How to live longer: Four things you should stop immediately to boost your life expectancy

Loose Women: Dr Hilary discusses how to live longer

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

A study of 6,200 men and women over eight years found that those who put a stop to lifestyle habits reduced the chance of death from all causes within that time frame by a resounding 80 percent.

The John Hopkins Medicine-led research found that simple adaptations can increase longevity. For example, the study found that if people stopped eating mainly processed foods, the chances of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer and diabetes would decrease rapidly.

Eating less processed meat, as well as foods that are high in fibre will aid longevity. Over the last 30 years, the shifts in dietary changes are seeing people consume more processed food.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends consuming no more than 2,300 mg (less than 2.4 g) of sodium each day – less for many seniors and other people with certain health conditions, like high blood pressure.

In a survey of more than 7,000 people, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found people consume an average of 3,300 mg of sodium per day. Most of the salt comes from restaurant and convenience foods, like baked goods, cured meats, and soup.

• Stop sitting still: A recent study, published in the Lancet, found that just 15 minutes of moderate exercise each day helped people live three extra years.

The results held true even for those with health problems like cardiovascular disease—and for overweight people who didn’t lose any pounds through their activity.

The study announced: “Individuals who were inactive had a 17 percent increased risk of mortality compared with individuals in the active group.”

• Stop cheating your night’s sleep:

The amount of sleep you get can impact your lifespan, and not just because a tired driver is at risk of a car accident.

In epidemiological studies, sleeping too little (fewer than the recommended average six hours) or substantially more (over nine hours) has been shown to put people at greater risk of death.

You can learn to fall asleep more quickly and take measures that can help, like keeping your bedroom dark and distraction-free and having the temperature on the cool side. Meditation exercises can set the stage for a good night’s sleep, and an inexpensive noise machine can help with relaxing sounds.

Quality of life is linked very closely to the amount of sleep you get. Good sleeping patterns can also fend off stress, depression and heart disease which all decrease life expectancy.

Stress and anxiety can take its toll on the body, mentally and physically.

By attempting to reduce stress, you can improve your health in the long run. A good way of doing this, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The research sheds light on the biological mechanisms through which social relationships impact health across the human life span. Yang Claire Yang, co-author of the study said: “Our findings suggest the early emergence and continuity of the physiological impacts of social relationships across the life course.

“They also suggest physiological vulnerabilities to social stress that may be specific to life course stages and relationship stressors. Disrupting physiological risk connections could directly arrest early progression toward chronic diseases and delay disease onset or lessen the disease burden in late life.”

The findings, therefore, provide a strong scientific basis for effective prevention and intervention that will lead to further improvement in life expectancy.

Overall, it is the small things we do that impact our happiness and longevity.

Whilst radical changes in lifestyle might be inspiring, they can also be too daunting-and therefore, short-lived. John Hopkins Medicine reveals that every-day lifestyle changes like improving sleep patterns are the key to longer life.

Consistency is more important than a short-term, larger change. Looking at what already works in your day-to-day routine can help you feel more motivated to make those smaller adaptations.

Source: Read Full Article