Habits For Life
Habits For Life is about feeling strong, sharp and full of energy, today and for decades to come, and about the everyday habits that make it happen. I write about what science says on aging, exercise, food, sleep and prevention, and how to make it work in a life that is already full.
I want you to finish every post with one thing you’d like to try the next morning. Small changes, repeated over the years, add up.
Why Habits For Life?
Health care is shifting from treating disease to preventing it, and more of the responsibility now sits with each of us. Medical science is moving faster than ever, but the advice that reaches most people is conflicting, full of hype, or too dense to use.
Most of us also know that more protein, better sleep and strength training a couple of times a week would do us good. The hard part is doing it week after week, when work, family and travel get in the way. That is the part I focus on.
What will you find here?
Longevity, explained plainly: what drives aging, what the research can already tell us, and which common beliefs don’t hold up.
Habits that hold: how behavior change works, and how to build healthy habits without going crazy.
The foundations: exercise, nutrition, sleep, mental health and the preventive check-ups worth doing, with practical steps for each.
Everyday choices: how to find your own balance with alcohol and other pleasures, based on the evidence.
Adventure: why exploring keeps us young, from alpine ultras to crawling into a mine.
How do I look at health?
Research first: I start from the studies and say clearly where the evidence is still thin.
Doing is the hard part: most of us struggle with doing far more than with knowing, so I care as much about how to change as about what to change.
Small steps: a habit that fits your worst week will carry you further than a perfect plan you drop after ten days.
The whole person: sleep, stress, friendships and time outdoors shape how we age, alongside exercise and food.
Health for everyone: good health guidance should be available to everyone, whatever their income.
Who writes Habits For Life?
I’m Malte Bedürftig, founder of 20 Years. I spent eight years at McKinsey before building a string of social ventures, including GoVolunteer, Germany’s largest volunteering platform. That work was recognized with Germany’s Federal Cross of Merit. I’m a Fellow of the Longevity Biotech Fellowship and a long-distance trail runner, from alpine ultras to 250K. I coach on endurance, mental resilience, and the habits that hold a demanding life together.
You can find me on LinkedIn.
Want help putting it into practice?
At 20 Years (20years.org), we turn this into coaching. 20 Years is a habit-based health coaching company that helps people stay healthy for longer, with lasting habits in exercise, nutrition, sleep, mental health, environment and preventive check-ups. Our advisors, a group of doctors and health experts, help us build and review the method.
The easiest way in is the Healthspan Booster: four weeks of small-group coaching on nutrition, movement and sleep, with a weekly 1:1 with your own coach.
Subscribe to get free, science-backed health guidance by email.
Build the habits you need to stay healthy for longer
