9 secrets of longevity
An interesting fact has been established by researchers - longevity is 25% dependent on hereditary predisposition and 75% on a person's lifestyle. Analyzing the lives of thousands of centenarians, they also found out that there is no single universal recipe for longevity, since both the conditions and events of the lives of these people were significantly different from each other. However, there are some patterns that make it possible to compile a list of rules, observing which the chances of living a long life, maintaining the soundness of mind and body, are significantly increased. We bring to your attention these rules.
1. Positive thinking
Among centenarians, there are few people whose life would be cloudless and easy. On the contrary, more often people with longevity lived a difficult life, full of dramatic events and hardships, but they were able to maintain positive thinking. This does not mean at all that all of them are merry, rather they can be attributed to cheerful people. And this is natural - why live long for someone who doesn't like it?
2. Physical activity
The human body is unable to function properly in a sedentary mode. Physical activity, mobility, ease of lifting - these are all characteristics of people whose age is close to one hundred years old or has passed this mark. At the same time, gerontologists pay attention to the fact that, as a rule, there are no professional athletes among centenarians. Excessive physical activity undermines the body, depletes its strength, so you should not overdo it. But daily physical work, especially in the fresh air, long walks and lightweight gymnastics are just what you need.
3. Proper nutrition
The diet of centenarians from different countries, of course, has great differences. However, regardless of the culinary traditions of a particular country, it can be described as very moderate, with a predominance of a vegetable-milk diet. Among people of a century, you will not find either obese or gourmets. All of them are adherents of simple food, and at the same time the one that is now commonly called organic, that is, grown in natural conditions.
Interestingly, tea or coffee is highly revered by centenarians. As you know, these drinks contain antioxidants - substances that block free radicals, that is, those compounds that cause damage to cells, as a result of which, in fact, aging occurs. Besides tea and coffee, cocoa, cabbage of all kinds, bell peppers, beets, plums, oranges, spinach, fresh berries, legumes and spices are also high in antioxidants. As you can see, a plant-based diet really promotes longevity, and adding dairy products to it will provide the body with the necessary proteins. And yes, chocolate with a high cocoa content is healthy.
4. Sexuality
This item can make young people smile - well, what kind of sexuality is it for grandparents? Grandparents, meanwhile, willingly forgive this smile of inexperience, laughing in turn, and scientists argue that the longer people remain sexually active, the longer and healthier they live. Having sex maintains the hormonal system in an optimal state, but aren't hormones controlling all body functions? Most of the centenarians have a reputation as ladies' men, and many of them, even in old age, acquired offspring. So, it is not uncommon for 90-year-old highlanders to have two or three little children. And health, as they say.
5. Daily routine
Not at all periods of life it turns out to live measuredly, but you need to strive for this if you want to live long. Of course, centenarians do not follow the daily routine in the kindergarten sense, they do not live strictly according to the clock, but their life takes place in a certain rhythm, observed for many years. This rhythm allows the body to work "like a clock", that is, without interruptions, and it also minimizes the amount of stress, most of which comes from the inability and unwillingness to learn how to organize your life. So long-livers are those who have learned.
6. Adequate sleep
This is one of the important conditions for the restoration of the body and maintenance of its functions in optimal condition. Moreover, we are talking about high-quality full-fledged sleep, and not about long-term. Each person has their own needs for the duration of sleep, in addition, they change with age, so there is no single figure, the usual eight hours is nothing more than an average figure. But it is important that a person's need for a night's sleep is fully satisfied.
7. Family
There are no loners among centenarians. There are those who have outlived their family members, but there are practically no those who did not have a family and lived their lives alone. The family is a multiple influencer, researchers say. Firstly, caring for other people makes a person's actions meaningful, saving him from unnecessary throwing, and secondly, a family is support both in grief and in joy, and thirdly, having a family makes it easier to comply with all of the above rules, you must agree, the family way of life promotes regularity, proper nutrition, positive communication, not to mention constant sexual activity. In addition, it is known and proven that married men live longer, while women who have children live longer, especially at a later age. But even if you do not take into account the late children, the family gives a person a sense of security and need,but living with the awareness of your need is much more pleasant.
8. Favorite thing
The Japanese have the word ikigai, which means “what you wake up for in the morning.” This concept is one of the key ones in longevity. Agree, it's one thing to pull a tired strap with groans and groaning, and it's quite another to wait with enthusiasm for a new day that will bring new impressions. Favorite work is very individual. One has the same family, someone has grandchildren, someone has wood carving, dancing or taking care of the garden, it is only important that this is not related to work in any institution or enterprise. Why? Because in this case, upon retirement, a person abruptly, one day, is deprived of his favorite work, and this is one of the most severe stress in life. So strong that not everyone is able to cope with it and find a new ikigai, so you shouldn't risk it.
9. Bad habits
A very interesting point. You probably expect to read that bad habits should be burned at the root. It turns out that everything is somewhat more complicated. Many centenarians have lived most of their lives in those years when it was not customary to worry about a healthy lifestyle, since it was necessary to solve more acute problems: how to survive in a war, for example, or how to feed children. Perhaps that is why some of them smoked or did not deny themselves a glass of alcohol. However, among the centenarians there are no those who were slaves to bad habits. Gerontologists have come to the conclusion that if such a habit does not lead to abuse, then it can be viewed more as an individual means of relieving stress, and after all, stress resistance is an important quality for a long-liver, defining item 1 on our list.
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