How to Live Longer and Happier

[talon]

Survival, in my opinion, isn't about subsistence living and getting by, it's about enjoying life, being happy, being as pain-free as possible and relatively healthy, and being engaged in life with a strong mind. There are lots of little things we can do to insure we have that kind of life regardless of what happens to us and we can start today. No matter what our current health is or our current mental acuity is, we can improve it from what we have now to something better, can make our minds sharper, our bodies healthier, and our lives happier.

In no particular order are some simple and relatively inexpensive ways to make those changes. Most of them are easy-peasy

Eat salmon, herring, lake trout, or other fatty fish a week, plus a daily serving of walnuts, soybean oil, spinach, kale, or ground flaxseed to get the good omega-3 fats your body needs to be strong, healthy, and youthful.

Grow lavender and rosemary and sniff them every day to reduce stress and remove aging molecules. If you don't have growing space for them, buy the fresh cuttings or dried version of them - either works just fine. And if that is still tough, consider using fragrances that smell like lavender or rosemary - essential oils, perfume oils, or even artificial fragrance oils. Oddly enough, the smell is what works best here, and it doesn't matter where the smell originates. If you have the fresh or dried herbs, they also make excellent bug repellants, can sweeten linens, and are edible - all purpose herbs.

Fight fair with loved ones - no sarcasm, eye-rolling, hostile or controlling comments. These kinds of belittling behavior stress both the one who fights dirty and the one who is the target of the sarcasm, eye-rolling, hostility. There are, literally, hundreds of ways to fight fair with others because no matter how wonderful and perfect we or the other person is, friction happens, anger happens, misunderstandings happen, tempers flare, and we fight. Do it fair, and everyone wins.

Eat slowly and stop before you're stuffed. By eating slowly, you give your brain time to register that it has nourishment, and time for your body to gently break down the food into fuel, and it places less stress on your body. You also get to savor your food. If you stop before you are stuffed, you will actually have more energy and feel better.

Maintain a stable, healthy weight. It really doesn't matter if you're pudgy or stringy so long as your weight remains stable and you remain active and capable of accomplishing your physical goals. A stable weight that doesn't fluctuate wildly places less stress on your body and causes less wear and tear on it.

Vary your physical activities. Don't rely simply on the same exercise machines - do physically active things around the house like washing windows, mowing, moving furniture, heavy gardening work, remodeling projects. And walk around your neighborhood, jog in the park, play silly sports instead of serious ones (rat pucky, The Red Queen's Croquet, Hot Potato, etc.), and so on. Physical activity that isn't specifically "exercise" counts as exercise, too.

Have a vibrantly colored fruit or veggie snack every 4 waking hours - in different colors for each snack. The components in the fruits and vegetables that give it that vibrant color provides you with antioxidants and immune boosters, and snacking on one every 4 waking hours provides continuous coverage, since the nutrition derived from them is water soluble and isn't stored in the body for long.

Floss every day. Flossing removes bacteria from between the teeth and boosts the immune system so you are less likely to get sick.

Attend an in-person regular activity - a standing lunch date, movie night, or other enjoyable social activity. Humans are social animals. Even those who prefer solitude benefit from some pleasant social interaction - it lowers blood pressure, boosts the immune system, and helps you live a longer, happier life.

Go easy on red meats and other iron-producing foods or plan to donate blood regularly. Americas in particular ingest too much iron, and that causes health problems. Bloodletting reduces the problems an iron-rich diet creates, so if you must eat lots of red meats and iron-rich foods, consider donating blood on a regular basis. Or, if donating blood squicks you out, reduce the iron-producing foods in your diet: switch to chicken over beef, fish over chicken, and eat less meat. You don't need to eat meat at every single meal or even every day. 2 or 3 times a week is sufficient.

Avocado, oils, nuts, and seeds all contain an important antioxidant: vitamin E. The vitamin E found in food is more digestible and accessible for the body to use, far better than taking supplements. Eating avocado, nuts, seeds, and good oils provides you with the essential Vitamin E to keep your skin elastic and your body healthy.

Spend 20 minutes 3 times a week doing something new or searching online. Take a class, learn a new language or game, spend some time Googling stuff online, follow the errant thread and let yourself get distracted for a bit. This keeps your brain flexible, your wits sound, your observation skills sharp, and memory firm - all important to survival and living a longer life. What you learn can also lead to things that will make you happy.

Read more, books, newspapers, magazines, even online fiction. Reading does as much good for you as learning something new, plus it gives you time to focus on one thing. We spend too much of our lives being distracted and not pondering things and allowing them to permeate our subconscious mind and this constant distraction and short attention span habit leads to dissatisfaction and an addiction to more. By engaging in activities that allow us time for reflection, we develop skills of observation, deduction, and reasoning that will help us live longer and be happier.

Drink a caffeinated beverage daily - between 300-400 mg of caffeine (an 8 ounce coffee has 100 mg). It protects the brain from aging and increases alertness.

Watch TV at a low volume, the lower the better. Better yet, use closed captioning. It increases your concentration and observation skills and helps you focus better. Start at the normal volume and gradually lower it. This engages your attention, helps you focus, and teaches your brain to tune out background noises so you aren't distracted by that loud-voiced guy two rows over in the cubicle farm where you work or can better hear your kid in the fall concert over everyone else's kids. You also pick up lip-reading skills, excellent for your eavesdropping sessions at the family reunion.

Doodle when you are listening to others - it increases your recall by as much as 30% than if you took notes or simply listened because it allows your body to deflect the urges to move and fidget without distracting you.

Choose crunchy snacks like celery, bell pepper, and carrots because the crunch satisfies primordial urges within you that make you restless and unhappy. These also satisfy the vibrantly colored snack needs.

There are obviously other things of similar nature you can do that will provide you with the same survival and well-being benefits, but these are a good starting place. Try some or all of them and add your own. You'll be happier. And barring an accident or a devastatingly acute illness, you'll live longer and healthier, too. I hear so many of my contemporaries say, "If I'd known I was going to live to be 60 (or 70 or 80), I'd have taken better care of myself when I was younger." If you are younger, start now. And if you're one of my contemporaries, it's not too late.