Editor's note: You can't beat Father Time, but you can slow him down...

Planning for retirement normally involves building a nest egg and investing in assets that will provide lasting wealth. But retirement isn't all about money... It's important to make sure your physical well-being is as secure as your financial situation.

That's why Retirement Millionaire editor Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig believes it's critical to keep yourself active as you age...

In today's Masters Series, adapted from a Retirement Millionaire special report, Doc shares his best methods for delaying the aging process... details the science behind why these tactics are so effective... and explains how to implement them in your life so you can enjoy your retirement...

The Top Five Ways to Slow Aging

By Dr. David Eifrig, editor, Retirement Millionaire

What if humans could match the lifespan of Ming, the world's longest-living animal?

Ming was an ocean quahog – a type of clam – who holds the current record at 507 years old.

That's more than seven times longer than the average 71-year life expectancy of humans.

And take the American lobster. It's more similar to humans than a mollusk... but it belongs to a group of organisms that is considered "biologically immortal."

As long as a lobster doesn't fall victim to a predator or outside injury, its cells don't seem to deteriorate with age.

Humans aren't that lucky. According to recent research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, human life expectancy isn't rising anymore. In fact, in some countries – mostly those with lower life-expectancy rates to begin with – folks are expected to have shorter lives than before.

So how does a lobster live so long while humans can't?

Lobsters have a certain enzyme in all of their organs that helps lengthen the protective caps at the end of their DNA.

Those caps, called telomeres, may be the key to extending human lives...

Human DNA is also protected by telomeres, which play an important role when your cells divide to make new cells. But these caps wear down each time your cells divide, so they disappear as you age.

Think of telomeres as those plastic tips on shoelaces that prevent the laces from unraveling. With each cycle, a little bit of telomere DNA gets lost, but the important coding DNA is still protected.

Shorter telomeres are associated with dead and dying cells. Short telomeres also suggest a person is susceptible to age-related diseases and even early mortality.

Many stressors shorten telomeres, including inflammation, psychological stress, and insufficient sleep. But there are ways to protect and even lengthen your telomeres.

That's why today, I'm sharing my top five ways to slow the aging process so you can live a longer, healthier life...

No. 1 – Get Moving

I learned in medical school, "If you can move, you're alive."

It has stuck with me since. It's one reason I recommend movement as one of the most powerful ways to improve your health.

We all know that exercise is crucial for taking care of your health. Everything from burning calories to strengthening muscles and elevating positive moods comes from simple exercise.

You don't need intensive, difficult, or time-consuming exercise to reap the incredible health benefits movement offers... Exercise reduces stress, releases endorphins, improves brain function, improves cardiovascular health, and even lengthens your telomeres.

Often, people ask me what the best exercises are – especially when they're just starting out. Here are my top three exercises that just about anyone can do...

1. Walking. Walking is great exercise. It's easier on your joints than jogging or running but still provides many of the same benefits.

We know that walking after a meal helps fight spikes in blood sugar, known as postprandial hyperglycemia. And researchers have recently found that walking after a meal helps prevent developing diabetes, too.

Exercise directly lowers your blood sugar by bypassing insulin... When you work your muscles, they contract and allow your muscle cells to absorb glucose without the help of insulin. Once they have the glucose, muscle cells break it down to use it for energy.

Do what I do and go for a walk after your meal. To get the most benefit, follow the 20-20 rule – wait for 20 minutes after eating and then walk for 20 minutes. You'll be surprised by how energized you feel.

2. Yoga. People have practiced its many forms for centuries. It has three main benefits for a long and healthy life.

First, yoga reduces stress...

Stress takes a big toll on cells, especially on the telomeres. Stress makes telomeres shrink faster than normal, which leads to a host of age-related diseases. As it turns out, yoga is a great way to protect your telomeres.

Yoga also protects your heart...

Studies have shown that yoga reduces blood pressure and heart rate just as much as aerobic exercise. And another study showed that yoga cuts your risk for atrial fibrillation. This condition is an irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots in the heart, and strokes.

And yoga strengthens the brain...

As we age, our brains lose gray matter – where the clusters of nerve cells live. It's responsible for much of our brain's functions, including muscle control, memory, vision, hearing, emotions, and decision-making.

Research published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience showed that the more hours a week someone did yoga, the greater the amount of gray matter in their brains.

Do what I do: Search for local yoga classes right here, and don't forget to check your local gyms and senior centers as well.

3. High-intensity interval training ("HIIT"). Just like the name suggests, HIIT is a workout strategy where you mix short, intense bursts of effort with longer recovery periods. It's intense, but it's considered safe for anyone, even older folks and people just getting started with regular exercise.

Studies show HIIT is more efficient than regular aerobic exercise. It improves your body's ability to burn fat and calories. A 12- to 15-minute HIIT workout is equivalent to an hour of steady aerobic exercise.

HIIT provides many great health benefits. It can:

• Improve cardiovascular health (including lowering blood pressure),

• Build muscle tissue,

• Increase metabolism (which helps generate body heat),

• Increase gastrointestinal transit speed (which reduces colon cancer risk),

• Ease arthritis,

• Improve bone mineral density, and

• Reduce lower back pain.

Whatever type of exercise you do, just get up and get moving.

No. 2 – Stop Stressing

Many people dismiss anxiety as a typical sign of aging...

You've probably done it. Think about the last time you visited your parents or another loved one in a senior-living community. Did you notice changes in appetite, poor sleep, or trouble concentrating? Did they hoard food or avoid participating in any social activities?

It turns out, these are all markers for generalized anxiety disorder ("GAD") – the most common of all anxiety disorders. And people 65 and older are more likely to suffer from it, often without help.

One reason for concern with anxiety in older folks is the connection to Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's is a form of dementia that slowly erases your short-term memory, and eventually wipes out the memories of family, friends, and even how to perform day-to-day tasks like bathing or eating.

It happens when your brain cells start to function improperly.

As we know, stress causes a host of diseases as it lowers your immune system and ramps up inflammation – one of the major causes of shortening telomeres. And the sooner you start to take care of your mental health, the better.

One of my favorite ways to alleviate stress is through meditation.

Meditation triggers the "relaxation response," which helps our bodies naturally let go of anxiety and stress.

As it turns out, if you still can't get enough quality sleep, meditating during the day can take the edge off. It will also help you sleep deeper and better with practice.

A pair of studies out of Oregon State University in 2019 found that hardworking folks who practice mindfulness exercises like meditation had lower levels of exhaustion...

Although both were small studies, they focused specifically on entrepreneurs who worked at least 50 hours a week and slept for less than six hours a night. Researchers found that those folks who also made time for meditation reported less exhaustion.

So although meditation can't replace sleep entirely, it's an excellent way to restore your energy when you're exhausted. It's like a natural energy boost.

How exactly does meditation help us feel more well-rested?

It comes down to brainwaves...

Brainwaves are a measure of the activity in our brains. Different areas of the brain will work and produce different brainwave frequencies. We experience five types of these frequencies as different brainwaves.

Gamma waves are the fastest. They happen when we're intensely focused and concentrating on something.

Beta waves are our "typical" brainwaves, as they relate to alertness and cognitive thinking. Some theorize that an imbalance of beta waves contributes to depression and anxiety.

Alpha waves occur when our brains are idle. (That's rare these days, surrounded by the stimulus of our phones, TVs, and other devices.) It's complete relaxation. When we meditate, we increase our alpha waves. That means on a brain scan, you can actually see the changes in the meditating brain's activity.

Some folks who practice for a long time can even produce theta waves. These also occur during drowsiness and sleep.

Meditation can't produce delta waves, as these only happen during your deep (non-dreaming) sleep. This deep sleep is important because it's when the body restores itself. But many folks rarely sleep long enough – or well enough – to get much deep sleep.

Here's the thing... Regular meditation rebalances your brainwaves. And doing that can help your brain boost those delta waves during sleep. That's why some studies have found meditators sleep deeper and better than non-meditators. They can get those delta waves far more easily than non-meditators.

Adding a meditation practice to your routine won't just give you an energy boost during the day... It will also train your brain to sleep deeper and better throughout the night.

No. 3 – Sleep Better

More than a third of us in the U.S. are walking around like zombies...

The problem: a lack of sleep.

For millions of Americans, chronic sleep deprivation is a way of life. But it has serious consequences, including impaired memory, alertness, and concentration. We're also learning that insomnia is a likely culprit behind Alzheimer's.

That's why sleep – deep, quality sleep – is so crucial for our health.

And the key to avoiding chronic sleep deprivation is setting yourself up for a good night's sleep by practicing good sleep "hygiene"...

Sleep hygiene is a set of behaviors that affects the quality of your sleep. We've put together our top seven ways to improve your sleep hygiene. Start trying some tonight and you'll be amazed at how much better you feel tomorrow.

1. Cut back on the caffeine. It might seem like the most obvious factor on our list, but caffeine will keep you energized – and make it harder to sleep – for up to six hours after consumption. In fact, your body will retain traces of caffeine molecules for up to 14 hours (although they won't be enough to keep you awake). Do what I do and stop drinking any caffeinated beverages after 2 p.m.

2. Make the bedroom a place for rest. This might seem obvious as well, but it's harder to do than you might think. Keep your bedroom a sanctuary – a place for sleep and sex. Don't read or eat in bed, since your brain will associate the bedroom with non-sleep activities – making it harder to sleep at night. Likewise, keep tension and arguments out of the bedroom.

3. Remove electronics. Blue light is just one color of light that electronics like laptops, tablets, and smartphones emit. But it's the one that's the most disruptive to our circadian rhythm. Think of the circadian rhythm as a clock that signals our bodies the optimal time to do things, like falling asleep and waking up. Blue light also stops the release of melatonin – the hormone that makes you sleepy.

So do what I do and shut off your electronics an hour before bed.

4. Darken the room. Limiting your exposure to outside light helps your body adjust to its natural circadian rhythm. Too much light prevents your body from producing enough melatonin. Light from outside – say, the sun or streetlights – can disrupt your sleep. Even ambient light from other rooms in your house can keep you awake. To block out light, consider room-darkening blinds or shades, or use an eye mask.

5. Keep your room cool. The optimal sleep temperature is about 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Your body's temperature changes during the day and dips lower at night, triggering sleepiness. Keeping your room cool helps ease your body into sleep.

6. Schedule your sleep. Our last two hygiene tips have to do with changing your schedule. It might sound simple, but maintaining a time when you must be in bed every night helps your body know when to start getting sleepy.

7. Don't eat right before bed. Eating close to bedtime causes weight gain and disrupts your sleep cycle. Digestive sugar spikes and the production of stomach acid can also wake you from your sleep. And although it acts as a depressant at first, alcohol causes bouts of wakefulness as your body metabolizes it. It's a good rule to stop eating about two hours before bed. A simple change in your routine like this will improve the quality of your sleep right away.

If you're one of the millions of Americans who have trouble sleeping, try these seven tips to improve your sleep hygiene.

No. 4 – Fight Inflammation

More and more research shows one of the greatest risks to our hearts is inflammation.

Inflammation occurs when plaque accumulates in your arteries, and your body sends cells to the area to neutralize the threat. This cell deployment can inadvertently cause some of the disrupted plaque deposits to build up in nearby areas and create a blood clot, which effectively cuts off blood flow to the heart.

So, if we target our issues with inflammation, we can significantly improve the health of our hearts.

Here are some of the best ways to reduce inflammation in your body...

1. Eat real food – Avoid processed foods like the plague, especially those with high-fructose corn syrup and trans fats. These types of foods allow free radicals (unstable atoms that swap and steal electrons from stable atoms, and cause cells to break down) to damage your blood vessels over time.

Swap out the junk for nutritious choices that will fuel your body in healthy ways. Foods that reduce inflammation include berries, fatty fish, broccoli, avocados, green tea, peppers, mushrooms, grapes, turmeric, extra-virgin olive oil, dark chocolate and cocoa, tomatoes, and cherries.

2. Get regular exercise – When we exercise, our bodies release nitric oxide, which keeps our arteries relaxed. Aim to get at least 20 to 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day.

3. Slim down your waistline – The fat cells that get stored around your abdomen – also known as visceral fat – include chemicals that cause inflammation and blood clots.

Slim down your waistline with a healthy diet and regular exercise. Avoid simple carbohydrates and sugar, which are known to contribute to visceral fat.

4. Regulate your emotions – Over time, prolonged stress (in the form of anxiety, depression, anger, aggression, negativity, or fear) can cause inflammation. A 2018 study found that negative emotion was associated with the presence of inflammatory cytokines in the blood samples of 220 adults who were tested over a two-week period.

Make your daily stress-relieving practices a priority. I enjoy using yoga (and other forms of exercise), short periods of mindful meditation, and music to help boost my mood and relieve stress.

So get started today... Reduce inflammation and protect your heart.

No. 5 – Start Fasting

It's one of the most ancient healing traditions in human history.

It has been practiced by almost every culture and religion on Earth...

For thousands of years, humans have fasted. Our ancestors' nomadic lifestyle of hunting and gathering meant that they sometimes went days without food. But over the centuries, people started fasting on their own.

Fasting means not eating anything for a set period of time. During a fast, some folks drink water, tea, coffee, or broth.

Short fasts can be for a few hours... In fact, most of us fast every night for many hours while we sleep, before "breaking the fast" with our morning meal. Longer fasts go on for days or, in some laboratory conditions, even months.

Fasting gives our organs a rest. Instead of digesting food, they process and eliminate toxic wastes from the body.

When we eat, we take in food and break it into usable energy in the form of glucose. Once that glucose gets into our bloodstream, it travels to our cells and keeps them running. The transfer from blood to cells is facilitated by the hormone insulin.

If you have too much glucose floating around, insulin enables your body to store the excess. It goes to the liver and muscles, where it's first stored as glycogen. If your liver is too full to make any more glycogen, your body turns the excess glucose into body fat.

If we take in too many calories or keep eating repeatedly, our insulin levels stay elevated. On the other hand, when we fast, our body reverses the process. Of course, it still needs energy to keep running. And it regenerates that energy easily by breaking down the stored glycogen. Once glycogen reserves get low, the liver starts breaking down fat.

In several studies from the University of Manchester in the U.K., calorie-restricted diets and fasting both showed similar results in weight loss and fat loss. However, only the fasting group showed insulin levels lowering continuously over the six-month study.

These studies also indicated that fasting provides better insulin-sensitivity improvement and more long-term benefits.

It seems like a simple thing... Fasting helps you lose weight in the long term as well as control insulin levels, improve insulin sensitivity, and protect your heart.

If you decide to try fasting, though, make sure you stay hydrated. Some of the symptoms people typically attribute to missing a meal (like dizziness or hunger pangs) are usually just signs of dehydration. Water, tea, and coffee are all good choices for a fast.

I always say that without your health, your wealth is meaningless.

As a former Wall Street trader and eye surgeon, I can tell you that while I love investing and growing wealth, it's more important to maintain good health. After all, you can't enjoy your retirement savings if you're struggling with health problems.

While there's no "Fountain of Youth" to keep you young forever, there are steps you can take to help you stay healthier for longer... Get moving, stop stressing, sleep better, fight inflammation, and start fasting – and fully enjoy your retirement.

Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,

Dr. David Eifrig

Editor's note: Doc recently launched a research service that's unlike anything else that exists in the world today...

In it, he shows you how to profit from every aspect of the future of health care... from breakthrough drugs... to remote health... to personalized medicine... to technologies like wearables.

During his presentation on this new research service, he explained the major risk to folks' retirements... how it could lead to 1,000% gains for those who act now... and why, if you're over the age of 40, the stakes could literally be life or death. If you missed it, catch up on all the details here.