5 Tips for Living a Long and Healthy Life

As science continues to advance in the world of healthcare people are starting to live longer at a higher quality of life although this is an amazing feat for science and society we're going to take a step back from the world of technology and pharmaceuticals to take a deeper dive into what changes the average person can implement today to live a longer and healthier life all into our five tips to live a long and healthy life first we're going to take a look at hydration an estimated 75 of americans suffer from chronic dehydration so i think it might be time for you to re-evaluate your personal levels of water consumption according to a research paper from harvard university experts recommend that everyone should be drinking between 11 and 16 cups of water a day drinking enough water each day is vital for an abundance of reasons it helps keep your joints lubricated delivers essential nutrients to cells all over your body keeps organs operating efficiently prevents infections and helps regulate body temperature that's why a cold glass of water on a hot day feels like heaven you could also see additional benefits such as improved sleep quality cognition and mood next we're going to take a look at nutrition and supplements well we all know to eat our greens and that mcdonald's isn't the best food for us but there's so much more to optimal nutrition than just eating right the vast majority of us assume that the same healthy food choices are applicable for everybody and for the most part it is true but everyone should take a customized approach a simple blood test can tell you about your current baselines for nutrients within your body and where changes can be made the average american diet finds a number of essential nutrients to be lacking these areas include calcium potassium magnesium and vitamins a c and d let's take vitamin d as an example it is arguably one of the most important nutrients necessary for health according to a 2011 study one billion people worldwide and 41.6 of americans are vitamin d deficient if you are lacking the vitamin you could very well be lacking the benefits as well vitamin d helps your body fight disease resulting in a reduced risk of multiple sclerosis heart disease and the likelihood of developing the flu it has also been found to have an impact on mood regulation and potentially improving the symptoms of depression this is just an example from one nutrient in the body there are so many more that can affect the way your body operates you can add these nutrients into your diet by eating the right foods with a high concentration of the nutrient or look to take supplements that you can find in the drugstore before deciding if you want to take any supplements or making drastic changes please consult a doctor as i am not one just like the previous two points on this list a large percentage of adults also lack sleep according to the cdc one in three adults don't sleep enough the recommendation is that everyone should be getting between seven to nine hours of sleep a night having a consistent lack of sleep could lead to potentially the most drastic changes in health versus any other tip a lack of sleep contributes to a wide array of health complications and includes obesity diabetes high blood pressure heart disease and mental distress we've all had a bad night of sleep before and i'm sure you remember how miserable and difficult it was to operate throughout the day versus one where you get a good night's sleep the culminating effect of these long nights and lost hours is referred to as sleep death a term that neuroscientist matthew

walker often refers to when sleep debt is incurred it is extremely difficult to make back for every hour of sleep lost it can take up to 4 days to fully recover from its effects when you have night after night of bad sleep your sleep debt works up a tap where it continues to accumulate and gets away from you dr walker believes that this conundrum can shave years off of your life the best way to prepare for a good night's sleep is to put away screens two hours before bed and develop a routine that helps you relax unwinding and disconnecting from your daily activities is important for getting high quality sleep feel free to experiment and find out what works best for you before bed tip number four is to get exercise and stay active we broke this segment down into two sections and first we're going to talk about cardiovascular exercise a lot of people have a misconception that cardio is limited to activities similar to running and cycling when in fact almost any kind of movement can be classified as cardio that means activities such as walking playing sports dancing and even jumping up and down on a trampoline count what these activities all have in common is that they trigger your body to take in more oxygen to maintain energy levels which in turn increases your heart rate among several other reactions within the body getting your heart rate up is essential for strengthening your heart and overall health according to the cdc one in four deaths is caused by heart disease which is why maintaining the health of your heart should be a priority for everybody on top of that it can improve your memory protect your brain against the decline that comes with aging and it also triggers the release of endorphins within your body endorphins are a natural hormone produced within your nervous system they are often referred to as the happy hormone because it is known to make people happier it naturally lifts your mood and is the hormone behind the phenomena of the runner's heart the next segment we're going to look at in exercise is  resistance training when it comes to resistance training it turns out that there's more than meets the eye that is not just for building strength and looking fit or muscular a study done by wayne l wescott states that it may help prevent and manage certain diseases such as type 2 diabetes by reducing visceral fat and improving insulin sensitivity it also offers many of the same benefits that cardio offers as well his research also proposes that it can increase bone density and help reduce pain associated with back problems arthritis and fibromyalgia on top of all that it can also reverse other skeletal muscular problems associated with aging the us department of health and human services state that you should do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a week to stay healthy the last tip on our list is the importance of personal relationships a review of 148 studies regarding social interactions found that people with strong and developed social circles are 50 percent less likely to die prematurely and interestingly enough it has been found that those who have committed to a life partner on average live three years longer than those who don't when you have people in your life that you can discuss problems with you don't have to internalize the stress the science states that even just thinking about the people that you care about after going through a stressful event or task can lead to quicker recovery from the symptoms of stress as well in turn this keeps stress levels lower over time and reduces its long-term impact on your health on the flip side loneliness is often a significant predictor of poor health for a long time it has been commonly associated with depression and is now even being reported to have an impact on pain tolerance and immune system disregarding what a lot of people overlook is the preparation and changes influenced by being social being around people can promote several changes to your health such as personal hygiene unintentional peer pressure is another influence when it comes to other health habits such as exercise dietary choices and certain activities that can have both a positive or a negative impact on your health there are so many different factors that come into play when it comes to determining what a healthy life looks like for you the items on this list and the research that the scientists did on these topics are just a few of the most popular health choices of today well.