You will simply have to follow a specific routine and develop a few simple habits to tack a few extra years onto your lifespan. It is not that hard. It is you who can do more for maintaining your health and live a diseases free life. All you have to do is devote about thirty minutes of your life doing moderate to vigorous exercises each day, quit smoking and alcohol consumption, eat healthy food and sleep on time to lead a longer life when you are past age fifty, according to scientists.
Most people generally do a pretty good job to keep them alive but not healthy. In fact, modern people are living much longer than the people in the past according to the epidemiologists who judge life expectancy by the number of years you live after you reach fifty years of age. This is because prior to that, deaths are often caused due to diseases that are not associated with old age such as accidents or any chronic illness such as cancer.
Facts and findings of the epidemiologists
The research and analysis made by the epidemiologists have found out s few very impressive and interesting facts.
- They suggest that the average age of people today who are above fifty is 83.3 for the women and for the men it is 79.8 years. This is quite a good and impressive life expectancy by many standards.
- Taking cue from the previous records, the epidemiologists have found that the average life expectancy of people in the 1940s was just 62.9 years.
- They also found that by the year 2000, it had reached as high as 76.8 years and in 2014 it further increased to 78.8 years.
The epidemiologists also suggest that this increase in the lifespan of an average person can be attributed to the improvements made in the standard of living of people all across the globe as well as the great discoveries made in the field of medicine. They also suggest that the given fact that far less people smoke nowadays smoke has also attributed to such giant leap.
However, there is a bad news on the flip side. In spite of the vast improvements and discoveries made over the last century, the current life expectancy of several nations when compared with few of the rich nations are not so impressive. It is found that wealthy countries of the world have a longer life expectancy.
Obviously, there are several factors that come into play. These may be:
- The country may not provide universal health coverage to all the citizens
- Access to healthcare may be not easy and cheap enough and
- Prolonged ill health, inability to prevent infectious and chronic disease and its proper management.
However, irrespective of the country and its health care programs, any individual can make specific changes in their lifestyles to increase their lifespan and health conditions.
Start with the bad habits
Everyone seems to develop bad habits some way and kind of the other and it does not have to start and end with smoking or drinking. It may be your extreme affinity towards processed or junk food that may lead to bad health as well. Getting rid of your bad habits is therefore one of the most significant low risk lifestyle changes that you need to make. Analyzed data of different research and studies found scientific evidence to support such changes.
- Smoking was always considered as benign and sometimes even good to some people, courtesy the tobacco lobby!There are strong evidences that show smoking can significantly increase the chances of lung cancer in you as well as other heart diseases.Over the years there is a decline in smoking and this has resulted in a major increase in the average lifespan.
- Therefore, if you are still smoking and vaping, stop it immediately if you want to live longer. Do whatever you can to quit smoking as it does not make any sense until and unless your doctor recommended smoking cigarettes or using KYLÉ pods as a patient to reduce stress or lose weight.
Alcohol consumption is another bad habit that you should quit or continue in moderate level. Researchers have found that people who take alcohol at moderate level usually have a better chance of living longer as compared to those who are heavy drinkers.
The definition of moderate alcohol consumption can be varied and confusing. Different reports suggest:
- Five to fifteen grams per day for women and
- Five to thirty grams per day for men.
As per the reports of the National Institutes of Health, any standard drink usually contains around 14 grams of pure alcohol. This equates:
- 12 fluid ounces of beer
- 8 fluid ounces of malt liquor
- 5 fluid ounces of table wineand
- 1.5 fluid ounces of distilled spirits.
Therefore, the available evidence of moderate drinking is quite tricky and of course the line between it and abstaining from drinking alcohol altogether is even fuzzier. There is no solid study regarding this with enough participants. Therefore, as of now, it is safe to say that moderate drinking will not cause as severe harm as heavy drinking but whether you should abstain from it altogether will depend on your health conditions and needs. The most prudent decision is to drink very little or not at all if you want to stay healthy and live long.
The good habits
The good habits that you should acquire and follow do not need much explanation but still for your information it is as under:
- Eating healthy foods: This needs little or no explanation
- Exercise regularly: As important and self-explanatory as above
- Maintain a healthy body weight: This will keep your internal organs working perfectly
- Quit smoking and
- Drink moderately.
These are the five things that will help you live longer. A study conducted by the Circulation journal showed that women following these five practices lived 14 years longer and men live 12 years more than those who do not follow these steps. Remember, healthy practices are hard to adhere to but such proofs suggest that it is not impossible either.
Author Bio: Anthony Karen is a health expert who has been running many health seminars and public discussions. She also manages her blog and reviews the health-related details provided by authentic sources.