24 Tips that make Living MUCH, MUCH Longer

1. Let your conscience be your guide
People who lived most of their lives at peace with themselves and always followed their heart, suffered from less stress, tension, and diseases. As a result, they were also more successful in their love life and careers.

2. Find reasons to laugh
Considered laughing a major part of their life,” says head researcher Kaori Kato, and thanks to their second common characteristic – openness and extrovert, laughter was indeed an inseparable part of their lives.

3. Eat nuts
People who ate nuts on a regular basis enjoyed a lower body mass, smaller waistline, and 39% less risk of dying prematurely.

4. Go to the mall
According to the findings, the main reasons were the physical exercise that shopping entails when walking around, as well as the social interaction and elevated mood you feel while shopping. An important factor to note is that you do not need to buy anything to enjoy these benefits.

5. Love thy neighbor
At 116, Susannah Mushatt Jones is currently the world’s oldest person and attributes it all to one simple “trick”. “She treats everyone with the same courtesy and integrity she expects them to treat her,” says her niece. Additionally, Jones has been taking blood-pressure medication and eats a balanced diet of beef, chicken, fruits and vegetables.

6. Love yourself
Remember, it’s important to love and respect others, but if you want to live to 100, don’t neglect the most important person in the world – you.

7. Don’t order in
Cambridge University found that people who eat homemade food at least 5 days a week are 47% more likely to live beyond 100, when compared to those who don’t. So next time, instead of ordering in, whip up a home-cooked meal.

8. Do yoga
Practicing yoga requires nothing more than a mat and the will to practice, so everyone can, and should start doing yoga. Why not try this yoga guide for beginners?

9. Stay positive
People who are over 100 years old, I thought that they owed their long life to stubbornness and rigidity” said Dr. Barzilai of the research team, “but when we compared the personality traits of all 243 participants, we found that the data clearly points to a positive and optimistic outlook on life.”

10. Don’t overdo it with the positivity
“Pessimism makes you more conscious, whether it’s about your health or about following instructions,” says Frieder, and that’s why we have to be moderate in our optimism, particularly at an advanced age.

11. Avoid unnecessary fights in your relationship
Bingham University in Utah found that the more couples fought, the more each partner's health deteriorated. Remember – fighting is normal, but fighting too much is just unhealthy.

12. If it’s not working, get a divorce
Studies have shown that women who divorce enjoy a new path filled with satisfaction, excitement, and stable health. In the book “The Longevity Project”, the authors explain that most women have a stable social circle that supports them after their divorce.

13. Keep your teeth healthy
University of California researchers found that those who didn’t brush their teeth at least once a day, were amongst a higher risk group (65%) for getting dementia. While this link was not fully explored or explained, other studies show that people who suffer from Alzheimer’s usually have more bacteria associated with gum disease in their mouths.

14. Get fiber in your diet
American Internal Medicine Archive, were the result of a large-scale study from 2011 comprising 388,000 participants. The study’s results showed that people who consumed the recommended daily amounts of dietary fibers (25 grams for women and 38 grams for men), enjoyed better health for years.

15. Drink alcohol - in moderation
Middle-aged people will benefit greatly from drinking one glass of wine per day, according to several 2010 studies (1, 2). The key factor here is moderation, as the same studies showed that excessive consumption of alcohol increases your risk of dying by 42%.

16. Eat fish
Harvard University researchers discovered that people with high levels of Omega-3 in their blood had a longer lifespan of 2 years (on average) when compared to those with low levels of Omega-3. For those of you who don't like fish, there are other foods that are rich in Omega-3.

17. Adopt a pet
Pets make great companions, and their unconditional friendship is truly amazing, but they are also a serious factor in their owners’ quality of life and lifespan itself.

18. Establish workplace friendships
A Tel-Aviv University study negative relationships in their workplace were 2.4 times more likely to die at a younger age.

19. Do some gardening
Japan who are over the age of 100, have both a Zen garden and a vegetable garden.

20. Believe in your own health
When it comes to being positive, your health should rank high as it will help you stay alive and healthy.

21. Turn off the TV, but stay informed
Substitute that TV time for reading newspapers, books, or articles on the internet. People who are exposed to a lot of information will often know more about healthy eating and be more aware of the world around them.

22 Eat less sugar
Having a sweet tooth can seriously damage your health and lower your chances of reaching the age of 100. Cynthia Canyon, a molecular geneticist from San Francisco, performed tests on nematodes and discovered that sugar-rich diets shorten their lifespan by 20%.

23. Let yourself be creative
The U.S. Army recently conducted a survey of its large senior veterans population, which resulted in interesting findings that link a person’s level of creativity to their life expectancy. The more creative test subjects showed a 12% longer lifespan on average.

24. Don’t be afraid of time
People who face aging head on and without fear are the ones who will enjoy old age for longer, in comparison to their counterparts. Remember – every candle on your cake is an accomplishment, and that even though time seems to fly, we should devote ourselves to enjoying it and making the most of whatever time we have left.