Unexpected Factors That Could Cut Your Life Expectancy

You already know the basics of living a long, healthy life. Eat a balanced diet loaded with vibrant fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains to fuel your body and fight off disease. Keep your heart strong with at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week, and don't neglect strength training to preserve muscle and bone health. Ditch the cigarettes, maintain a healthy weight, and you'll be well on your way to adding quality years to your life.

But what if some factors influencing your life expectancy are somewhat beyond your control? Surprisingly, research suggests that certain unexpected elements — like events from your childhood — could have long-term consequences for your health. For example, if your parents divorced before you turned 18, you may be at a 61% higher risk of stroke later in life, according to a 2025 study in PLoS One. Health Digest consulted with two medical experts to uncover more surprising factors that could influence your lifespan.

If they have a cold, flu, or COVID-19, some people may ask their doctors to prescribe them an antibiotic. Longevity physician Dr. Scott Noorda told Health Digest that antibiotics aren't meant to treat these types of viruses and non-bacterial illnesses, and they are often overprescribed even though they won't make you feel better. Instead, antibiotics are intended for bacterial infections such as strep throat or urinary tract infections (UTI). Even though sinus and ear infections are also caused by bacteria, you might not need an antibiotic for many of these infections either.

How can taking too many courses of antibiotics be harmful to your longevity? "The overuse of antibiotics can have serious long-term health consequences, reducing both health span and lifespan," Noorda said. "Research shows that prolonged antibiotic use disrupts the gut microbiome, which plays a crucial role in regulating inflammation, metabolism, and immune function. This imbalance has been linked to a higher risk of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and cancer."

Noorda pointed out a 2020 study in Circulation Research that tracked more than 37,000 women aged 60 and older for 10 years. The study asked the women how often they used antibiotics through middle age and late adulthood. Women who used antibiotics for two or more months in later adulthood had a 16% higher risk of dying from any cause and a 49% greater risk of death from heart disease.

Breakfast may seem like an afterthought these days. Skipping might be a specific strategy to help you lose weight — after all, who needs those extra calories in the morning when you're not hungry and rushing to work? Dietitians will tell you how important breakfast is to fuel your brain and body for the day, but Noorda says a nutrient-rich breakfast can also factor into your lifespan. "Research suggests that eating a larger breakfast and a smaller dinner can support longevity and reduce the risk of diabetes-related and cardiovascular death, as well as Alzheimer's disease," he said.

This doesn't mean that you have to give up intermittent fasting, however. It might mean shifting your eating window to earlier in the day when your metabolism is most efficient. A 2020 study in Diabetes Care found that people with the largest difference in calories between breakfast and dinner (with dinner being their largest meal) had nearly twice the risk of dying from diabetes or cardiovascular disease compared to those who balanced their calories throughout the day. Just shifting 5% of your calories from dinner to breakfast can lower your risk of dying from diabetes or cardiovascular disease by up to 4% (but avoid this breakfast food if you want to live longer).

"Front-loading calories and macronutrients earlier in the day aligns with circadian rhythm regulation, improved insulin sensitivity, and lower overnight glucose spikes, all of which contribute to better metabolic health," Noorda said. Late-night eating also disrupts your body's ability to clear out damaged cells.

Once you get to a certain age, you begin to start thinking about retirement, where every day can feel like Saturday. Some people may decide to retire a few years early, but Noorda says to stay engaged with part-time work, hobbies, and social connections. "Those who retire early without staying physically, mentally, or socially active face a higher risk of dementia, cardiovascular disease, and early mortality compared to those who remain engaged in meaningful work or hobbies," he said.

In a 2018 analysis in the Bulletin of Aging & Health, researchers found that a man's risk of death increases by 2% by age 62, which is the age people are eligible to receive Social Security benefits. About half of this increase in the risk of death can be attributed to traffic accidents, pulmonary disease, and lung cancer. "While retirement can offer many benefits, sudden withdrawal from the workforce may negatively impact longevity, especially in men," Noorda said.

Your job may be stressful, but it keeps your mind engaged. When you retire, your brain still needs to be stimulated to stave off cognitive decline. Although everyone's memory begins to decline to a certain degree with age, your memory can decline 38% faster after you retire, according to a 2017 article in the European Journal of Epidemiology. "These findings suggest that early retirement should be approached carefully, particularly for those without strong social or lifestyle structures in place," Noorda said.

Everyone found out during the COVID-19 lockdown how difficult it was to stay at home without social interactions with friends and loved ones. For some people, this is an everyday reality, particularly when they get older. Social connections can keep you not only mentally engaged but also emotionally healthy.

Dr. Jason Singh, Chief Medical Officer and physician at One Oak Medical, said that social isolation can also do us physiological harm. "When we experience sustained social isolation, our bodies increase production of cortisol and norepinephrine — our primary stress hormones," he said. "This chronic elevation has several detrimental effects which includes increased inflammatory markers, impairing immune system function (reduces natural killer cell activity), elevated blood pressure (through sympathetic nervous system activation), and disturbed sleep pattern."

To deal with the physiological stress of social isolation, we can sometimes resort to unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, drinking an excess of alcohol, eating foods low in nutrients, and physical inactivity. According to a 2023 meta-analysis in PLoS One that pooled data from 1.3 million people, social isolation was linked with a 33% higher risk of death.

You've heard many times how important sleep is to your health. Most adults need about seven hours of sleep each night to let their body and brain restore and repair from the day's stressors. The quality of your sleep matters as well, making sure that you fall asleep within about 20 minutes while not waking up several times throughout the night. Sure, you can recover from a bit of sleep debt by sleeping in on the weekends, but Singh says oversleeping shouldn't be a habit. In other words, it's better to keep a consistent sleep pattern.

"The biochemical basis is that this impairs insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance which then disrupts glucose metabolism," he said. "It also alters leptin and ghrelin levels, which are linked to appetite and metabolism."

A 2024 article in Sleep analyzed the sleep hours of more than 60,000 middle-aged or older adults for about six years. Those who kept more consistent sleep schedules, meaning going to bed and waking up at about the same time every day, had a lower risk of death from all causes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. In particular, the most consistent sleepers had a 48% lower risk of dying from any cause compared to those who had more erratic sleeping schedules. Interestingly, the study found that sleep consistency was more important for longevity than hours of sleep.