I’m sure you’ve heard the term life span. It’s basically from the day you’re born to the day you die. But have you heard of health span? It’s a thing! And extending your health span is the key to living a happy life.
A lot of people say I don’t want to live that long (insert a high number here-80, 90, 100, 110). That’s because they visualize what other people they know look and act like at those ages.
I’m sure you’ve seen someone in their 80’s who still live by themselves and is self sufficient. You’ve also seen 80 years olds who can’t even go to the bathroom by themselves.
These two people may be the exact same age and therefore they’ve had the same lifespan but they have very different health spans.
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Health Span v. Life Span
Life Span
The length of time someone is alive
Health Span
Health span is the length of time that a person is healthy. Extending your health span is the key to living your life to the fullest.
We’re only on this planet for a certain amount of time. For the most part we don’t have control over our life span.
Yes, you can live healthy and theoretically live longer. But you don’t have control over external circumstances like terminal accidents or diseases.
You do however have more control over your health span. The better choices you make every day will increase your life span.
7 Ways To Increase Your Health Span
Stop blaming your age
I hear it over and over again from people everywhere saying thing’s like “that’s what happens when you get old, “I can’t do that anymore, I’m too old,” “I’m too old to do (you fill in the blank).
All that is, is an excuse. Pure and simple. It’s an excuse not to try new things like a new exercise routine.
Next time you hear this coming out of your mouth……. STOP IT!
Ask yourself why you can’t do something? Is it that you can’t do it, or is it that you don’t want to do it?
Whatever your answer is keep asking yourself why until you figure out a way to do it. Just Do It, no excuses, if it can help you increase your health span you can’t afford not to do it.
If you still can’t get there due to current medical conditions then ask yourself how you can modify it so you can. Break it down into easier tasks and work towards the bigger goal.
Be Intentional About What You’re Putting Into Your Body
You are what you eat. We’ve all heard it before, but if you’re putting junk food or other unhealthy foods into your body then you’re not optimizing your health.
The food you eat becomes part of you. Don’t become a wrinkly Cheeto.
Eat fresh vegetables, that includes frozen vegetables that are flash frozen. Your body was designed to eat food grown from nature not the frozen food section of your grocery store.
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Get Yourself a Good Exercise Routine
Extending your health span means increasing your daily health. Your current health builds on the previous day’s health and tomorrow’s health is built today.
A natural part of getting older is losing muscle. According to Harvard Medical School, you begin to lose as much as 3% to 5% muscle per decade after the age of 30.
Weight bearing exercises are key to adding years to your health span. Just think of all of the things your muscles do. It also helps to strengthen your bones.
Muscles also burn fat and who doesn’t want less fat? When you’re a “fat burning machine” you have more energy and feel better.
Incorporating aerobic exercises into your exercise routine is also very important to increase your health span.
Aerobic exercise:
- Keeps your muscles strong
- Helps maintain your mobility
- Lowers your risk of falls and injuries
- Increases stamina
- Keeps your mind sharp
- Activates your immune system
- Strengthens your heart
- Helps you live longer
And so much more!
Try adding weights to you your aerobic exercises and increase the impact of your exercise routine in less time.
If you currently suffer from any health issues talk to your doctor before starting a new exercise routine.
Self Correct Your Posture
Self correct your posture before you get stuck that way!
How are you going to live a healthy active life if you’re hunched over?
Have you ever seen an older person with hunched shoulders looking down with what appears to be a hump?
This type of hump is usually referred to as Dowager’s Hump which is an outdated term and is not a politically correct term. The medical term for this is Kyphosis.
Kyphosis is when the spine in the upper back has an excessive curvature. This is a result of poor posture and aging.
In order to increase your health span you should do everything you can to “stack the odds in your favor.” This includes consistently being aware of your posture and self correcting it.
Walk Correctly
This might sound crazy, but a lot of Americans don’t know how to walk properly.
Yes, we were taught to walk when we were babies. But for most of us our parent’s only goal was for us to get from point A to point B.
We weren’t taught the proper way to walk. Your feet should touch in four places as you walk, heal, flat foot, heal off and then toe. This may sound simple, but if you’re not doing this you’re probably walking on other parts of your feet that weren’t made to be walked on.
This results in many different health problems from planter fascitis to osteoperoris (Bowman, 2016)
Move It!
It’s more important now than ever to get more movement into your life and it’s one of the keys to extending your health span.
A lot of us are stuck behind computers day after day stuck sitting in the same position.
You may have heard that some doctors are referring to sitting as the new smoking.
Our bodies are not designed to be in the same position for long periods of time.
We were built for survival. It was imperative to be able to run away from that saber tooth tiger, hunt and gather our food and find or build shelters to protect ourselves from the elements.
When we’re in the same stagnant positions day after day a lot of our muscles are not being used. When they’re not being used there getting weaker and not getting enough blood flow to keep them healthy.
If you want to live a long active live start moving all parts of your body every day.
Try using a fitness tracker either a wearable or your phone (I know you’ve got one of those). Have it remind you to stand up and walk around. Take a walk around the block, track your steps (10,000 a day is a good goal).
Also make it a habit to Streeeeeeeeeeetch your muscles every day.
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Who Wants To Live to 100?
Let me re-phrase that question. Who wants to extend their health span to a minimum of 100 years? Hopefully that’s you!
It all starts with mindset. If you want to get as many years on this planet as possible as an active self sufficient individual then start working on it now.
Stop blaming your age, it’s just a number.
Eat a healthy diet, exercise and make sure you get enough movement. Pay attention to the way you’re sitting and sit up straight.
When your walking try to walk straight and pay attention to how you’re walking. Remember, heal, flat foot, heal off then toe.
No matter what you want your health span to be your goal should be that it’s equal to your life span. Start extending your health span right now.
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MEDICAL DISCLAIMER
Nothing contained in the site is intended to establish a physician-patient relationship, to replace the services of a trained physician or health care professional, or otherwise to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
