Try doing something yourself that you would have hired someone else to do in the past — perhaps calculating your income taxes, assembling a piece of flat-packed furniture, or installing new computer software. Volunteer for a project that may seem little intimidating, like tutoring students who are trying to master English as a second language or registering voters for the next election. Finding role models who are older than we are gets more difficult as we age. But in the last few years, medical science has identified a new group we can aspire to join — the super-agers.
Antioxidants fight against the harmful effects of free-radicals, toxins which can cause cell damage and an increased risk of disease when they accumulate in the body. Berries, green tea and broccoli are three excellent sources of antioxidants. When you eat at restaurants, you surrender control over your diet. Even salads tend to have a large number of additives, from sugar to saturated fats. Eating at home will enable you to monitor your food intake and ensure a healthy diet.
From helping you think better to boosting heart health, the antioxidants in hot cocoa are more concentrated than in many other sources, resulting in a multitude of health benefits. An increasing number of studies have found the surprising mental and physical health benefits of gardening. Research shows that cozying up with a loved one releases oxytocin, a stress-releasing hormone that helps to reduce blood pressure. Based on data from a large, 10-year survey, older Germans who were more pessimistic tended to live longer, healthier lives than their counterparts with a more positive outlook.
Japan has the longest average lifespan in the world, and the longest lived of the Japanese–the natives of the Ryukyu Islands–stop eating when they’re 80% full. Limiting your calorie intake means lower overall stress on the body. As you probably well know, smoking significantly increases your risk of cancer. If you can’t low carb diets stand the idea of a steak-free life, reducing your consumption to less than two to three servings a week can still incur health benefits. Studies have found that heavy drinkers as well as abstainers seem to have a higher risk of early mortality than moderate drinkers.
I know you’re probably picturing a glass of red wine right now, but recent research suggests that indulging in one to three glasses of any type of alcohol every day may help to increase longevity. Physical activity is thought to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s’s by as much as 50%. And one study found that frequent dancing reduced the risk of developing dementia by a staggering 76%, more so than any other physical or cognitive activity. Looking at data for 68,000 adults over the course of 10 years, one study found that the greater the level of depression or anxiety the participants experienced, the greater the odds of death during the period. From its probiotic nature to its high vitamin content to its potential for fighting cancer, sauerkraut has a surprising array of health benefits.
The term refers to people in their 70s and 80s who have the mental or physical capability of their decades-younger counterparts. People with strong social networks live longer lives than those who are not connected to others. Researchers hypothesize that the unhealthy impact of the stress hormone cortisol is lessened when people have friends and family to lean on.
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- According to Diddahally Govindaraju, a geneticist at Harvard University, in Boston, Massachusetts, this decreases the risk of forming damaging mutations in our DNA, which could lead to diseases like cancer.
- Other studies document the health relevance of socioeconomic status, ethnicity and general intelligence, but The Longevity Project yields deep biopsychosocial insight into those macro-level associations.
- In addition to causing lung cancer, cigarette-smoking is associated with serious health problems including heart attack, stroke and mouth and throat cancers, making it a significant threat to longevity.
- It’s thrilling that our key findings are now indeed being confirmed by other researchers.
Amongst the most brain-damaging stressors is depression, which is actually often misdiagnosed as a memory problem since one of its primary symptoms is the inability to concentrate. Physical activities don’t just exercise the body, but it also helps to exercise your brain. Obesity and the myriad of diseases that eventually set in as a result of being overweight can cause serious harm to the brain, so when learning how to improve memory, exercise is king.
Today, at age 84, she still completes a regular workout most of us shouldn’t try without medical permission. If you enjoy crossword puzzles, you may want to take on acrostics or mathematical games.
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As long as you are physically up to a challenge, your years shouldn’t hold you back. Mary Robertson «Grandma» Moses didn’t start painting in earnest until she was 78. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg began working with a personal trainer at 68 following treatment for colon cancer.
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Stress probably exerts its adverse effects through triggering an inflammatory reaction of our immune system. Meditation, massage and gentle forms of exercise like yoga, for example, can help reduce stress. In order to remember things, many people need to visualize the information they are studying. Next time you have to memorize a speech of want to compete in a spelling bee, try listening to music while studying. Any risk factors that cause you major stress, like anger or anxiety, will, in time, begin to eat away the parts of your brain that are responsible for memory.
