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- No one has discovered the secret to living forever (despite some rather serious attempts).
- But some of the best ways to up one’s odds of staying alive and healthy for longer include eating fresh greens, getting enough sleep, and sharing time with friends and partners who you enjoy.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
There’s no cure for death, and no way we know of (yet) to extend human life.
But scientists have discovered many clear, science-backed ways to increase your changes of living to a ripe old age, while staying happy and healthy.
Here are eight of the most surefire ways to live longer and better, according to science.
Get moving.
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Regular exercise helps keep your heart healthy.
People who run, walk, and jump around regularly have lower blood pressure, even if they only start to work out in middle age.
One 2018 study of 58 men and women between the ages of 48 and 58 in Texas found that two years of regular workouts five days per week made people more fit, improved heart stiffness, led their bodies to pump blood more efficiently, and reduced their risk of heart failure.
"The ‘sweet spot’ in life to get off the couch and start exercising is in late-middle age, when the heart still has plasticity," lead study author Benjamin Levine, a cardiologist from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, said in a release when that study came out.
Staying fit can also help keep your brain strong.
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In addition to keeping hearts in shape, many studies also suggest that regular movement is a great way to keep our brains sharp and help ward off cognitive decline.
Scientists think the fact that exercisers get more blood pumping to their brains when they work out might have something to do with this benefit.
In addition to cardio, incorporate some lifting into your routine.
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Muscle training isn’t just about looking good in a tank top.
Studies suggest it can help keep you alive.
A comprehensive review of 23 scientific studies conducted in 2015 suggests that people who develop strong muscles are less likely to die for all kinds of reasons. The finding held true for everyone from cancer patients to people with heart disease, regardless of other factors like how fat or fit they were, how much alcohol they drank, whether they smoked, or how old they were.
"You’re never too old to do something," Bryant Johnson, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s trainer, told the Associated Press.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- 23 ‘facts’ you learned about healthy eating and nutrition as a kid that are no longer true
- From smallpox to rubella, here are 6 infectious diseases you can avoid thanks to vaccines
- We got a look at the slide deck of Bind, a startup that’s raised $70 million to upend the way we pay for healthcare
SEE ALSO: How to look and feel healthier in one month, according to science
Source: Business Insider – hbrueck@businessinsider.com (Hilary Brueck)