How to live longer, according to science - BBC News

 

most people assume that most of the

aging process is in fact due to genes

but no the huge chunk 70 to 80 percent

is actually due to environmental factors

in other words things that are within

our control I think we all pretty much

know that diet and physical activity

make a difference to healthy longer

lifespan but some unexpected factors

might surprise you for example

friendship is important for healthy

lifespan the quality of friendship and

the frequency of engaging with friends

is very important and it's been shown to

reduce inflammation and therefore

influence biological aging another

factor is laughter having a good laugh

children are something like 400 times a

day but as we get older we don't laugh

as much having a good laugh can actually

reduce stress levels both autonomic

system related that's nervous system

related stress levels and hormones

circulating stress hormones and actually

can decrease in people who have had a

heart attack the recurrence of

subsequent heart attacks so make an

effort to have a good laugh however you

do it laughter is the best medicine

sleep matters it's important to try and

get a good night's sleep usually between

seven and nine hours too little or too

much is not good for brain function and

for heart function now sleep is more

disrupted with aging but there are ways

that we can manage sleep and help to

ensure we get a better night's sleep and

it really is important during sleep our

immune system through a sticky agent

called integrine is released and that

helps killer T cells to fight viruses

which might be attacking us at that time

so sleep helps at a biological level

cold water a cold water shower Cold

Water Swimming actually wakens up our

biological system through a process

called hermiasis which is very

beneficial for slowing down negative or

toxic aging processes in the cell and

stimulating positive biological Pathways

in the cells so if you can cold water

shower every morning will make a

difference and helps with immune

responses to infection as well as

reducing the consequences of depression

and helping you have a lighter better

mood

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really this isn't about extending

lifespan it's about extending healthy

lifespan and therefore compressing or

reducing the period of time we spend

with illness or disability at the end of

life so that we can have a longer

happier better quality of life and

Independence for much longer for

whatever years we live

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