journal
- Nature Medicine, Aug 1, 2018 (Vol 24, pages 1246–1256)
- Design
- Preclinical, naturally aged and senescent-cell-transplanted mice, Mayo Clinic (not a human trial)
- Authors
- Xu M, Pirtskhalava T, Farr JN, Weigand BM, Palmer AK, Weivoda MM, et al.
SupplementsReview of existing research, moderate evidence
Creatine helps older adults hold onto muscle, but only alongside training, not instead of it
Pooling 11 randomised trials in adults 60+, creatine added a modest but real strength benefit on top of resistance training. The effect size was small: training was still doing most of the work.
- Study
- Effects of resistance training combined with creatine supplementation on muscle strength, physical function, and muscle mass in older adults: a systematic review and three-level meta-analysis
- Journal
- Frontiers in Nutrition, 2026 (Vol 13)
- Design
- Systematic review & three-level meta-analysis, 11 RCTs, adults 60+ (effect size g = 0.31 for strength vs. resistance training alone)
DietHuman trial, moderate evidence
Eating in an 8-hour window didn't beat plain calorie counting
In a year-long trial of 139 adults with obesity, restricting eating to 8am–4pm plus calorie restriction produced statistically similar weight loss, waist circumference and blood-marker results to calorie restriction alone.
- Study
- Calorie Restriction with or without Time-Restricted Eating in Weight Loss
- Journal
- New England Journal of Medicine, Apr 21, 2022 (Vol 386, No 16)
- Design
- Randomised controlled trial, 139 adults with obesity, 12 months, Guangzhou, China
- Authors
- Liu D, Huang Y, Huang C, Yang S, Wei X, Zhang P, et al.
ExerciseLarge human study, strong evidence
Your fitness level predicts survival better than almost anything else doctors measure
Tracking 122,007 adults referred for treadmill testing at the Cleveland Clinic, researchers found the least fit had a death rate on par with major chronic diseases, while the fittest kept seeing benefits with no upper limit.
- Study
- Association of Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Long-term Mortality Among Adults Undergoing Exercise Treadmill Testing
- Journal
- JAMA Network Open, Oct 19, 2018
- Design
- Retrospective cohort, 122,007 adults, Cleveland Clinic exercise-testing database (1991–2014)
- Authors
- Mandsager K, Harb S, Cremer P, Phelan D, Nissen SE, Jaber W
How to read the labels- Large human study
- Review of existing research
- Human trial
- Animal study
The label is the study's design, not our opinion of it. A large human study can still only show a link, not cause and effect; an animal study shows what happened in animals.
