Health
The 5 pillars of longevity: Movement, nutrition, sleep, stress reduction, and social connection
By Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women’s Health Watch
If you hear the term “longevity” and think only about living longer, you’re missing half the point.
“What we actually want is both more years and more of those years lived in good health,” says Dr. David Barzilai, a longevity physician and the medical editor of Harvard Health Publishing’s Special Health Report Pathways to Longevity.
“Almost no one wants additional years of frailty and dependence; they want more years of feeling well, moving freely, thinking clearly, and staying engaged with the people and work they love.”
To that end, recent years have seen an explosion in interest in longevity and healthy aging, largely driven by “science that’s genuinely more exciting than it was a decade ago,” says Dr. Barzilai, also a lecturer at Harvard Medical School.
Lifestyle integral to longevity
While it’s clear that genetics play a role in living longer and staying healthy, lifestyle appears to be just as important. Five lifestyle patterns consistently show up in longevity research: movement, nutrition, sleep, stress management, and social connection.
Stress Management: Enhance your well-being by reducing stress and building resilience
Stress is inevitable. From frustration with traffic to fear brought on by a health scare, stress constantly intrudes in our lives. But the consequences of stress don’t have to be inevitable as well. You can counteract the damaging effects of stress by calling upon your body’s rich potential for self-healing. Stress Management, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School, gives you the tools you need to limit and lessen stress. With this insightful and instructive report, you’ll master skills that can help you repel the consuming effects of stress and reclaim and restore inner peace.
“Good health is surprisingly unglamorous,” Dr. Barzilai says. “What matters most are the basics people already know about but rarely execute consistently over decades. There is no magic to it.”
Here, Dr. Barzilai expands on each of the five pillars of longevity.
Movement
Movement is the closest thing people have to a “master signal,” he says. “It improves nearly every system at once, from insulin sensitivity to brain health to bone density. And cardiorespiratory fitness is one of the strongest predictors of mortality we have ever measured.”
Dr. Barzilai recommends combining various forms of movement to maximize health, including twice-weekly resistance training and 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity each week. “And everyday movement counts on its own,” he says. “Breaking up long stretches of sitting with two to three minutes of light activity measurably improves glucose and blood-pressure responses.”
Nutrition
Nutrition shapes the metabolic environment our cells live in day to day, governing blood glucose, inflammation, and the raw materials for muscle and repair, Dr. Barzilai says.
Improving Sleep: A guide to a good night’s rest
When you wake up in the morning, are you refreshed and ready to go, or groggy and grumpy? For many people, the second scenario is all too common. Improving Sleep: A guide to a good night’s rest describes the latest in sleep research, including information about the numerous health conditions and medications that can interfere with normal sleep, as well as prescription and over-the-counter medications used to treat sleep disorders. Most importantly, you’ll learn what you can do to get the sleep you need for optimal health, safety, and well-being.
“The principles that have held up across decades of research are unglamorous and durable: build meals around whole foods,” he explains. “Get enough protein, which becomes more important, not less, as you age. And avoid the large blood glucose spikes you get from refined carbohydrate eaten on its own, which in practice means anchoring meals with protein, healthy fats, and fiber.”
Sleep
Sleep is fundamental to longevity because that’s when the body takes care of essential maintenance — clearing metabolic waste from the brain, consolidating memory, and resetting the hormones that govern appetite and stress, Dr. Barzilai says.
Experts recommend adults get seven to eight hours each night. Research also shows that consistency matters more than quantity. “That is encouraging,” he says, “because a steady wake time, weekends included, is something most people can actually manage.”
Stress reduction
Stress itself isn’t a problem, since our body’s acute stress response — which sharpens focus and fuels energy levels — can protect us from genuine threats.
“The trouble comes when it never switches off,” Dr. Barzilai says. “Chronic stress holds the body in a low-grade alarm state that, over years, wears on the cardiovascular and immune systems, disrupts sleep and metabolism, and appears to accelerate several of the underlying processes of aging.”
Healthspan vs. Lifespan
We’re living longer than ever—but are we living well?
Harvard Medical School’s Special Health Report, Pathways to Longevity, looks beyond “anti aging” hype to share what science really says about extending your healthspan—the years you stay strong, independent, and mentally sharp.
From nutrition and movement to sleep, stress, social connection, and the latest longevity drugs, this report turns complex research into clear, practical steps you can start now.
The most dependable ways to regulate stress are physical and social rather than purely mental, he says. “People reach for a relaxation app and overlook that movement, sufficient sleep, exposure to daylight, and time with people they trust are often the more powerful levers. Regular exercise in particular is one of the best-validated stress and mood interventions we have.”
Social connection
Social connection is probably the longevity pillar people neglect most, Dr. Barzilai says. “People will track their macros and their step count to the decimal and never think to protect their friendships with the same intentionality, even though the survival data on relationships rival the data on much of what they are measuring,” he says.
If you’re feeling isolated, try to make connecting with others a regular commitment rather than a grand gesture, he says. “Begin with one recurring, low-pressure point of contact: a standing weekly call with one person, a class or volunteer commitment that puts you in the same room with the same faces again and again, a daily walk somewhere you will see neighbors. Pick one recurring contact and protect it like an appointment, and treat a few real relationships with the same seriousness you would give your blood pressure or your exercise.”
Which pillar of longevity is most important?
The habits most strongly linked to living a longer, healthier life are also some of the simplest: move regularly, eat well, sleep sufficiently, manage stress, and stay connected to others. But which one counts most? It’s impossible to gauge, says Dr. David Barzilai, a longevity physician and lecturer at Harvard Medical School.
“How much each pillar matters depends heavily on where a given person is starting from,” he says. “For someone sedentary, adding movement is transformative. For someone running on five ragged hours of sleep, fixing sleep will do more than another workout. For someone isolated, rebuilding connection may be the highest-yield change of all.”
“What I can say with confidence is that the most underrated pillar is social connection, and the most foundational day to day are sleep, physical activity, and nutrition, since they are the ground the others stand on,” Dr. Barzilai adds. “But the useful question is not which pillar wins in the abstract. It is which one you are personally weakest in right now, because that is where your next improvement will pay off most.”
Health
Foreign Medical Tourism to Drop as Nigeria Records First Tele-robotic Surgery Success in West Africa
By Son Tertsea
Nigeria’s first tele-robotic surgery on September 20, 2026 at the Redeemer’s Health Village (RHV), in collaboration with RoboMed Global and Nisa Premier Hospital, performed could be the opening of a new chapter in Nigeria’s medical tourism.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the surgery was performed in real time on Saturday from a Toumai console at RHV on a patient at Nisa Premier Hospital, Abuja.
The procedure was a telesurgery-assisted, robot-assisted right radical nephrectomy performed to remove a kidney affected by a cancerous tumour.
According to specialists, Tele-robotic surgery, also known as remote surgery, is a technique that enables a surgeon to perform an operation on a patient from a completely different physical location.
Speaking after the surgery at RHV, Prof. Obi Ekwenna-Davis, Professor of Urology and Transplantation, who led the surgery, explained the medical condition of the patient.
He said the procedure demonstrated that telesurgery could be safely performed on patients in different parts of Nigeria and the world.
Ekwenna-Davis, Co-Founder of RoboMed Global, said the development was a significant achievement for RHV and its partners.
“Distance should never decide who receives safe surgery; this is what safe and trusted surgery looks like,” he said.
The U.S.-based surgeon said the patient was in good condition and expected to be discharged within 24 hours.
He said the procedure lasted about three hours, with brief stoppages to ensure that the equipment and systems functioned properly.
Ekwenna-Davis said the collaboration was significant as it marked the first time two hospitals in different parts of Nigeria successfully collaborated to provide surgical care to a patient.
He maintained that sustainability of the initiative would depend on continuous training, adding that a robotic academy would soon be established to train surgeons and other medical professionals.
According to him, the academy aims to train at least 150 surgeons within the next two years.
Ekwenna-Davis said the programme had the support of the Minister of Health and other government institutions, while calling for additional support from private and non-governmental organisations.
Dr Adedamola Dada, Chief Executive Officer, RHV, added that the development marked the first telesurgery in West Africa.
Dada said RHV was established to promote innovation and provide world-class healthcare services at affordable costs.
“What has happened today is a demonstration that Nigerians can access modern healthcare without travelling abroad,” he said.
He said the initiative was not primarily profit-driven but aimed at demonstrating what modern healthcare could offer Nigerians, in line with the vision of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
Dada said the achievement had positioned the hospital as a gateway through which specialist skills could be applied on patients across Nigeria.
He said the introduction of robotic surgery and telesurgery at RHV was aimed at reducing medical tourism and improving access to complex surgical procedures within the country.
The CEO said measures had been put in place to address possible connectivity challenges through the use of reliable networks.
He explained that weather conditions could sometimes affect connectivity, while the quality of equipment and availability of skilled personnel were also critical to the success of telesurgery.
Dada said the hospital was establishing a robotic academy in collaboration with RoboMed Global to train doctors, surgeons, nurses, biomedical engineers and product specialists.
He urged the government to support and sponsor medical professionals interested in acquiring robotic surgery skills.
“My message to government is to support and sponsor Nigerians, the surgeons, the nurses, the biomedical engineers who would want to come and do this training here.
“They can award scholarships to them so that within two to three years, Nigeria will have a lot of professionals who are capable of performing robotic surgery,” he said.
Dr Ibrahim Wada, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Nisa Premier Hospital, said the facility had been a centre for robotic surgery in West Africa since November 2025.
“Today, our patient received specialist surgical expertise from across the country without leaving Abuja. This is what becomes possible when Nigerian institutions decide to build together,” Wada said.
Also, Dr Kunle Onakoya, Chairman, Board of RHV, described the development as historic and urged participants to recognise their roles in creating a milestone for Nigeria.
NAN reports that RHV, a faith-based 300-bed multispecialty hospital established by the Redeemed Christian Church of God, played a key role in attaining the medical feat.
Health
Pig kidneys Successfully Transplanted into Humans:Trial in US offers hope for solving organ shortage
Organs grown in animals for use in humans are beginning to build up a record of clinical success after decades of unfulfilled promise, offering hope for the future of transplants.
Five patients at Massachusetts General Hospital in the US have undergone successful transplants with animal organs — a process known as xenotransplantation — since March 2024 after the pig kidneys they received were genetically engineered to avoid rejection, US biotech company eGenesis said. In three of them, the porcine organs worked for more than eight months without rejection or the need for dialysis.
“The organ shortage is the greatest crisis we have right now in transplantation,” said Leonardo Riella, director of kidney transplantation at Mass General, who led the eGenesis clinical trials.
“It’s amazing to see the progress,” said Mike Curtis, chief executive of eGenesis. “Our goal is to make transplantation available to patients when they need it, without being constrained by the limited supply of human donor organs.”
Surgeon Alban Longchamp prepares a pig kidney with the surgical team before transplantation at Massachusetts General Hospital © Kate Flock/Massachusetts General Hospital
The animal organs would initially be used “as a bridge to get patients off dialysis while they wait for a human donor kidney,” said Riella, adding that it could eventually be used “as a destination therapy in its own right” if the trials “establish long-term safety and durability”.
The kidneys were grown in Yucatan miniature pigs whose organs are similar in size to their human counterparts. They were genetically engineered to remove three pig proteins that are most likely to lead to immune rejection and add seven human genes to improve compatibility with the patient. In addition, the porcine DNA was manipulated to inactivate viruses that might infect the recipient.
One patient, Tim Andrews, whose case was described in The Lancet journal on Thursday, lived with a pig kidney, which he received aged 66, for almost nine months without needing dialysis until the transplanted organ began to fail, though there were no signs of immune rejection. He then received a kidney from a deceased human donor.
Subsequent tests showed that living with the pig kidney had not made it harder for the human transplant to work successfully.
Tim Andrews leaves Massachusetts General Hospital a week after his xenotransplant operation © Kate Flock/Massachusetts General Hospital.
Curtis said the US Food and Drug Administration had authorised an expanded clinical trial of eGenesis pig kidneys in 33 patients with renal failure to start early next year in up to 10 US transplant centres, with the aim of achieving marketing approval by the end of 2029. The company is also collaborating with a Japanese partner, PorMedTec, to start kidney xenografts in Japan in 2028, he added.
David Crosby, chief research officer at the renal charity Kidney Research UK, said the breakthrough was “an exciting prospect” but he warned that further research was needed to determine whether the approach was “safer and better” for patients than spending years on dialysis while they waited for a transplant.
Xenotransplantation has been through cycles of hope and disappointment since serious research on the area started in the 1980s. But recent progress in animal cloning, genetic manipulation and immunology now promises to transform the field.
Public squeamishness and ethical objections to breeding animals for organ transplants had also diminished, said Curtis, who argued that the moral arguments against xenotransplants were “hard to sustain . . . when you look at the outcomes for our patients”.
For a long time, xeno research focused on heart transplants, but now kidneys are leading the way to clinical approval. “A big advantage of the kidney is that if the transplant fails we can safely return the patient to dialysis,” said Curtis. “If the transplanted heart fails, there’s not much you can do.”
However, eGenesis and another leading US xenotransplant company, United Therapeutics, are working with hearts as well as kidneys. The FDA has approved a small xenoheart trial led by United Therapeutics.
The Financial Times Limited 2026.
By Michael Lim, Jos
All public and private primary and secondary schools across Plateau state have been ordered closed, by the Plateau State governor as a precautionary measure against the spread of diphtheria in the state.
The government gave the order on Saturday in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information, Joyce Ramnap.
According to the statement, the closure takes effect from Monday, September 7, 2026, and will remain in force “until further notice.”
The directive ordered by Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang is part of efforts to curb the spread of the infection.
The directive is a preventive measure against the Diphtheria Infection as suspected cases are reported in some parts of the State, notably Jos North, Wase, Jos South & Bassa Local Government Areas.
The government said the closure applies to all schools, including those that have already resumed for the new term.
“Accordingly, schools that have already resumed academic activities are also directed to close from Monday, September 7, 2026, and remain closed until further notice,” it added.
Parents, teachers and school owners have been urged to comply fully with the directive.
“Furthermore, school proprietors, administrators, teachers, parents and guardians are to comply fully with the directive and ensure that students and pupils remain safely at home throughout the period as part of measures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of pupils, students, teaching and non-teaching staff during the period under review,” the statement stressed.
Health authorities in Plateau confirmed that suspected cases have been reported in Jos North, Wase, Jos South and Bassa Local Government Areas in recent weeks, prompting the Ministry of Health to activate surveillance and response teams in the affected communities.
Diphtheria spreads through direct contact or respiratory droplets and is common in crowded settings such as schools. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has, in the past, advised states to intensify vaccination, public sensitisation and early case detection to prevent wider transmission.
In response, the Mutfwang administration said the school closure was intended to limit exposure among children while health workers conduct contact tracing, vaccination mop-up and decontamination in the identified areas.
“The Government appreciates the understanding and full cooperation of all stakeholders as it continues to take appropriate measures in the best interest of the people of Plateau State,” the statement said.
The commissioner added that updates would follow.
“Further information on the resumption of academic activities will be communicated to the public in due course,” it concluded.
Meanwhile, health officials are urging parents in plateau state to ensure that children complete their routine immunisations, practise hand hygiene and report symptoms such as fever, sore throat and difficulty breathing to the nearest health facility immediately.
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