Six Tips to Help You Live Longer

Life expectancy is a statistical measure informing you what age you can expect to live too. It is dependent on many factors, including where you live, your environment, diet, lifestyle, sex and genetics. Some countries have much longer life expectancies than others, for example if you were born and reside in Switzerland your average life expectancy is over 81 years, whereas if you were brought up in Zambia your life expectancy is almost 40 years less. So what else can you do apart from residing in a different country to increase your life expectancy, well there are 6 main things I am going to outline here.

1) Stay within a normal body mass index (BMI) - By this I mean you should aim to have a BMI of 20-25. Over 25 is classed as overweight and over 30 is deemed obese. In order to stay within the recommended range you will have to maintain a normal weight. Being overweight or obese increases your risk of many diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, heart attack, diabetes and many more. The result of these diseases is a shortened lifespan and a higher incidence of early death.

2) Eat 4/5 pieces of fruit and/or vegetables each day. I know everyone keeps saying this but it's true. Not only are fruit and vegetables good for the waistline but they are also packed full of antioxidants, which fight off damaging oxidative agents such as free radicals which cause cancer.

3) Do some aerobic exercise such as jogging, or swimming five times a week for at least 30 minutes. It is important that the exercise is aerobic to get the heart pumping. Exercise has many beneficial effects such as helping you to maintain a healthy weight, reducing high blood pressure, as well as releasing feel good endorphins such as serotonin from the brain.

4) If you are ill, then visit your doctor for a diagnosis and suitable treatment. If they give you advice, then adhere to it. If you don't abide by the treatment or medication you are given you are running the risk of putting yourself in danger of a reduced lifespan through extra unwanted complications.

5) Reduce or eliminate stress. Remove the source of your stress, or find ways to relax such as yoga. Stress increases your blood pressure, and high blood pressure is a precursor of strokes and many other disorders.

6) Stop smoking. It clogs up your arteries and is one of the main risk factors for a variety of conditions such as cancers, lung disorders, heart attacks, heart disease and stroke and is thought to reduce your life by around 7 years. Smoking is thought to account for over 100 000 deaths in the UK per year, and is due to the vast amount of chemicals and carcinogens present in the cigarette smoke.