Health span is defined as how long you live with a good quality of life and maintaining independence. It’s different than longevity that only takes into account your chronological age. Ultimately we want to live long and be independent and healthy. Here are 3 ways you can positively impact your health span:
- Meditation-this can be thought of as resting the mind and has been shown to increase happiness and help alleviate anxiety. The hormone cortisol is released into the blood stream during times of stress which releases glucose into the blood stream to prepare your body for a “flight or fight” response to the stimulus. Meditation gives the mind a chance to rest and be at peace. If you find you’ve tried to meditate and can’t seem to turn off your brain from thoughts, it’s okay. It’s a practice of being still and not letting your mind get hung up on thoughts but noticing the thoughts and “doing” things. Meditation can be a time when you’re away from your phone or a screen and have a chance to be alone with your thoughts without looking for a distraction like social media, the internet, shopping, drinking, or any of the other vices we look for when we’re bored or don’t want to be alone with our thoughts.It’s a time to pay attention to the thoughts that come up. Even if you find your brain starts stirring with thoughts and planning What am I going to make for dinner tonight? I need to remember to call Jane. I need to find a dog sitter for this weekend. What’s my workout going to be for tomorrow? The goal is to be aware of the thoughts but not drill into any one thought. Meditation sounds simple but it’s hard to do in our fast paced environment filled with distractions and busy schedules.
Read more:
8 Quick and Easy Meditation Techniques to Calm Your Anxious Mind
How to Reap the Benefits of Meditating Without Meditating
2. Fasting-Has a remarkable positive impact on insulin and inflammation which contribute to aging and many lifestyle diseases. Having periods of time not eating helps to keep inflammation down and helps the gives the body time to deplete the insulin that may be circulating in the blood stream. It gives insulin a chance to do its job of packing glucose into the cells for energy. Fasting can be done in a number of different ways:
- Time restricted eating or intermittent fasting where you don’t eat for anywhere from 12-16 hour. This is the easiest form of fasting. If you stop eating dinner at 7pm you wouldn’t eat again in 7am at the earliest. This also reduces your feeding window and much of the time during the day you’re eating. There’s been some interesting studies done this and the benefits of narrowing your feeding window.
2. Long fasts of 24 hours or more. This is hard to do especially in our culture where food is abundant, our lives revolve around meals and we’ve been taught to have snacks to avoid hunger. Hunger is okay. Billions of people around the world practice fasting for religious reason or as a part of their culture. You can survive without eating for 24 hour or more. I’ve found it best to practice this while traveling. I eat when I get to my destination and a time and place that fits my schedule. It relieves me of thinking of the logistics of how and when I’m going to eat.
Read more:
Benefits of Time Restricted Eating
Beginners Guide to Intermittent Fasting
3. Sleep-Getting enough sleep and the right kind of sleep contributes to less cortisol in the bloodstream, better mood, increased focus, bolsters your immune system, and has a positive impact on brain health and can stave off Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline. Matthew Walker that wrote Why We Sleep, did an excellent, three part podcast with Peter Attia on the importance of sleep. He has done fascinating research validating the importance of sleep.
These methods aren’t widely promoted by doctors because they take an investment of time and discipline. We live in a culture that likes the quick fix of a drug and there’s a drug for everything. You could take a host of medications to lower your blood sugar or you could fast or go for a walk which also lowers your blood sugar. The quick fix drug can come with unwelcome side effects. Adopting a healthier lifestyle is the long term investment in your health.
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