Beauty And Fitness
| By : deepak verma | Previous | Next |
| Posted on : 28 Oct, 2005 | Total Views : 309 |
Someone's life expectancy can be roughly calculated according to his or her physical and historical backgrounds. The time, place and genetic make-up usually determine it. In developed countries, medical care, diet and preventive health measures have improved conditions of life. While famine and inadequate medical care in Third World countries keep life expectancy low, human greed, stress and laziness in more affluent nations still cause many premature deaths -- and the numbers are rising every day.
In most countries, women live 5 to 8 years longer than men and the gap is widening (sorry guys). The reason for this astonishing epiphany is surprisingly simple. On the one hand, women, who are generally more in-tune with their emotions, tend to cope with stress better than men do. On the other hand, men tend to bury their emotions deep within and struggle more with stressful situations, which can eventually lead to diminished health and a shorter bill on life.
Stress, along with psychological traumas and a negative environment, can also lead to lower life expectancies for people who are prone to negativity and pessimism in their lives. Therefore, if you are between the ages of 25-40, hate your work, don't exercise, eat junk, argue and fight regularly with a spouse or siblings, and develop bad habits like smoking and drinking, then you can automatically add 10 years to your current age. If you are depressed, or are experiencing some other kind of long mental anguish, then add another 5 years. Therefore, if you were expecting to at least live until the golden age of 70, then forget it. You'll be lucky to hit 55.
Ironic, isn't it, that with our advancing technological and medical era, we are slowly but surely digressing to a life-expectancy standard of a century ago? Don't fret though (we wouldn't want that!), there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The good news is that you can actually reverse the aging process so that you feel and look younger than your actual physical age.
Giving a fresh spin to the old expression "jogging your memory", scientists have found that running helps the growth of new brain cells, improving learning and memory, and consequently adding more years to your life. "Until recently it was thought that the growth of new neurons did not occur in the adult mammalian brain," said Terrence Sejnowski, an investigator at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. "But now we have evidence for it, and it appears that exercise helps it happen."
