You can increase your life expectancy by making these small changes in your lifestyle.
Healthy lifestyle choices can increase your life expectancy
Life expectancy refers to the number of years a person is expected to live. There are a lot of factors that influence our life expectancy. Our genetics, where we live, what we eat, and how often we workout, are all determinants of our life expectancy. Although, genetics and their effects cannot be altered. There are other factors that we can alter to expand our life expectancy. We must take the necessary steps toward living a long, healthy, and happy life. Here are some small lifestyle changes you can make to increase your life expectancy:
Eat fresh
Our food acts as fuel for our bodies. If we don't feed ourselves the right food regularly, it may severely impact all functions and parts of our body. Living a fast-paced life might stop us from taking the necessary steps toward eating right. Hence, we often resort to pre-packed and ready-to-eat foods. These foods are stored for months and lose all their nutritional value over time. Eating home-cooked meals, fresh fruits and vegetables provide us with all the necessary nutrients we need in the body. If we consume a balanced diet daily, our bodies will continue to heal and function for longer. Here are some foods you can easily add to your diet to increase your life expectancy:
- Nuts and seeds with breakfast (can be eaten independently or added to cereals, oats, etc.)
- Grab a fruit every time you leave the house
- Everyday chop us at least 1 salad vegetable with every meal
- Eat at least one high-protein food once a day (poultry, lean meats, seafood, paneer, tofu, etc.)
Meditate
The key to a long life is a healthy mind and body. We often forget that good mental health is as important as good physical health. Meditation is a workout for our mind. Just 5 minutes of meditation before bed or right after waking up, can help you reset your mind and promote happy thoughts. Meditation helps ease any stress or tension we might be feeling. It helps boost our mood, productivity, and mental peace. You can also play some relaxing music in the background to help you focus and ease your mind.
Move when you can: Working out is very important to maintain a happy healthy body. Maintaining correct weight and working out regularly has proven to increase life expectancy exponentially. However, making time to workout can be difficult. As a solution, you can try squeezing in small physical activities during your day. Here are a few ways to do that:
- Skipping rope before the morning shower
- Upper body stretches while working
- Taking stairs instead of elevators
- Take strolls whenever you are on calls
- Walk to work
- Walk instead of driving while running errands
- Go on a 30 minutes walk post-dinner
Drink water
Consuming ample water replenishes and rejuvenates the body. Adequate water intake has proven to boost healing in the body's tissues. An average person must drink at least 2.7-3.7 litres of water daily. If your current water intake is low, you can try adding healthy fruits or/and vegetables into your water, also known as detox water. Detox water makes your water delicious and less boring. In addition to this, detox water has been proven to promote healthy weight loss and increases your overall nutrient intake.
Sleep well
An average person spends about 26 years of their life sleeping. Getting a good night's sleep is very important to help our body repair and reset. An average adult is expected to sleep for at least 7 to 9 hours. On the other hand, children are advised to sleep for at least 9 to 11 hours. To make sure you get an adequate amount of good sleep, you can follow these steps:
- Check for any sleep disorders (especially if you are not getting uninterrupted sleep)
- Avoid eating right before going to bed
- Follow a sleep schedule
- Workout once a day to promote a better quality of sleep
- Avoid high-caffeine drinks and foods later in the day
- Meditate before bed
Finally, if you want to increase your life expectancy, you need to be mindful of everything your body consumes. Avoid drinking, quit smoking, avoid processed foods, eat healthy, and exercise to better your life expectancy.
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.
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