5 Habits to Help You Live a Longer Life

28 Feb 2020

Life Insurance by Life Stage

The choices you make today can impact your long-term health, wealth and happiness. Understand the important role Life Insurance can play in key life events.

Life Insurance Guides

Health is something that we take for granted until it’s too late. Learn more about what you can do to lead a longer, fuller life.

While you are still young, you don’t have to worry about a lot of things. You may not appreciate it at the time but you’ll reminisce about the better days when you get older.

If you wish to live longer and be happier, there are some habits you could get into early on in life. Naturally, we’re talking about health-related habits here.

There are many benefits to being healthy (apart from the obvious). For instance, the healthier you are, the more affordable life insurance premiums can be.

Health would ideally be on your mind early on. Fortunately, there are some routines and practices that will help you attain a healthy, long life.

The Habits

It’s easy to say that you should develop healthy habits for a healthy future. In reality, the hardest thing about developing new habits is getting into them, not the follow-through. The best way to turn something into a habit is to keep at it until it becomes your everyday thing.

At the same time, breaking bad habits is very difficult too. There isn’t any magic spell to help you out here. The only advice that you’ll get is to keep working on breaking them. It will get easier as you make progress.

Here are some habits that will help you take control of your life.

A Healthy Diet

Back in 2017, various dietary risk factors resulted in 11 million deaths. Whether it’s eating too much sodium or not enough whole-grain foods, this is a worrying number. Additionally, around 2 of the 11 million deaths came down to something as basic as low fruit intake.

From our earliest days, people have told us how important healthy eating is. We tend to take this for granted, though, and end up eating unhealthy meals. Many of us also eat unbalanced diets.

The consequences of a bad diet may not be noticeable when you’re young. However, it can very much contribute to our overall health down the line.

You don’t need to be an expert to know what constitutes a healthy diet. You need to balance the macronutrients and make sure that your body is getting all the right amounts.

Most importantly, you need to learn how to listen to what your body craves. For this, you’re going to need to consult an expert.

Cut Down on Alcohol

We all know that alcohol is not good for us. In fact, it’s biochemically poisonous to humans. And yet we use it for fun, as a stress reliever.

However, it’s proven that alcohol can lead to many physical issues, like organ damage. It isn’t too good for your brain cells either. But you don’t have to be a full-blown alcoholic to experience its consequences when you get older. Regular drinkers may damage their livers, kidneys, and hearts over time.

To prevent a problem like this from ever happening, start cutting down your alcohol use early. You don’t have to pour yourself a drink every time you want to. Leave alcoholic drinks for celebrations, if you need to.

Physical Activity is Essential

Everybody’s favourite excuse is, “I don’t have time for it”. But without at least some physical activity, you’re risking permanently damaging your body. You don’t have to be obese or even overweight to experience the consequences of a lack of physical activity.

If you are active and work out on a regular basis, you’ll get a variety of benefits. First, your body will be able to absorb nutrients better. Your muscles will also grow and make you more resilient.

Also, it will strengthen your bones, staving off most common bone injuries. You’ll also feel better about your physical appearance, which can be a boost to your mental health.

Make the most of your time and introduce physical activity into your life.

Monitor Your Mental Health

Mental health is just as important as physical health. And training yourself to fix your mental health is very much attainable.

You need to reduce stress and anxiety down to a minimal level.

Working out will help but it won’t provide the solution. Most stressors and causes of anxiety in your life aren’t good for you. Slowly take them out of your life, whether it involves a toxic relationship or even that video game that drives you crazy.

Mental health doesn’t last forever. Just as with physical health, you can experience the consequences of mental health deterioration later in life.

Have a Regular Sleep Pattern

Now, this habit is the most underestimated. Being in a constant state of exhaustion isn’t the only consequence of irregular sleep patterns.

When we sleep, our bodies are actually self-healing, physically and mentally.

If you sleep less than 5-7 hours a night, you may increase the risk of early death by as much as 12%. On the other hand, excessive sleeping may be worse. If you sleep more than 8-9 hours per night, your life expectancy may decrease by as much as 38%.

Make sure that you maintain regular sleep patterns. If you can’t sleep for an optimal number of hours, visit your doctor and dig deeper into the problem.

Life-Lengthening Habits

Retaining a healthy diet and cutting down on alcohol and drug abuse are vital aspects of ensuring a longer, healthier life. You also need to think about your physical activity and remove factors that cause you stress and anxiety, as well as maintain a regular sleep pattern.

To be safe, it’s worth thinking about buying a life insurance policy when you’re young. Why not check out NobleOak for competitive premiums and top-notch life insurance.

We’re an award-winning insurance provider who can help you to get the life insurance cover that you want. Get your free quote today and take your first step towards getting the protection that you need.