What is Your Real Age?

Between the Real Age website, the Facebook application, and the numerous other quizzes you can take online, those "What is Your Real Age?" tests are everywhere. After all the drinking, smoking, sitting on your butt in front of the television and eating Cheetos you might have done, is it really worth it to be confronted with a number that's higher than your "real" real age?

What's that? You already took the quiz? Fine. Here's how to get a better result on your next try.

What is your real age: Exercise

People who exercise live longer. Those "What is your real age?" quizzes always ask about how often you exercise and for how long. This should be a pretty big clue that exercise is important to feeling younger than your years. If you're not already, start an exercise routine and watch your real age score drop.

What is your real age: Diet

Hey, you should also eat better. It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to figure out that the more crap you put into your body, the older you're going to feel. Take a hint from the Real Age quiz and eat more fruits and veggies.

What is your real age: Relationships

People tend to focus so much on themselves in these real age quizzes that they overlook the importance of having quality relationships in their lives. If you're married or have a close circle of friends and family to rely on, you're going to feel much better (and live longer) than handling all your stress alone.

While you can't really force marriage on someone just because you want to feel younger, you can cultivate your existing friendships to make them deeper. You can also date, spend more time with the family, and make new friends to lower your real age and raise your feelings of belonging to a group.

What is your real age: Activities

How you spend your free time says a lot about your "real age." Volunteerism and community-oriented activities will keep you sharp and engaged as you get older. Membership in groups is also important. Join a book club or a knitting circle, sign up for a class, or work a plot in your local community garden to participate in some sort of group activity. You'll feel younger, and you'll be helping others do the same.

Not participating in some activities will also make you younger on the inside. The less you drive and the more you walk or take public transportation, the better off you'll be. And if you haven't already, it goes without saying that quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for yourself health-wise.

What is your real age: Other Factors

Other factors that will make an impact on your "What is your real age?" quiz score include religion and pets. Folks with pets have loving, nurturing relationships and are physically better at dealing with stress. Likewise, having a religion to fall back on in times of crisis reduces stress, which is one of the biggest risk factors for so many diseases.

Resources:

Real Age website: http://www.realage.com/default.aspx