You don’t have to grow old gracefully if you don’t want to! Here are ten more choices you can make that can help increase your life expectancy.
- Skip a meal — if it works for rats, it could work for people too. A study found that rats fed 30% less than normal lived 30% longer than normal. Studies done in humans showed that a leaner eater had a heart that looked 10-15 years younger than a regular eater.
- Manage stress. Stress releases hormones into the bloodstream that can raise your blood pressure and lower the effectiveness of your immune system. Chronic stress (high stress levels over a long period of time) can slow wound healing and mess with your memory. Deep breathing for just two minutes can help you lower stress levels quickly.
- Add a four-legged family member. Owning a pet can reduce the number of doctor visits you make, ward off depression, and more. Pet ownership helps protect against high blood pressure and relieve stress.
- Add fatty fish to your diet — they’re full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s can help prevent sudden heart attack, fight off depression, stave off Alzheimer’s disease, and more.
- Listen to the music. Studies from the University of California in Irvine found that singing could increase levels of infection-fighting antibodies.
- Don’t blast your ears out. Exposure to noise damages the tiny, delicate hairs inside your ears. Wear earplugs to protect your hearing.
- Swap coffee for tea. Green and even black tea can help fight prostate cancer, breast cancer, and heart disease.
- Increase your vitamin D intake. Vitamin D helps your body build strong bones!
- Add curcumin to your diet. This antioxidant is what gives curry its yellow color. Don’t like curry? Get your curcumin in capsule form at your local health store or pharmacy.
- Give blood. Not only are you doing something good for someone else, studies are showing that regularly giving blood can help lower your risk of heart disease.
- Get enough sleep.