The keys to a long and healthy life are right in front of you.
Instead of expensive face creams, a cache of vitamins and supplements, or a hard-to-follow diet, all you need are some research-backed tools to help you stay healthy as you age and fight cognitive decline.
These solutions involve simple tweaks to your diet, the right kind of exercise, and a healthy approach to relationships and the world around you. Armed with these tools, you can live long and prosper.
SEE ALSO: What your daily routine should look like, according to science
Eat like a Mediterranean.
Some of the best defenses against the normal cognitive decline that comes with age may be on our plates. A growing body of scientific evidence links a Mediterranean diet, based around vegetables, fruit, nuts, fish, and olive oil, with a strong, healthy body and a sharp mind.
Studies link the diet with a reduced risk of breast cancer and heart disease, and also suggest that the eating plan may be tied to higher cognitive performance and a potentially lower risk of dementia.
Maintain friendships and build new ones.
Loneliness can be deadly — some research suggests it poses a greater threat to public health than obesity. Fostering friendship is therefore key to aging well and boosting happiness, several recent studies have suggested.
One of them, published in 2008 in the British Medical Journal, found that people who had regular contact with 10 or more other people were significantly happier than those who did not, and that people with fewer friends were less happy overall.
Friends who are not your family may be especially important.
In a pair of studies involving nearly 280,000 people, psychologists at Michigan State University found that in older people, friendships were a stronger predictor of both health and happiness than relationships with family members.
"Keeping a few really good friends around can make a world of difference for our health and well-being,"Chopik said in a statement. "So it's smart to invest in the friendships that make you happiest."
Do cardio exercise three times a week.
Any kind of movement is beneficial, but the type that will have the most benefits for your body and brain as you age is aerobic exercise, or cardio.
Studies suggest that running, walking, and swimming helps to lift the mood, clear the mind, and may even help protect from some of the cognitive decline that occurs with age. Cardio also strengthens the heart and lungs and helps tone up muscles — but make sure you're committing to it for at least 45 minutes at a time, at least three days a week.
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