If you want to seriously improve your health, you don’t have to embark on a complicated regimen like training for a marathon. Sometimes a sprint is all you need. Like a serious sprint, possibly the fastest sprint of all: studies show that certain activities that take just five seconds can actually extend your life. Read on to learn more, and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss out on these Sure signs you’ve already had COVID.
Don’t just take it from Betty White, who lived to maturity get older ’99, and Norman Lear, who turns 100 in July: Having a sense of humor can make you live longer. Research has found that the simple act of laughing reduces stress, boosts immunity, decreases inflammation, and lowers blood pressure. And add: A 2016 Norwegian study found that having a sense of humor can add eight years to your life, even if you have heart disease or a chronic infection.
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It may be the fastest, easiest and most affordable life extender out there. Recent data indicates that people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 are nine times more likely to be hospitalized and 14 times more likely to die from the virus, and are more likely to die from any cause— than people who have been vaccinated. And if you’re over 50, those odds increase exponentially with each decade.
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Continue. Take a deep, full, abdominal breath. Slowly… for just five seconds. You will immediately notice how good you will feel. The benefits are not just in your head and can be long lasting. “Deep abdominal breathing encourages complete oxygen exchange, that is, the beneficial exchange of incoming oxygen for outgoing carbon dioxide,” says Harvard Medical School. “Not surprisingly, it can slow the heartbeat and lower or stabilize blood pressure.” Deep breathing can reduce stress, which is associated with a longer life. Once you’ve mastered the five seconds, aim for 10 minutes a day.
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Why are you here? Think fast. A 2019 study published in JAMA found a link between a strong sense of purpose in life and a lower risk of dying from any cause after age 50. The researchers tracked about 7,000 adults over the age of 50 for five years; They found that participants who had the lowest life purpose scores were twice as likely to die as those with the highest scores.
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TO study of residents of Loma Linda, California, one of the world’s five “blue zones” where people are living longer and healthier, found that drinking five or more glasses of water a day could reduce the risk of heart disease in 50 percent. That’s the same heart benefit from quitting tobacco, exercising, or losing weight. (Although you should also do all of those things.) And to overcome this pandemic in the healthiest way, don’t miss these 35 places where you are most likely to get COVID.
