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Of course daily sunscreen is also recommended. Within the last year, researchers have uncovered multiple bodies of evidence that sleep both the quality and quantity of it is imperative to multiple aspects of your health. Not getting enough sleep can also lead to chronic adult-onset illnesses that can shorten lifespan like type 2 Diabetes.
Another study found that lack of sleep less than 7. Even more motivation to move up your bedtime: Join Now Log In.
Search form Search Shape Magazine. Be active every day. A recent study found that not only does exercise make you happier; it helps you stay young at a cellular level.
In fact, scientists received a Nobel Prize for discovering this incredible way to prevent premature aging. Basically, when telomeres shorten which are the bookends of your DNA , you age-this is essentially like reading the biological clock of your body. Bring in cardiovascular exercise and you slow the process of the telomere shortening because it ignites the enzyme telomerase which in turn, stabilizes the telomere. Science aside, exercise to stay young, active, happy and fit. Read more about exercising on a busy schedule. Skin loving foods including kale, spinach, arugula and swiss chard are jam-packed full of antioxidants which prevent your skin from free radical damage that can lead to wrinkles.
Eat plenty of fatty fish such as wild salmon a 3-ounce serving has 6. If you aren't getting enough omega-3s from your diet, consider taking fish-oil supplements. Not only does regular exercise help you lose weight , tone muscles, build healthier bones, and boost mood, it can also help you think clearly.
Studies cited by the National Institute on Aging demonstrate a connection between physical exercise and better brain power. Make time for three minute workouts a week.
Run, bike, swim, dance — do whatever you enjoy most. Anyone who's ever fallen head over heels or discovered an activity that makes them eager to jump out of bed in the morning knows that passion is a powerful drug.
The ability to embrace life boosts self-esteem, fuels the immune system, and improves cardiovascular health. Passion in bed can be particularly beneficial: Banish boredom and isolation at all costs. Rekindle the flames with your partner. Or discover a new love in the form of a mental or physical pursuit: Take up painting, join a book club, start a running program you'll find motivation and tips and connect with other women like you through Team FITNESS, our personalized online exercise community, at fitnessmagazine.
Do whatever it is that makes you feel energized and alive. Last fall, a groundbreaking study showed that mice on a high-fat diet supplemented with resveratrol, a substance found in the skin of grapes, had longer average lifespans than those not given the resveratrol. According to the study's co-lead researcher Rafael de Cabo, PhD, of the National Institute on Aging, resveratrol clearly reduced the risk of diabetes and liver problems in mice, leading to a significant decline in obesity-related deaths.
But here's the catch: Researchers are working now to improve the potency of resveratrol in order to develop a pill that contains the optimum amount of the substance. In the meantime, there's plenty of evidence that a little red wine can offset a host of health problems.
A new animal study from Johns Hopkins University suggested that red wine can diminish brain damage caused by stroke by as much as 40 percent. And research released last year showed that grape-seed procyanidins, found in red wine, helps reduce arterial clogging, resulting in lower blood-cholesterol levels and a reduction in deaths from heart disease.
Until an optimally potent resveratrol pill is available, enjoy red wine, but it's best to follow the latest alcohol guidelines from the American Medical Association and drink no more than one glass 5 ounces a day for your health. More energy, better posture, greater flexibility, improved mood, and less stress are just some of the rewards of this mind-body workout. Yogic breathing has been shown to oxygenate the cells, ridding them of toxins, helping prevent illness, and making skin radiant.
Unlike other exercises, says Lee, yoga poses are designed to work the inside of your body as well as the outside, which helps rejuvenate the digestive system, the reproductive system, even the immune system. Practice yoga or other mind-body activities at least twice a week, says Lee, to give yourself an energy boost, help build bone mass, and de-stress. There's a good reason we're hearing so much about pomegranates these days.
Pomegranate juice has been found to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, possibly delay the onset of atherosclerosis, and potentially help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease; researchers believe it may also help prevent some forms of cancer from starting or progressing.
Pomegranates can also protect the skin from damage caused by UV rays, according to a study published last March. Another promising anti-ager is the goji berry, a fruit native to Tibet that boasts times more vitamin C by weight than an orange and is considered to be the most abundant source of carotenoids, a type of antioxidant, on earth.
This little nutritional powerhouse — which tastes like a denser, sweeter cranberry — also contains more iron than spinach, 18 amino acids, calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, and vitamins B1, B2, B6 and E, according to Dr.