The keys to achieving longevity and peak performance

“Aging is a fact of life,” Steven Kotler told The Post — but “old is all a mindset.”

The 55-year-old author looks at ways to improve longevity and maintain peak performance in his new book “Gnar Country: Growing Old Staying Rad.”

“You got to shift your mindset, that’s where you want to go first,” Kotler — who has been studying human performance for 30 years — told The Post.

“Ageism is the most socially acceptable stereotype in the world,” he said. “It has radical consequences.”

Here he shares his top tips for defying your age.

Maintain your physical health — in various ways

Kotler identifies five categories of functional fitness that need to be trained and maintained: strength, stamina, agility, balance and flexibility.

“These are all use it or lose it skills, if we want to retain our physical abilities late in life,’” he said.

You can hit the gym, he said, but better yet, opt for activities such as badminton, soccer and tennis that challenge you in myriad ways. They “tend to be one stop shops [because] they’re challenging, creative, and a lot of it’s a dynamic activity.”

Another big tip: Work out those quads, calves and hammies.

“Leg strength is the single best predictor of cognitive health and physical health over time,” Kotler said, referencing a study published in Risk Management and Healthcare Safety in 2020 that hypothesized this was due to thigh mass reflecting body muscle mass and peripheral subcutaneous fat. “So thigh muscle mass directly inversely correlates with mortality,” he said.

Increase your risk tolerance

According to Kotler, being overly cautious and not taking risks can negatively impact the way we age. To combat this, he suggests building up “risk tolerances.”

He took up park skiing — doing tricky maneuvers on rough terrain — just a couple years ago to stay sharp. It’s hardly what most people think of as an appropriate hobby to start after 50, but it was actually a healthy move.

“[Training] up our risk tolerances is really important, as risk aversion increases over time and if we don’t train around it, it has really bad sort of effects around aging,” he said. “Do something every day that scares you.”

But, you can and should be cautious in how you approach risk. “Build up slowly.”

Be social

“There is 40 years of science that says maintaining social connection into later years is one of the single most important things you can do,” Kotler said.

Whether you’re playing on a sports team or meeting friends for coffee or cards, having a robust social network is beneficial in the long term in helping achieve peak performance.

“As a general rule, longevity tends to very associated with less depression and loneliness, better resilience and coping,” the bestselling author explained. “[As well as] decreased risk of cognitive decline and more access to resources — which is really important.”

Kotler noted that strong social ties to protecting the brain.

“They stave off cognitive decline and increases neurogenesis — the birth of new neurons,” he said.

Kotler also referenced a study published in 2002 that found an individual could gain an extra 7.5 years of life through thinking positively about aging.

“Those with more positive self-perceptions of aging in 1975 reported better functional health from 1977 to 1995,” the study published by Oxford Academic read. “Our study suggests that the way in which individuals view their own aging affects their functional health.”

Staying creative

Keeping things exciting and keeping your mind stimulated is also key, according to Kotler.

“I always tell people [that] creativity is always about just making interesting choices and you can practice it all day long,” the human performance expert shared.

Kotler said action sports and writing are his creative outlets, but others might find creativity in cooking at home or painting.

“Creative thinking unlocks ‘developmental intelligence,’” he said. It can also help us get into the state of optimal performance known as “flow.”

“Creativity, or more specifically the pattern recognition beneath creativity, also works as a flow trigger,” he added.

Setting challenges

Goal setting isn’t just for the young — it’s vital to have aspirations in every stage of life.

“Challenging activities are so important over time, and understanding how motivation works and goals work in the brain is really important,” Kotler said.

Starting off small and working your way to bigger and larger commitments is key. Maybe you want to complete a triathlon or have your own art show, but first you have to tackle smaller goals such as completing a 5k, swimming laps three times a week of painting daily.

Positive thinking

It may seem obvious, but happy thoughts are a surefire way to keep youthful.

“Notice that life is constantly changing, and that’s okay,” Kotler said.

He noted a study about aging conducted by Yale professor Becca Levy that proved there was a significant correlation in how people thought about aging and viewed themselves when exposed to negative stereotypes.

“This could be people saying, ‘you’re too old for this s–t,’ or you telling yourself ‘you’re too old for this s–t,” he explained. “By the time they were 60, we see a 30% greater memory decline in people who have been exposed to negative stereotypes around aging. Literally, we’re killing each other with these ideas.”

Actively combatting such negativity is most important.

“A positive mindset towards aging, is, ‘[I’m] really excited about the second half of my life and I think the best my best days are ahead of me,’” he said.