Category: Lifestyle

Our team always thinks how to enabling you to live healthily and happily in your own perfect rhythm, that is our ultimate objective.  Therefore I need to think outside the box and surprisingly I found 10 ways that you may not aware.

1. Singing strengthens the immune system.

You may not realise singing helps us to live healthier. According to the research conducted at the University of Frankfurt, singing improve the immune system. The study included testing professional choir members’ blood before and after an hour-long rehearsal singing Mozart’s “Requiem”. The researchers noticed that in most cases, the amount of proteins in the immune system that function as antibodies, known as Immunoglobulin A, were significantly higher immediately after the rehearsal. The same boots were not observed after the choir members passively listened to music!

So I have started to sing loudly along with my favourite songs when I clean my house! You may also consider singing in the bathroom.

2. Running adds years to your life.

After my searches, I found even if you meet just the minimum of amount of physical activity, example 30 minutes, 5 times per week, you will live longer.

Studies show that when different types of people started exercising, they lived longer. Smokers gained 4.1 years to their lives. Non-smokers added 3 years. (I don’t know why it is shorter for a non-smoker!!) Cancer survivors extended their lives by 5.3 years! Those with heart disease added 4.3 years!  Therefore go out to run now!!

        Running makes you happier.

Not just added years, running makes you happier. A 2006 study published in Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, researchers found that even a 30-minute walking could instantly lift the mood of someone suffering from a major depressive order.

3. Eating vegetable and fruit reduces risk of stroke, heart disease or premature death.

It seems everyone knows eating vegetable is healthier, but I found that you will be benefited even you eat as little as 375g of vegetable. A new research from BioMed Central acknowledges daily intake of just 375g of fruit, vegetables and beans are sufficient to reduce risk of stroke, heart disease or premature death.

I really thank you for this study because my son doesn’t like vegetables.

          Eating vegetable and fruit combats stress

Researchers also found that eating a Mediterranean diet or other healthy dietary pattern, comprising of fruit, vegetables, legumes, and nuts and low in processed meats, is associated with preventing the onset of depression. A large study of 15,093 people suggests depression could be linked with nutrient deficits.

I like to try a new recipe using a superfood to find new favorites to add to your meal planning rotation once a week. For example, you can try preparing foods such as salmon, kale, mushrooms, broccoli, avocados, beans, walnuts, and whole grains!

4. Sleep boosts mental wellbeing.

Given that a single sleepless night can make you irritable and moody the following day, it’s not surprising that chronic sleep debt may lead to long-term mood disorders like depression and anxiety.  When people with anxiety or depression were surveyed to calculate their sleeping habits, it turned out that most of them slept for less than 6 hours a night.

          Magic Seven “Sleep Number”
For most adults, seven seems to be the magic number of hours of sleep needed a night, according to a study reported in the Harvard Business Review. Getting enough sleep will enable you to do your best work and help you handle daily challenges. If you sleep for less than seven hours per night it can greatly affect your health, even if you are just a little sleep-deprived.

I realized ‘six’ and ‘seven’ hours’ sleep making a difference.

5. Less sugar.

It’s not new that sugar is bad for you. But do you know there are hidden sources of sugar.

        Hidden sources of sugar

I am not a sweet tooth but I may be eating more than I realize because so many everyday processed foods, from cereals and bread to pasta sauce and soups, contain sugar.

Studies found that ‘Low-fat’ and ‘diet’ foods often contain ‘extra’ sugar to help improve their taste and to add bulk and texture in place of fat. Even ready-made soups and sauces may contain added sugar. Also, a can of soft drink, on average, contains the equivalent of seven teaspoons of sugar.

      High sugar intakes increasing likelihood of mental disorders

Researches show men with high sugar intakes have an increased likelihood of common mental disorders (such as anxiety and depression) after 5 years compared to those with low intakes, according to the University College London research.

6. Laughing boosts the immune system.

It was found that laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease. People who laugh heartily, on a regular basis, have a lower standing blood pressure than does the average person. When people have a good laugh, initially the blood pressure increases, but then it decreases to levels below normal.  Clinical studies by Loma Linda University have shown that laughter strengthens the immune system by increasing infection-fighting antibodies.

      Laughing reduces stress and enhances learning

Laughter reduces at least four of the neuro-endocrine hormones associated with stress. These are epinephrine, cortisol, dopamine, and growth hormone. Belly laughs result in muscle relaxation. While you laugh, the muscles that do not participate in the belly laugh relax. After you finish laughing, those muscles involved in the laughter start to relax. Therefore, the action takes place in two stages.

Brain Function Laughter stimulates both sides of the brain to enhance learning. It eases muscle tension and psychological stress, which keeps the brain alert and allows people to retain more information.

The Heart Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack, according to a study at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The study, which is the first to indicate that laughter may help prevent heart disease, found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.

         Laughing triggers the release of endorphins

Endorphins are one of the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain. Humor and laughter are a powerful emotional medicine that can lower stress, dissolve anger, and unite people in troubled times. Mood is elevated by striving to find humor in difficult and frustrating situations. Laughing at ourselves, and the situation we are in, will help reveal that small things are not the earth-shaking events they sometimes seem to be.

Believe it or not? Some said we can trick your brain to feel happy with a very easy exercise: Just smile. Try it.

7. Good care of your mouth, teeth and gums is more important than you might realize.

Good oral and dental hygiene can help prevent bad breath, tooth decay and gum disease and oral health is more important than you might realize.According to the Mayo Clinic, highlight some major areas of concern.

• Cardiovascular disease:In a nutshell, this means heart disease. The bacteria from inflammation of the gums and periodontal disease can enter your bloodstream and travel to the arteries in the heart and cause atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Atherosclerosis induces plaque to develop on the inner walls of arteries which thicken and this decreases or may block blood flow through the body. This can cause an increased risk of heart attack or stroke. The inner lining of the heart can also become infected and inflamed – a condition known as endocarditis.
• Dementia:The bacteria from gingivitis may enter the brain through either nerve channels in the head or through the blood stream which might even lead to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
• Respiratory infections:The Journal of Periodontology warns that gum disease could cause you to get infections in your lungs, including pneumonia. While the c onnection might not be completely obvious at first, think of what might happen from breathing in bacteria from infected teeth and gums over a long period of time.
• Diabetic complications:Inflammation of the gum tissue and periodontal disease can make it harder to control your blood sugar and make your diabetes symptoms worse. Diabetes sufferers are also more susceptible to periodontal disease, making proper dental care even more important for those with this disease.

Some believed that brushing and flossing keep more than your pearly whites healthy, they might also prevent serious illnesses. Poor dental care is also a possible factor in immune system disorders, weak bones, and problems with pregnancy and low birth weight.

8. Dancing helps you lose weight and reduce stress.

One of my favourite shows like Strictly Come Dancing. If you also like to dance, it’s a great news that dance keep your body and mind healthy. Studies show that dancing can help you lose weight, stay flexible, reduce stress, make friends, and more.

According to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine, dancing may boost your memory and prevent you from developing dementia as you get older. Science reveals that aerobic exercise can reverse volume loss in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls memory. The hippocampus naturally shrinks during late adulthood, which often leads to impaired memory and sometimes dementia.

9. Less TV reduces the chance of developing diabetes.

A research has suggested that each hour spent watching TV daily increases the chance of developing diabetes by 3.4 per cent in high-risk individuals.

Another study between the TV viewing habits and the brain function, it looked at more than 3,200 people, who were 25 years old, on average, at the start of the study. The people in the study who watched more than 3 hours of TV per day on average over the next 25 years were more likely to perform poorly on certain cognitive tests, compared with people who watched little TV, the researchers found.

The results suggest that engaging in physical activity, as oppose to sitting and watching TV, is important for brain health, said study author Tina D. Hoang, of the Northern California Institute for Research and Education at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Francisco. “Being physically active at any time in your life is good for your brain,” Hoang said.

Luckily, I am not a TV fan.  I’d rather like sitting in my garden than sitting in front of the TV.

10. Gardening provides substantial human health benefits.

There is increasing evidence that gardening provides substantial human health benefits. I found the results of a meta-analysis research which have examined the effects of gardening, including horticultural therapy, on health. Most studies came from the United States, followed by Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Studies reported a wide range of health outcomes, such as reductions in depression, anxiety, and body mass index, as well as increases in life satisfaction, quality of life, and sense of community. Meta-analytic estimates showed a significant positive effect of gardening on the health outcomes both for all and sets of subgroup studies. Although the studies’ test indicated the presence of publication bias, significant positive effects of gardening remained after adjusting for this using trim and fill analysis. This study has provided robust evidence for the positive effects of gardening on health. A regular dose of gardening can improve public health.

Would you like to adapt one or two simple and surprising ways enabling to live healthily and happily?  Happy Weekend.