Do you want to live a longer life, one that’s happier and more fulfilling? Today’s scientific and medical advances can likely extend your life. How long you live and your quality of life greatly depends on your choices.
Ways to Live a Longer Life: One That’s Happier and More Fulfilling
To live a longer life, you need to work, practice, and be willing to change your lifestyle. There are many ways to get there. Yet, each person can create a personalized path to a longer, happier, healthier life. Here’s how to start.
Live a Longer Life: Prioritize Close Relationships
A long-term research project, the Harvard University study of adult development, reveals that close relationships are crucial for maintaining lifelong happiness. Happiness is prized more than fame or money. The study’s director, Robert Waldinger, is a Massachusetts General Hospital psychiatrist and Harvard Medical School professor of psychiatry.
Key Findings
According to Waldinger, whose 2015 TED talk on happiness has been viewed more than 13 million times, “Good relationships don’t just protect our bodies; they protect our brains.”
- In good relationships, things aren’t always smooth. Disagreements occur, but when couples know they can count on each other during challenging times, they don’t negatively affect memories.
- Elderly couples reporting happy marriages say their moods don’t suffer even with occasional physical pain. However, couples in unhappy marriages felt more physical and emotional pain.
- Warm relationships help couples live longer and be happier. Loneliness is a killer.
Live a Longer Life: Do Your Best to Manage Chronic Inflammation
Nothing gets in the way of a happy, healthy, long life more than pain from chronic inflammation. Yet, you can stay on top of painful inflammation with these helpful tips:
- Make green tea a diet staple. Research shows that green tea contains a highly beneficial compound (epigallocatechin-3-gallate, EGCG), a powerful antioxidant that increases anti-inflammatory effects.
- Include nuts and seeds. Walnuts, flax, and chia seeds are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids.
- Add plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit to your daily diet.
- Eat salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines. These oily fish are another rich Omega-3 source.
- Make sure you consume lignans. Sesame seeds and flax seeds have antioxidants that benefit longevity.
- When considering diet, remember micronutrients. These include zinc, selenium, vitamins E and D, and magnesium.
Keep Learning
As people get older, some think their learning days are over. Nothing could be further from the truth. By maintaining an active curiosity and learning new things, your brain is fully engaged and firing on all cylinders.
Besides, scientific research proves that learning new skills and enjoying new experiences boost cognitive abilities.
Laugh Often to Live a Longer Life
Those who laugh a lot tend to be happier. This is true no matter how old you are. However, regularly tickling your funny bone fosters better health and well-being. Laughter helps by:
- Reducing stress.
- Enhancing mood.
- Helping boost the body’s immune system.
Begin (or Continue) a Mindfulness or Meditation Practice
Mindfulness and meditation are other excellent ways to improve your likelihood of living longer. They can help older adults manage and cope with the challenges of aging and bodily changes.
Meditation and mindfulness have other benefits:
- The practices are beneficial in reducing stress.
- Both are instrumental in improving clarity and focus.
- Meditating and being mindful bring a sense of peace and well-being.
What to Do:
It’s easy to get started with meditation or mindfulness. You don’t need expensive equipment or memberships. Consider the following ways to incorporate these practices into your life:
- Practice deep breathing exercises.
- Take a gentle yoga class on YouTube or Silver Sneakers.
- Search for guided meditations you can do anywhere.
Be Mindful of Medications, Doctor Visits, Routine Preventive Measures
Everyone must exercise caution when using prescription and over-the-counter medications. If you take multiple medicines, a pill minder may help you remember to take exactly what you need daily.
Routine medical exams and annual (or when your doctor recommends) vaccinations are crucial for older adults to maintain their health and prevent future problems. Keep up with yearly flu, pneumonia, RSV, shingles, and other vaccinations.
Live a Longer Life: Keep Setting Goals
Everyone needs something to look forward to. Goal-setting is essential, whether visiting your children or grandchildren, taking a leisure trip, learning to become proficient in a new skill, hobby, or activity, setting personal health goals, or something else.
What does goal-setting mean in terms of living longer, healthier, and happier? When you set goals and make plans, you gain a sense of purpose and enjoyment. You’re also boosting motivation to strive for the next level or step toward achieving the goal.
- Remember, a goal can be small. It doesn’t have to be long-term or challenging to be meaningful. Working on even the smallest goal can bring personal satisfaction and growth.
Rest and Relax
Two vital elements in your quest to live a longer, happier, healthier life are the need to rest and relax. This includes:
- Factor in time to unwind each day.
- Get sufficient sleep nightly.
- Enjoy activities pleasurable, such as gardening, reading, watching movies, cooking, listening to music, or anything peaceful and relaxing.
Live a Longer Life: Get Help When You Need It
As you age, lifting or moving heavy objects, like furniture or outdoor equipment, may be more challenging. You may also find driving too stressful and need to find alternative transportation. Getting help with household finances, tasks, and healthcare may also be beneficial.
So, if you can’t do these things anymore, avoid the stress by asking for help from family or friends.
Take Pride in Your Appearance
It’s not vanity to take care of your hygiene and appearance. This also benefits your physical and mental health. You want to look as good as possible because it feels great and helps you present yourself favorably to the world.
When you look your best, you have more self-confidence. You’re better prepared to be socially active, get out and be with others, meet new people, and make friends.
Plus, your overall well-being gets a boost.
