- Make It Yourself Lavender Heart-Shaped Bath Bombs!
- 20 Things You Never Knew About “Down There”
- 12 Best Foods For Those Suffering From Arthritis Pain
- 12 Personal Hygiene Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes (Mom Never Told You About #4!)
- 15 Medicinal Plants And Herbs From The Cherokee People
- 12 Mind-Blowing Benefits Of Drinking Coconut Water During Pregnancy
- 12 Outstanding Winter Foods That Won’t Fatten You Up Like A Christmas Turkey
Want To Live To 100? Top Tips To Do Exactly That
Photo credit: bigstock.com
4. Get Plenty of Sleep and Sex
Yep, you read that correctly! You need plenty of both to keep your body young, healthy, strong, and functioning properly. Most Americans live in a constant state of sleep deprivation and their television habits drastically cut into their sex lives. One study performed by Duke Medical Center in North Carolina showed that a woman’s past enjoyment of her sex life was one of the top predictors for an increased longevity. Additionally, a lack of sleep upsets your hormonal balance and often leads to heart disease, depression, and weight gain.
5. Move That Body
No matter how you like to get your exercise, yoga, tai chi, dance, walking, or Zumba classes, getting some exercise today offers benefits for many tomorrows. There is a definite connection between cardio workouts, dumbbells, and longevity. Although cardio keeps your heart muscle in shape, strength training keeps bones strong, rejuvenates the stem cells, and encourages circulation. If you haven’t gotten much exercise lately, don’t worry, it is never too late to start. In fact, one study showed that when women between the ages of 65 and 75 began strength training programs, such as lifting light weights once or twice per week, they had denser bones, more muscle strength, as well as improved memory skills.
6. Think Plants
Although gardening is good for the soul, in this case, we are talking about your diet. All centenarians appear to consume a mainly plant based diet, high in fruits and vegetables, but low in sweets, red meat, and refined carbs. Plants are the best source of phytochemicals and antioxidants, which fight free radicals, which cause cell damage and aging. This doesn’t mean you have to go vegan, but try to make about 80 percent of your diet whole, organic fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
7. Skimp on Stress
Limiting the stressors in your life as much as possible, as well as learning to manage the stress you do encounter, is a big factor in increasing your number of birthdays. Stress is known to cause inflammation in the body and increase your stress hormone, cortisol, which research has shown to accelerate the aging process. Be sure you make time to laugh and have fun, at least a few times per week, and consider practicing stress management techniques such as yoga and meditation.
Continue to Page 3
Kitsy WooWoo
May 11, 2015 at 12:59 pm
Interesting article, as was the video of the 110-year old man. As for the breakfast photo, was it the best you could find? A slab of what looks like processed cheese and those croissants made out of white flour — what’s that all about? Also, an egg every morning — no matter what the Paleo people and the egg industray claim — is not the way to go IMO.