1. Get Married
A study showed the death rate for people who were unmarried was significantly higher compared to people who were married and living with their spouses.
2. Laugh out Loud
Laughter increases your immune system response, lowers blood sugar levels in diabetics, increases oxygen flow throughout your entire body and helps induce a state of relaxation promoting better sleep. Average blood flow typically increases 22 percent during and after bursts of laughter compared to a decrease in blood flow by 35 percent during mental stress.
3. Buy a Pet
Having a dog or cat in the house works wonders by reducing stress, lowering cholesterol and decreasing blood pressure, while increasing physical activity. Plus, sharing affection and companionship toward a pet may simply make people smile.
4. Quit Smoking
Based on data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adult male smokers lost approximately 13.2 years of their lives and female smokers lost 14.5 years of their lives because of smoking.
5. Exercise More
Exercise gives you the positive effects of increased endorphins and a reduced waistline. It makes your heart stronger by pumping more blood with less effort, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, prevents and controls diabetes, strengthens bones and muscles and controls weight. A study showed that participants who had moderate to high exercise routines lived 1.3 to 3.7 years longer than their couch potato counterparts.
6. Give Your Brain a Workout
Playing chess, reading newspapers, attending plays or finishing a crossword puzzle all have positive health results. According to one study, people who mentally exercised their brains had a reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment and a risk of Alzheimer's that was 2.6 times less than people who did not stimulate their mind.
7. Limit Sun Exposure
Wearing sunscreen, limiting your exposure to the sun during peak hours and wearing sunglasses are some ways to prevent skin damage and cancer.
8. Visit the Doctor Regularly
Seeing a doctor annually can significantly lengthen your life by catching ailments before they start or treating emerging ones. An annual exam should include a blood pressure check, cholesterol and sugar level screening, bone density test, and examination of the ears, nose, throat and reflexes.
9. Eat Fish
Eating up to two portions of fish on a weekly basis is beneficial. Eating fish could possibly cut the risk of death by heart disease by one-third. Omega-3's fatty acids are healthy. They keep blood from clotting, lower the amount of fats in the bloodstream and reduce the risk of obesity. Plus, they provide a lot of nutrients like selenium, antioxidants and protein.
10. Eat More Fruits and Veggies
According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, diets that contain substantial and varied amounts of fruits and vegetables may potentially prevent 20 percent or more cancer cases.
11. Share a Hug
Couples who had physical contact, such as a brief hug and ten minutes of hand holding, actually lowered their heart rates and blood pressure by 50 percent. Plus, in a previous study it was determined that hugging and hand-holding reduces the negative effects of stress.
12. Limit Alcohol
Too much alcohol will shorten your life, while moderate imbibing may actually lengthen it. Generally men who drink up to four drinks on a daily basis and women who drink up to two drinks per day reduce the risk of death from any cause by roughly 18 percent.
13. Get Your Zzzz's
Getting less than six hours of sleep each night could have negative health effects. Plus, having too little sleep increases your risk of diabetes. Sleeping reduces the levels of leptin, which is the hormone that signals us to stop eating. Experts recommend getting between six to nine hours of sleep each night for optimum health.
14. Stay Positive
Mayo Clinic research shows that people with a positive outlook typically live 19 percent longer than people who see the glass as half empty. Optimists are also less likely to suffer depression and helplessness than their pessimist counterparts.
15. Consume a Low-fat Diet
One of the benefits is cutting calories. Low fat diets help lower risk of heart disease as well.
16. Go to the Dentist
Gingivitis is a mild form of periodontal disease causes the gums to become red, swollen and bleed easily. When left untreated advanced conditions such as tooth loss, heart disease, respiratory disease and diabetes can develop from severe gum ailments.
17. Manage Stress
Whether you manage stress by getting a massage, meditating or working out, as long as you're doing something to curtail the anxiety you're headed towards a healthier life. Stressful situations such as births, deaths, divorce and employment concerns often slow down the blood flow to the heart, raise cholesterol levels, decrease your mental well-being and weaken the immune system.
18. Go Back to School
People with at least one year of college increased their lifespan by almost 1.6 years from 1990 to 2000, while the less educated remained flat.
19. Take Vitamins
A good multi-vitamin contains a full assortment of vitamins with minerals, amino acids, herbal extracts, and other specialty nutrients. The Journal of the American Medical Association recommended vitamins as a way to prevent heart disease, since their benefits were strong and significant.
20. Drink Tea
Your taste buds may enjoy green tea, but what you may not know is that it's good for your health too. In a recent study, Japanese adults who consumed the most green tea during an eleven year duration were less likely to die from cardiovascular disease or other causes (except cancer) compared to the less frequent tea-drinkers.
2 comments:
a pet reduces stress? have you met my dog? she adds to my stress level :)
I completely believe the being positive comment-i think it really does help!!
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