Stress Less, Sleep More, Live Longer

Wouldn't it be great if we could live forever, or would it be? I don't think that I would want to live forever, but it's not a bad idea to want to extend your life by a few years. The truth is we are all going to die, but how long we live is pretty much up to us. Of course there are ways to die that you can't prevent such as car accidents, but there are things that you can do that may lengthen your life or increase your chances of living longer.

This may seem silly, but the first thing that you can do is floss your teeth. Not flossing your teeth can cause gingivitis, which is linked to heart attacks. Flossing your teeth reduces your risk of having a heart attack by 50 percent! Flossing also whitens your teeth, you can score a higher paying job if you have whiter teeth which will eventually lead to a high IQ and higher confidence and self-esteem. If you feel better about yourself, you will have better health in the long-run, leading to a longer life.

Another simple thing you can do is get a proper amount of sleep. Most doctors recommend at least 8 hours of sleep every night, but let's face it, our busy schedules don't always allow for that much sleep every single night of our week. However, you should at least be trying to get a good amount of rest. This means that if you have a busy Tuesday night, like me for example, it's a good idea to go to bed earlier on Sunday or Monday night, even if this means skipping the newest episode of Castle or Dancing with the Stars. Sleep may not seem like it matters that much, it may seem like 6 hours is enough, but people who sleep for less than 6 hours a night have a 50 percent higher chance of viral infections and a higher chance of having a heart attack or a stroke.

One other thing to lengthen your life is to stress less. This doesn't mean that you don't have a care in the world. There are going to be stresses in everybody's lives, the trick is to find a way that will help you minimize or deal with stressful things in your life. For example, if school is stressful, it may be helpful to do your homework as soon as you get home, that way there will be no stressing about time and if you need help, you can call a friend. Stress isn't always an easy fix, sometimes it takes more than just starting your homework earlier. For some people, exercise helps to relieve stress and clear your mind, for others its meditation or dedicating a small piece of your time to something you enjoy doing. There may come a day when you have bigger stresses such as divorce or bankruptcy, which can take up to 7 year off your life. The point is to find a way to deal with everyday stresses, so that when you have to deal with something bigger, you already know how to cope.
Other things that you can do to lengthen your life are taking daily vitamins, staying fit, maintaining a healthy weight, eating healthy and making healthy choices. Also, stay happy and laugh a lot, keeping a good attitude about life isn't necessarily going to make you live longer, but it will at least make your life a little bit more enjoyable.