Looking to live forever or at least until 100?
Life span seems to keep extending, but there are definitely ways to increase your odds of living a longer life.
Here are five simple ways to have a long and healthy life.
1. Get Moving!
Consistently exercising cannot only help you look good and lose weight, but it can actually slow down the physical progression of aging.
It also takes a lot less effort than you might think. Although high-intensity workouts are more beneficial, just simply going for a thirty-minute walk three times per week has been found to drastically decrease physical aging by up to 10 years! Any additional exercises can help even more.
If working out isn’t your favorite activity, shoot for a short half an hour walk three times per week with family, friends, or your favorite pet to boost your spirits and increase life span. Grabbing a friend will increase your motivation and make the walk more enjoyable.
2. Challenge Your Mind
A mental decline can be common as we age. However, new research has shown that keeping your mind active in adulthood can decrease your chances of developing degenerative diseases such as dementia or Alzheimer’s later on in life.
Continued education, whether that be attending graduate school, learning a foreign language, or reading challenging books and scholarly articles has been found to be the most beneficial way to keep your mind alert and sharp in old age.
If your brain leans more towards the creative side, not to worry, games like Sudoku, doing crossword puzzles, and playing bridge have been shown to slow mental aging. Just remember to keep your brain active and to challenge yourself mentally on a daily basis. So, put down the remote and open a book.
3. Give a Helping Hand
Research has shown that consistently helping others, even for just a few minutes per day, has been linked to higher levels of happiness and self-esteem. The last decade of research has also shown it to be beneficial physically and mentally in the long run.
Those who make a habit of helping others report having better physical and mental health than those who don’t. This phenomenon becomes even more apparent in older adults with those who make a habit of volunteering.
So pick a charity or organization of your liking and get involved! Helping others will feel great and also help you stay young.
4. Be Optimistic
Seeing the glass as half full, rather than half empty, can not only increase overall happiness but has been linked to increased life span.
What it comes down to is stress. Both mental and physical stress is very taxing on the body and can have profound negative health effects.
While the body can easily bounce back from short-term stress, continuous long-term stress can have adverse effects on mental health, immune system function, and cardiovascular health, which can lead to not only a lower quality of life but a shorter one as well.
One of the best ways to combat stress? Being optimistic and having a positive outlook on life. Those that do often are able to better deal with stress and have less stress-related health problems.
5. Eat Nutrient Dense Foods
We’ve all heard it’s important to eat our fruits and vegetables to keep our bodies healthy, but doing so can also increase life span.
Consuming nutrient dense foods such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and superfoods such as maqui berries, acai and maca provide the body with high amounts of vital nutrients essential for a healthy body and mind.
Those who consume these foods regularly tend to not only live longer but can have a higher quality of life later on than those who skip out on these healthy foods. Plus nutrient dense foods make you feel great which will allow you to enjoy your long life even more.
While we may not know the secret to living forever just yet, we do know that it is possible to increase your chances of having a long and fulfilling life. Taking the right steps now to ensure a long life seems like an easy decision.
It ends up being the simple things like taking a walk with friends a few times per week, completing your favorite crossword puzzle, giving to others, and enjoying a fruity smoothie or Acai Maqui Bowl that make a big difference in our health and life span.
Original article and pictures take www.lifeadvancer.com site
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