Rejuvenating sleep secrets!
Sure, you know that exercising, cutting back on junk food and avoiding stress are proven ways to live a longer life. Even easier? Eating nuts, listening to music and skipping! All can significantly reduce your risk of disease and bolster your immune syste
1Stay all-over healthy with nuts!
Heard snacking is bad for your health? Not if you snack on nuts! Nibbling a handful of almonds, cashews, pecans or other nuts daily cuts your risk of lung disease 50%, Type 2 diabetes 40%, heart disease 30%, cancer 15% and premature death from all other causes 22%, confirms a review of studies involving 819,000 adults. D It works! Nuts’ fiber, magnesium, healthy fats and antioxidants shield cells from damage linked to those ills! Smile more, too! An optimistic outlook cuts a woman's risk of a deadly infection 52%, stroke 39%, lung disease 38% and cancer 16%, by improving your cells’ function and by motivating you to adopt healthy habits, since you’re more confident they’ll work!
2Reverse aging by skipping!
Or playing mini golf, riding a roller coaster or doing anything else that makes you feel more youthful. Folks who see themselves as younger than their chronological age have a 41% higher chance of living a long, healthy life than those who feel older than their true age, reports the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine. ✤ It works! A youthful mindset makes you more resilient to stress, boosts your bone-and muscle-strengthening physical activity and motivates you to follow your doctor’s health advice more closely!
Adopt a pet, too!
Adopting a cat or dog makes you feel and move like a person 10 years younger and enhances your health! Credit goes to your pet’s loving companionship, which lowers the risk of anxiety and depression!
3Protect your DNA with lullabies!
Lullabies aren’t just for kids! Start listening to soft, soothing music about an hour before bedtime and studies prove you’ll get longer, sounder sleep, dramatically upping your odds of living years longer! ✤ It works! University of Utah scientists discovered that the best sleepers have the longest telomeres, protective endcaps on DNA that indicate how fast you’re aging. The longer your telomeres, the slower you age and the healthier you are! And take a multivitamin!
According to a National Institutes of Health study, you can slow your biological clock more—by lengthening your telomeres just 5%—if you take a daily multivitamin. Vitamins and minerals help counter the oxidative stress and inflammation that shorten telomeres!
4Tack on extra years by adding online friends!
Invite friends and family to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram or other social media accounts, and you’ll live years longer, reveals research by a team of scientists from Harvard, Yale and other universities. ✤ It works! Interacting online helps strengthen your ties to the folks you care most about—and a mountain of evidence proves that close relationships ward off stress, reduce inflammation, improve immunity and encourage you to avoid unhealthy habits, all keys to a long life! And ask a co-worker to lunch!
A new study in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Review shows that fostering friendships with co-workers reduces stress and burnout, protecting your health!
5Keep your heart young by dusting!
No time or energy for the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity workouts weekly? Not to worry! Regularly doing any physical activities, even housework, lowers your risk of heart trouble 27% and other ailments 30%! ✤ It works! Moving your body—even during easy-to-do tasks like dusting!— stokes your metabolism enough to help you maintain a healthy weight and it triggers the release of proteins that help keep your organs in tiptop shape! Or doodle!
Tapping your creativity—for instance, by drawing or knitting—cuts your odds of a life-threatening ailment 12% by making you more resilient in the face of health challenges, and by opening you up to a wider range of ways to fix them.