Keeping A Healthy Outlook On Life

If you have not already, now is the time to quit smoking and cutback on the drinking. If you want to live a healthier life those two destructive behaviors must end and you are going to have to adopt a more active lifestyle. Odds are you are going to have to lose some weight as well.

Statistics show that despite all the health warnings, 20% of all Americans are still smoking. The number one thing that people can do to become healthier is to stop. Smoking damages the heart and lungs and will cut your life short and will damage the quality of your life. The Food and Drug Administration is looking for new ways to convince smokers to quit and new graphic warning labels will be slapped onto cigarette packages beginning in 2012. These labels will actually include photographs of diseased lungs and cases of cancer of the mouth.

The consumption of alcohol is another activity that needs to be curtailed in America. While studies have shown that one or two drinks a day can actually be beneficial, any more than that can damage your liver and could cause a stroke. Alcohol abuse has been shown to cut life short and will raise the chances that you will be involved in an accident. Drunk driving remains one of the leading causes of death among young people in America.

Once you cut out some of the more destructive behaviors, the key to getting healthier is adding in other activities. Anything that gets you up and moving around is good. Government researchers say physical activity will prolong your life because it reduces the rick of heart trouble and diabetes. Exercise will also help you combat weight gain and strengthens your heart and the other muscles in the body.

The government has published a physical activity guide which helps people determine how much exercise they need to become healthier. It recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity each week for optimum results. The report points out that there are a wide variety of ways to achieve the physical activity goals. It recommends walking and biking but also says that gardening and dancing also qualify as activities that will help you meet the requirements.

Another way to live a healthier life is to get an adequate amount of sleep through the night. Studies show that people who sleep less than five hours a night will not live as long as those who get between six and a half and seven years of sleep. The research done by the University of San Diego School of Medicine also found that too much sleep is not good for your health. The study was not able to identify why sleep habits affect longevity but they were able to establish the link by trying to find the people who participated in a sleep survey years later. People who reported that they slept about six and a half hours per night were the ones who ended up living the longest.

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