Health is a constantly discussed subject in Australia. TV news features discuss health issues regularly. Print media carry articles with some of the Weekend issues publishing supplements. Non-profit organisations, particularly dealing with deadly diseases like cancer and diabetes, through numerous educational and other programmes, create awareness on how to handle them.
Last weekend ‘The Sunday Times’ carried an interesting feature on ‘50 ways to live longer’ which most readers are bound to have read. They were shot and crispy ideas quoting numerous research studies.
Here are a few tips:
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High-intensity exercise in the gym can add three years to life. Walking for 30 minutes daily will also confer benefits – Recent US research
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Walk for two minutes every hour – US study
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Be friendly. Have strong special connections – PloS Medicine journal
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Government investment in public health on salt-reduction campaigns, childhood vaccinations and other measures has made the Japanese lead the world in life expectancy
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Don’t retire. Hard workers and late retirees live longest – a 90-year study involving 1,528 Americans
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Get spiritual. There’s mounting scientific evidence of a positive association between religious involvement and good physical and mental health – Medical Journal of Australia
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Have a laugh. Surround yourself with funny people who will make you giggle – Norwegian scientists
Practise gratitude. Pick three things you are grateful for each day and notice how happy you feel – Relationship expert
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Learn, learn and learn some more. Scientists have found that learning new things challenges the brain and keeps cognitive function from declining – British Medical Journal
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Lend a hand. Help others and you will also help yourself live longer. The key, though, is genuine want to help. A person’s intentions have to be altruistic for there to be any health benefits of being a do-gooder – Health Psychology journal
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Smokers who quit before they hit middle age can live almost as long as non-puffers – University of Toronto
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Take your dog for a walk, not cats or other pets – American Heart Association
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Take the bus or train to work. Commuters get incidental exercise every day which helps keep blood pressure low and reduces the risk of getting diabetes, depression, cancer and other serious diseases – Australian study
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Sitting on your backside for much of the day puts you at higher risk of cancer, heart disease and early death – Annals of Internal Medicine
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Shopping daily reduced the risk of dying by 23%, thanks to walking and socialising done – Taiwanese study of 1,850 people
Take it or leave it!
