Answers about how long we're going to live obviously don't have merit if they don't come
from a highly trained physician, but there are some clear steps people can take to improve
their chances of living long, healthy, and happy lives.
Want to live for a century?
Keep on watching.
Smoking Let's start with the glaringly obvious.
Smoking, as we all know by now, has a very negative impact on overall health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking causes nearly one
in five deaths per year in the United States.
As the CDC notes, smoking-related illnesses like lung cancer, coronary heart disease,
COPD, and stroke kill more people each year than AIDS, car accidents, firearm-related
deaths, alcohol use, and illegal drug use combined.
Smoking also increases the risk of cancer throughout the body.
In fact, a 2016 study found that for a pack-a-day smoker, each year of smoking causes 150 mutations
in every lung cell.
The more mutations a cell has, the more likely the cells will become cancerous.
So just put it out.
Sitting all day According to researchers, sitting is one of
the great scourges of modern life.
This doesn't mean you can never take a break and sit down.
According to James Levine, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic:
"Yes, there are times to sit, but we put our feet up now more than ever.
It's unnatural and hazardous to our health."
Apparently that hazard is nothing to sneeze at: a meta-analysis published in the Annals
of Internal Medicine revealed that sitting for prolonged periods of time increases the
risk of obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and overall mortality.
If that doesn't have you bummed out yet, consider this: even in people who meet the recommended
guidelines for physical activity, defined as 20 minutes a day of moderately vigorous
exercise, their health suffered the more they sat.
Skipping sunscreen How important is it really to put on sunscreen
every day, even when you'll only be outside for a few minutes?
According to the Journal Sentinel, your skin can burn in as little as 15 minutes.
Even if your sunburn is relatively pain-free and fades quickly, the damage caused by the
UV rays actually accumulates over time.
A little burn here, a little burn there, it all adds up.
Furthermore, research from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK, showed
that 25 percent of normal skin cells developed mutations after being exposed to sunlight,
and as we know, mutations can lead to cancer.
Skimping on sleep With all of our modern-day gadgets, most people
just aren't getting enough sleep, and that's a serious cause for concern.
According to Harvard Medical School's Division of Sleep Medicine, long-term, chronic sleep
deprivation can lead to issues such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even
early death.
Sleep deprivation can also hamper immune function, and it can hurt the body's ability to regulate
hormones related to stress response, hunger, metabolism, and mood.
Given all these health effects, it's not surprising that poor sleep can also mean lower life expectancy.
According to the Division of Sleep Medicine, sleeping five hours or less per night increases
risk of death by 15 percent.
Yikes!
"Admit it, that was the best nap you've ever had!"
"I've had better."
Abusing alcohol Drinking is a bit tricky: It can be healthy
in moderation, but drinking too much is unequivocally bad.
"Ah, thanks, I needed that."
The CDC notes that the most common form of excessive drinking is binge drinking.
For women, this entails consuming four or more drinks during a single occasion, and
for men, it involves five or more drinks during a single occasion.
Heavy drinking, on the other hand, is defined as consuming eight or more drinks per week
for women, and 15 or more drinks per week for men.
Both heavy drinking and repeated binge drinking can carry long-term health risks including
cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, mood problems, dementia, liver disease, cardiovascular disease,
anemia, and increased risk for other addictions.
So keeping cocktail consumption within reason is a good call!
"Drinks on me!
Just get two drinks."
Ignoring mental health Taking care of your mental health is a critical
component to increasing longevity.
In fact, research carried out by psychiatrists at Oxford University found that life expectancy
is cut by ten to 20 years in cases of serious mental illness.
So, mind your mind: no one would expect someone with a broken leg to fix it on their own,
so if you're struggling with any aspect of your life, find a good psychiatrist and work
with a therapist you trust.
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health, and there's no shame
in taking equal care of both your mind and your body.
Neglecting where you live Many people have little control over where
they live: Neighborhoods are often chosen not based on factors like walkability or access
to food, but based on affordability.
But in cases where people can choose where they live, neighborhoods can have a surprisingly
large impact on health and longevity.
Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones Solution, said in an interview with National Geographic:
"Statistically speaking, where you live is the biggest, non-genetic influence on how
healthy you are.
If you're living out in a suburb around a forest of junk food places, you're not going
to escape un-healthiness."
Living in a neighborhood where you'll have places to walk, be outside, and be active
is also conducive to better health.
So neglecting where you live may have a bigger negative impact on your lifespan than you
realized.