Want To Lead A Happy, Healthy And Long Life? Then, Incorporate These Habits!
saumya gaur 
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Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be immortal? Can you imagine what it would be like if you could live for hundreds of years? How many scientific advancements you could witness? Humanity has always been obsessed with trying to push the limits of its own mortality. From popular culture to science, this wish has been documented everywhere. Well, of course, there is the issue of aging, but keeping that aside, living longer has its own share of benefits.
In terms of life expectancy, we’ve come a long way from the Middle Ages when the average life expectancy was just 33 years (1). Today, the average life expectancy of the global population stands at 72.6 years (2).
However, that is the average, the question remains – what can you do to prolong your life? We’ve put together a primer on a few habits that have been scientifically proven to help increase one’s longevity. And here they are:
1. Start Enjoying Your Life
We all lead hectic lives wherein we barely have the time to enjoy the small joys of life. But if research is to be believed, that’s exactly what you should be doing, if you want to spend a couple of extra years on this planet. In a research conducted on the correlation between life expectancy and positive moods, it was found that people with positive mindsets were thirty-five percent less likely to die in the next five years, compared to those who usually experienced bad moods (3). This was after taking into account the differences in life quality and circumstances.
2. Don’t Change Your Doctors
This is great news for people who hate change. Researchers at the University of Exeter have found that if you continue to visit the same doctor for a long time, it can actually prolong your life (4). This makes sense since doing so would ensure that your doctor is well-versed with your history, and the afflictions which you’re more likely to fall prey to, and hence could help you pre-empt that.
3. Feed Your Gut The Right Stuff
By binging on heavily processed food and including it in almost every meal of the day, we have made our digestive systems soft and sensitive. According to scientists at McGill University, there is a correlation between good gut health and longevity. If the flora of the gut is composed of good microbes then it augurs well for our health in general (5). The key to having good flora in the gut is probiotics. So include probiotics in your daily meals.
4. Focus On Your Work
Turns out all work and no play makes Jack live longer! Yes, that’s true. Psychologist Howard Friedman, wrote in his book The Longevity Project (based on an eight-decade-long study), that focussing on meaningful activities and leading lives with a purpose, can add more years to your life (6).
5. Houseclean More Often
No, I am not joking, and this isn’t a trap to get you to clean more often. There is a logic to it. We all know that one must exercise in order to lead a happy and healthy life, but what if you are not exactly a gym freak? Well, in that case, you can try cleaning your house regularly or vacuuming it more often, as it can double up as a form of moderate exercise.
6. Catch Up On Your Sleep On Weekends
We all know that getting enough sleep is crucial for maintaining good health. But often we face that occasional guilt trip when we spend the morning in our beds, spending a good chunk of the weekend sleeping in. Now, you can bid that guilt adieu; scientists have found that if you bridge your sleep deficit by sleeping in on the weekends, it can significantly reduce your risk of early death (7).
7. Eat More Nuts
If you plan to spend more time on this planet, then you should pay heed to this common advice given by most dieticians. Nuts aren’t only a rich source of good fat, but they also make for a very healthy snack. In fact, they are so healthy that people who consume nuts on a daily basis are twenty percent less likely to die from diseases such as cancer, respiratory disease, and cardiovascular issues (8).
8. Make Meditation A Part Of Your Routine
Meditation is certainly the way to go if you want to have a more mindful and centered approach to life. But it does more than that. Meditation can also add a few more years to your clock. Researchers at the University of California-Davis had conducted a study where they found that people who meditated experienced about a thirty percent increase in the activity of the Telomerase enzyme in their bodies (9).The enzyme is responsible for repairing telomeres, which are structures present on the chromosomes. The function of the telomeres is to prevent the chromosome from unraveling. The unraveling of chromosomes is what causes aging, and by increasing the activity of telomerase, meditation effectively combats aging.
Hopefully, you are going to incorporate these habits in your life, and lead a happy, healthy, and long life on this planet. Remember our time on this planet is limited, so you must try to make the most of it.
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