If you want to live long and prosper, Vulcan hand gestures aside, follow these ten tips and you could add decades to your life. Print these out and keep them handy.
Living longer with a higher quality of life is not only possible, but a reality for many people who are now living full and happy lives well into their eighties and nineties. Good genes are part of the equation, but there are things you can do to make it more likely you will be living the good life for many decades to come.
- Get plenty of sleep each and every night. Sometimes this is not possible, so the next best thing is to plan one night per week where you sleep in late and catch up. Some people, the exceptions to the rule, have a quirky metabolism and do not need the seven or eight hours per night that most of us require. Your body will dictate how much sleep you need and will punish you with aches, pains and infections if you don’t get enough sleep.
- Electrolyte balance and fluids are critical to good health. This means that you drink eight or more glasses of water or the equivalent in healthy fluids. So those three glasses full of gin or vodka don't count and may hurt you in other ways. Keep your salt intake to a reasonable minimum by eating fresh foods more often than prepared.
- Take a vitamin and mineral supplement or a selection of supplements every day. With the hectic life you lead, you cannot get the perfectly balanced diet without measuring and really focusing on ingesting a wide variety of foods. Some supplementation is needed for almost everyone.
- Get your annual flu shot and keep yourself cold free with thorough hand washing. Germs are everywhere and you have to make a concerted effort to avoid colds and diseases by keeping personal cleanliness habits a top priority. Steer clear of anyone you know is sick.
- Exercise regularly. This means at least three times per week for as long as possible. A full hour of exercise is optimal, but even thirty minutes will go far toward ramping up your metabolism for the day. Do a variety of things instead of the same routine over and over.
- Lift hand weights to build arm strength and stamina. You might be surprised that even a few short weeks of hand weight repetitions will give you results in the form of shaping and strengthening. A schedule for lifting should be every other day so that the muscles can recover from the exertion in 48 hour cycles.
- Enjoy sexual activity on a regular basis. Even if you don’t currently have a sexual relationship, self-stimulation is a great way to stimulate endorphins and other chemicals that can help you reach a sense of happiness. Tension release through massage or yoga works wonders for some people.
- Keep your mind active, learning and challenged. This means you do word puzzles or renew your plan to read the one hundred greatest classic books of all time. The more you use your mind, the more mind you will have to use.
- Express your feelings as freely as possible. People who bottle things up inside are at a much greater risk of heart attack and stroke as well as high blood pressure. If you need to get some therapy to learn ways of coping and dealing with your feelings, don’t hesitate to do so and the sooner you do, the better off you will be. The important thing is, don’t resort to drug or alcohol abuse to deal with your feelings or stress.
- Be happy. Do whatever it is to make you feel happy, accomplished and free of stress. Some people need to be around others and some prefer to be alone. Indulge regularly in a favorite creative pastime like painting, crocheting or writing to keep you mentally strong.
So give these techniques a try and make them stick. The quality of your life is one of the most important things you can work to improve. Your children and their children will thank you for it.
The copyright of the article The Top Ten Ways to Prolong Your Life in Mind/Body Fitness is owned by Therese Haberman. Permission to republish The Top Ten Ways to Prolong Your Life in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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