If you want to do everything you can to add years to your life, eating healthfully isn't enough. You also need to exercise vigorously and frequently to keep your heart and muscles fit. Outlook matters too—happier people live a whole lot longer. And don't forget good lifestyle habits—stress is a killer, while companionship and sex are saviors.
And there's more: A healthy diet and daily exercise take you only so far. If you're stressed out, lonely, and unhappy, you're not going to reap the benefits. The good news is that the lifestyle choices that will make you happy and fulfilled are the same ones that will also keep you on the planet as long as possible. Here are some tips to save and extend your life:
Exercise every day. On the sit-com Friends, not only did Chandler never exercise—he was too lazy even to cancel his gym membership. "They make you go all the way down there," he lamented. Nevertheless, exercise remains the ne plus ultra of anti-aging interventions, the original and still the best. No matter what other factors come up, and there are many, the fact remains that there's no better proven predictor of longevity than regular exercise. Exercise improves every aspect of health imaginable, from warding off cancer and heart disease to boosting mood to strengthening bones. The cause and effect is Newtonian in its directness. This means not only doing cardio but also resistance training with weights. A stroll in the park is better than nothing, but even better is 40 to 60 minutes of vigorous cardiovascular activity four times a week, plus at least twenty minutes of resistance training three times a week.
Avoid stress. Stress isn't all in your mind. Chronic stress takes a physical toll on your body, releasing cancer-causing free radicals and literally shriveling telomeres, the tips of the bundles of genes inside cells. The more stress you have, the higher the rate of cell death, which means more wrinkles, weaker muscles, a more rapidly deteriorating body, and a shortened lifespan. Just feeling stressed—regardless of your circumstances—is enough to send cellular aging into the fast lane. People who are highly stressed are at greater risk of chronic diseases and more likely to have a heart attack by the age of 55. And anger, which often occurs in stressed people, correlates with high blood pressure. So try to reduce stress in your life, and learn to manage the stress you can't avoid, shedding it rather than internalizing it.
Have regular sex. Sex confers health benefits for men and women alike. A Queens University study showed that among middle-aged men, the ones who had orgasms most often died at half the rate of other men. Having sex three times a week or more cuts the risk of heart attack or stroke in half. Sex burns calories, improves muscle tone, reduces your risk of depression, reduces pain, boosts your immune system, and improves bladder control. Semen even retards tooth decay. Ejaculating often reduces a man's risk of prostate cancer. On top of that, having intimate sex tends to make you less stressed, happier, and better rested, all of which lower blood pressure and prevent stroke and heart disease.
Find and keep a romantic companion. Loneliness is a killer. Bachelors between 19 and 44 were more than twice as likely to die than married men of the same age, even though single men actually drink less and exercise more. It's the social isolation that takes years off your life. Men who never marry are at much higher risk than those who marry and then divorce. And men and women both lower their risk of stroke when they get married. Married men may take fewer risks than unmarried ones; married women, meanwhile, may benefit from improved financial well-being, researchers concluded.
Get regular adequate sleep, but not too much. Sleep deprivation causes memory lapses, depression, and lowered immunity. Getting regular, adequate sleep is crucial to staying healthy and living a long time: People who sleep less than four hours a night are most likely to die prematurely. But don't go overboard. Sleeping too much—more than eight hours a night—increases death rates. People who sleep between six and seven hours a night live the longest.
For women: take the birth control pill. The health benefits of the birth control pill outweigh its risks. Some studies have suggested that the pill increases risk of breast cancer, while others suggest it has no such effect. What is well established, though, is that the pill protects against ovarian cancer, reducing the risk by as much as 50 percent—and protecting a woman more and more the longer she takes it. Other studies suggest that the pill can reduce the risk of colorectal cancers.
Be optimistic. Optimistic people decrease their risk of premature death by 50 percent compared with pessimistic people. Part of the reason may be that pessimistic people develop more health problems, and are more likely to be stressed or depressed. It's also possible that optimism actually boosts your immune system. Optimists may also be better equipped to deal with adversity, and have lower blood pressure. Positive people are also less stressed in general, may be more likely to seek medical help, and are less likely to be depressed.
Tags:
cardiovascular activity,
cause and effect,
cell death,
chronic stress,
companionship,
directness,
gym membership,
healthy diet,
interventions,
lifestyle choices,
twenty minutes,
whole lot,
wrinkles
