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 HABITS |
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Habits are usually recurrent, and often unconscious, patterns of
behavior. Bad habits can be changed with persistence and patience.
Check our list and see if any pertain to you.
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| Do Crossword Puzzles or Sudoku |
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 Engaging in daily puzzle solving activities can keep your brain active and healthy. This can also help improve your recall rate of information.
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| Visit the Doctor |
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Be proactive about your health by having routine health screenings. And for unexplained pains and symptoms, go to the doctor promptly for any needed medical treatments.
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| Develop a Routine |
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Keeping a daily schedule can boost your happiness and your health. A routine schedule for when you get up, eat, exercise and go to bed helps develop healthy habits.
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| Turn Off the TV |
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It can be entertaining and relaxing to spend hours in front of the television, but at least occasionally try challenging your mind and body instead. Get some mental and physical exercise by taking a walk (your dog will love you for it), riding a bike, playing games or simply talking with friends and family.
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| Listen to Music |
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 Not only will music entertain you, but it can help keep your brain active while improving your mood.
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| Get a Pet |
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People who own pets, especially dogs, have been shown to be less stressed and require fewer visits to their physicians than non-owners. Survival rates for heart attack victims who had a pet have been shown to be 12% longer than for those who did not have one, according to one of the first studies dealing with the impact pets can have on our health, led by researcher Erica Friedmann. Pet owners have also been shown to have lower blood pressure. The reasons for these findings are most likely related to an array of psychological factors, such as the facts that owning a pet decreases loneliness and depression, encourages laughter and nurturing, and stimulates exercise. Source: Forbes.com
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| Learn a Foreign Language |
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The challenge of learning a new language will definitely stimulate your brain and keep it active. This could also provide an opportunity to meet and communicate with new people around you.
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| Don't Drink Through a Straw |
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Believe it or not, the pursing of the facial muscles used to drink from a straw can cause wrinkles, just like smoking. So drink your beverages straight from a glass.
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| Read a Book |
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Another great way to keep your brain active is with reading. You'll also keep learning and expanding your horizons through the enjoyment of books.
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| Save Those Pennies and Be Rich |
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According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 24% of Americans whose family income is less than $20,000 are "limited" by chronic disease, whereas only 6% of people with an income of $75,000 or more have this problem. In general, population groups that suffer the worst health status are those that have the highest poverty rates and the least education. One possible explanation for this is that higher incomes permit access to better food and housing, safer neighborhoods and increased medical care. Higher incomes also increase the opportunity to engage in health-promoting behaviors. That's not to say that being very wealthy is always better for longevity--after all, being a chief executive certainly exposes you to a high level of stress that can decrease life expectancy. But according to the data, striving to be financially comfortable is a good goal for aspiring centenarians. Source: Forbes.com
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| Play a Video Game |
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 Video games can act like a mental gym for aging minds. Many are full of challenging puzzles, games, and levels that will keep your brain guessing and working hard to find solutions.
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| Avoid Environmental Radicals |
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Minimize your exposure to environmental radicals present in:
- cigarette smoke (partially the same as in cooked foods)
- polluted air (from factories, cars etc.)
- foods treated with pesticides / herbicides (make sure to peel ALL fruits, since most of these chemicals are contained in the peel / skin)
- soft plastic (contain harmful phtalates, which leach into the foods that come in contact with these plastics) Source: Waisays.com
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| Don't Hit the Snooze Button |
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Here's a reason not to hit the snooze button anymore: Sleeping too much can reduce life expectancy, according to a February 2002 study in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The study found that people who sleep more than eight hours per night had a significantly higher death rate than normal. But late-night-party-goers shouldn't rejoice: researches say that sleeping less than four hours also increases death rates. People who sleep between six and seven hours per night were shown to live the longest. Source: Forbes.com
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| What Good Posture Can
Do for You |
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 Think
about all the fabulous women you know. They stand up straight and
have an air of confidence. Not only will good posture make you look
10 pounds thinner in seconds, it will make you look 5 years younger
as well. Put your body in alignment and things will begin to fall
into place: flatter stomach, straighter back, buttocks tucked in
more and a longer neck, and you'll move more gracefully.
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| No More Squinting |
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Excessive squinting creates motion wrinkles known as crow's feet.
Chronic squinting, for any reason, creates and deepens those lines
around our eyes and in time, they will become a permanent part of
the face. If your squinting is due to poor vision, have your eyes
checked. If it's due to the sun, wear good sunglasses.
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| Just Enough Sleep |
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 Sleep allows our body to maintain and repair itself while cells
grow and repair. Sleep slows the
aging process by helping the body conserve energy and other resources
that the immune system needs to fight infection. Getting enough sleep
sharpens concentration, memory and physical performance.
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| Silk Sheets |
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Silk sheets have long been the secret of celebrities. Silk pillowcases
prevent facial skin from creasing during the night. Silk allows the
skin to glide along the pillow so the face rests comfortably without
placing pressure on creased skin, which tends to "iron in" wrinkles.
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| Why Switch to a Baby
Pillow? |
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A baby pillow, or small airline pillow, can prevent wrinkles. While
sleeping, your face sinks down deep into a large pillow, causing,
as you grow older, early morning lines in your face that take longer
and longer to ease out each morning. As the years pass,
morning lines can become permanent. A small pillow can also help
prevent a double chin by keeping the head flatter, in line with the
spine, allowing the neck and chin to stretch.
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| Smoking - Quit NOW |
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 Smoking causes premature wrinkling, which is directly related to
the amount of cigarettes and number of years a person has smoked.
Smokers tend to get more respiratory infections and often have a
chronic cough. Smoking endangers health by contributing to heart
disease, circulatory problems and can cause emphysema and lung cancer
and decreases life expectancy by about 5 to 8 years. Smoking also
affects others around you by increasing their risk for cancer and
respiratory disease.
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| Wear Sunglasses |
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 Always wear good sunglasses, since squinting creates and deepens
lines around the eyes. In time, they will become a permanent part
of the face. Ophthalmologists suggest that wearing good sunglasses
can help prevent the development of cataracts.
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| Gentle Nose Blowing |
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The pressure, twisting and rubbing in the act of blowing your nose
can cause tiny blood vessels to rupture, resulting in a permanent,
tiny red line around the base of your nose.
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| It Takes More Muscles
to Frown than Smile |
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 Since
it takes more muscles to frown than smile, go ahead and smile and
laugh more! Laughter has many health benefits, such as reduction
of stress hormones and stress-like symptoms; decreased risk for blood
clots, heart attack and stroke; improved immune system to fight off
infections; lowered blood pressure and prevention of hypertension;
improved respiration, due to the large volume of air exchanged in
the laughing process as an internal workout; prevention of life-threatening
illnesses, and improved circulation which enables the body to look
healthier and younger.
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| Avoid Leaning Your Face
in Your Hands |
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 Many of us rest our jaw or face in our hands while reading, or
watching TV. If this is a regular, daily habit for several hours,
it can affect the teeth and jaw line.
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| Don't Rub Your Eyes |
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Don't rub your eyes often and never rub them hard as this can cause
the breakdown of tissue on the eyelids and lead to prematurely loose
skin.
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| Change Your Behavior for Just 2 Weeks |
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Two weeks of healthy behavior can affect your life span. Even if
you've eaten junk food for years, give it up for two weeks and it
will change where you are on the life curve.
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| Too Little Sleep Can Accelerate Aging |
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Regularly catching only a few hours of sleep can hinder metabolism
and hormone production in a way that is similar to the effects of
aging and the early stages of diabetes. Chronic sleep loss may speed
the onset or increase the severity of age-related conditions such
as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and memory loss.
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| Get Out of the House! |
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 If you're retired and live alone, make it a point to leave the
house at least once a day, weather permitting. Go for a walk, meet
with friends, take in a movie, do volunteer work, visit a shut-in
or join a club. Don't make your children feel obligated to check
on you all the time. Be independent and be active.
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