For thousands of years, humans have been searching for the secret to immortality. For some people today, that quest involves sleeping in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, experimenting with cryotherapy, or blasting themselves with infrared light.
Most aging experts are skeptical of these approachesWhether it is really possible to extend the upper limit of human life span. But they believe that through some simple behaviors, many people can live healthier and longer, and maintain good physical and mental condition in their 80s, 90s or even 100s. These interventions are not like inputYoung bloodSo strange.
“People are looking for a magic pill,” said Dr. Luigi Ferrucci, scientific director of the National Institute on Aging, “and the magic pill is here.”
Here are seven tips from a geriatrician on how to extend your life.
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1. Exercise more.
The first thing experts recommend is to stay physically active.OneagainOneStudies show that exercise can reduce the risk of premature death.
Physical activity keeps the heart and circulatory system healthy and provides protection against many chronic diseases that affect the body and mind. It also strengthens muscles, which can reduce the risk of falls in older adults.
“If we spend some time in adulthood building muscle, building strength, building balance, building cardiovascular endurance, then as your body ages, you have a stronger foundation for whatever the future brings,” said Dr. Anna Zhang, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, who specializes in geriatrics.
The best exercise is any activity that you enjoy doing and can stick with. You don’t have to do a lot of exercise —American Heart AssociationThe recommended amount of moderate-intensity physical activity per week is 150 minutes, which means walking for 20 minutes or more a day can be beneficial..
2. Eat more fruits and vegetables.
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Experts do not recommend a specific diet, but they generally recommend eating in moderation, eating more fruits and vegetables, and lessmanufactured food.Mediterranean diet— which prioritizes fresh produce in addition to whole grains, legumes, nuts, fish and olive oil — is a good example of healthy eating and has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and dementia.
Some experts say maintaining a healthy weight is important for longevity, but to John Rowe, a professor of health policy and aging at Columbia University, it’s less of a problem, especially as people age. “I’m always more concerned about my patients who lose weight than I am about my patients who gain weight,” Rowe said.
3. Get enough sleep.
Sleep is sometimes overlooked, but it plays an important role in healthy aging. Research has found that the average amount of sleep a person gets each night is related toRisk of death from any causeBoth are related. Continuous high-quality sleep can extend life expectancy.YearsSleep seems to be especially important for brain health: A 2021 study found that people who slept less than five hours a night had a higher risk of developing dementia.Doubled.
“As people age, they need more sleep, not less,” said Dr. Alison Moore, professor of medicine and director of geriatrics, gerontology and palliative care at the University of California, San Diego, adding that seven to nine hours of sleep a day is generally recommended.
4. Don’t smoke or drink.
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Needless to say, smoking increases the risk of various fatal diseases. “No dose of cigarettes is good for the human body,” Luo said.
We also began to understandThe dangers of excessive drinkingDrinking more than one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men — and possibly less — increases the risk of heart disease, atrial fibrillation, liver disease, andSeven types of cancerrisks of.
5. Control chronic diseases.
Nearly half of American adults havehypertension40% of peopleHigh cholesterolMore than one-third of people are inPrediabetesAll of the healthy behaviors mentioned above can help manage these conditions and prevent them from developing into more serious illnesses, but sometimes lifestyle interventions aren’t enough. Therefore, experts say it’s crucial to follow your doctor’s advice and keep your condition under control.
“Taking medicine is not fun; checking blood pressure and blood sugar is not fun,” Zhang said. “But if we optimize all of these things as a whole, they will help us live longer, healthier, better lives.”
6. Value interpersonal relationships.
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Mental health often takes a backseat to physical health, but Chang says it’s just as important. “Isolation and loneliness are as harmful to our health as smoking,” she says, adding that the condition puts us “at higher risk for dementia, heart disease and stroke.”
Relationships are not only the key to a healthy life;happy lifeThe key.Harvard Study of Adult Developmentstrong relationships are the biggest predictor of happiness.
Luo tells the medical students he teaches that one of the best indicators of how well an elderly patient will be in six months is to ask him “how many friends or family members he saw in the last week.”
7. Cultivate a positive attitude.
EvenPositive thoughtsIt can also help you live longer.Several studiesOptimism is linked to a lower risk of heart disease, and people who score high on optimism tests live longer than pessimistic people, researchers found.5%arrive15%This may be because optimists tend to have healthier habits and lower rates of certain chronic diseases, but even taking these factors into account, studies show that people who think positively still live longer.
If you only choose one healthy way to live longer, make it “do some physical activity,” Moore said. “Failing that, focus on staying positive.”