Longevity – It will have to wait until I have time!

"There has never been a greater focus on health, and new words are popping up: life expectancy, lifespan, longevity and health span are what most people are talking about right now.

“Longevity can be considered as the average lifespan under ideal conditions”
Quote: Dr. Maren Berghoff

Healthy Aging:

The focus on health, aging and longevity is not new. It started way back in ancient times. A Greek philosopher such as Hippocrates considered a healthy lifestyle as the key to a long and good life, and China has for centuries focused on meditation, diet and physical exercise to promote a long healthy life without disease.

To that extent, time has become a scarce resource. Everyone lacks time. Many balls have to be juggled every day: job, career, family, sport and our social life. Where should the time be found to think about quality of life and mental health? It will have to wait until we have time! Just finding pockets of time to relax and get enough sleep is all too often a challenge. If you can recognize it, you are not alone. That decision happens to a lot of people. When time is short, our own health and the long-term solutions are postponed - until we have time!!!!

Make your health a part of your success

It is possible to combine if you want it enough. You can take small but effective steps towards improving both your health and quality of life without the big changes in everyday life.

Here are some practical and science-backed strategies that can help you live a healthy lifestyle without compromising the active life you live.

Diet

A healthy diet is one of the keys to a long and good life. Many studies confirm that a diet with plenty of coarse vegetables, some fruit, fish, beans, lentils and some lean meat increases your energy, your well-being and the body's immune system. Blue. the diet helps to prevent diseases and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Today, 60% of all deaths in Denmark are due to lifestyle diseases.

We ourselves have a great influence on lifestyle diseases. Eating healthy doesn't have to take extra time, especially if you plan for it.

Meal prep is an effective way to ensure that you have healthy meals ready for the whole week.

This is how you prep

Exercise - take advantage of everyday small opportunities for exercise

Again, time is often the biggest obstacle to playing sports. But physical activity does not have to be hour-long training every time. Micro training, small short intense sessions, are quite effective. 10 minutes brisk walking during a break, 10 squats while the coffee is being brewed, take the stairs where possible, 5 min. plank, 10 push-ups and/or sit-ups. Over time, these small exercise efforts will give you health benefits and contribute to both your physical and mental health - AND it increases your energy.

Remember 10 min. per day is always better than the alternative, which is nothing.

Meditation – breathing

Stress has become one of the biggest challenges to our health. Many people experience the pace of everyday life so intensely that busyness is replaced by stress symptoms, and this is not healthy. Over time, this can lead to both short- and long-term health problems. Read here about a simple and effective method to create calm in an instant.

Deep inhalation through the nose, all the way down to the stomach and with closed eyes. Hold your breath for two seconds, then also fill your lungs with air and exhale slowly through your mouth with an "argh".

"It has been shown that the small meditation exercise can significantly reduce stress. But that's not the only thing it can do. It has also been shown to improve mood and breathing rate. It simply makes us relax very quickly”.
Quote: Professor and researcher David Spiegel, Elite university Stanford University

Sleep – your superpower

Sleep is the foundation for both our physical and mental health. The body cleans out and cleans up all the body's "stores" at night, and the better working peace it gets, the healthier our body remains. Lack of sleep can increase the risk of a number of health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity. With a busy day and a lack of hours, sleep can often be sacrificed in favor of extra work hours, but there is a bill involved, so ditch it.

Use 5 min. before bed on your breathing. Sit comfortably or lie down in your bed. Breathe deeply and calmly. With the exhalation, you release the clutter of thoughts, "empty" the brain and give yourself and your body the best conditions for a calm and healthy night's sleep.

As far as possible, you should reduce screen time an hour before bed and minimize caffeine and alcohol in the evening first thing in the evening.

Years to life or life to years

As a lifestyle guide, I am concerned with adding life to the years and not primarily years to life. Our healthcare system is fantastically skilled at keeping us alive - medicine is an essential part of the treatment. But is that an end in itself?

In 2022 alone, a total of just over 3,6 billion was handed out. daily doses of medicine at the pharmacies in Denmark. We are under 6 million. citizens of the country. Thought provoking!!!

Apotekerforeningen – newsletter analysis on medicine consumption

I will not be "satisfied" with surviving as long as possible. I want to live and enjoy life while I'm alive 😊, and that is possible with many small healthy options. Let yourself be inspired, but don't copy. Choose what makes you happy. You can do that, and it is long-lasting.

Health is not a quick fix. It is a lifestyle choice that gives you quality of life and lasts a lifetime. The small steps you take today will have positive returns for the rest of your life.

STAI is your partner every day.

STAI v/Jytte Bille, lifestyle guide