Hello,

I trust you're safe, fit and well.

All strength to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

We went to the country last weekend. My daughter was nearly bitten by a large black snake, tiny feathertail gliders (aka pygmy gliding possums) plopped onto my pillow during the night, and we fed fearless Kookaburras who were willing to eat from our hands. Although we stayed in a house - in the forest - the nearest shops were 20 minutes away, and we had to take our own drinking water.

It was refreshing to be beyond the exurbs.

This week - longevity, countering insomnia, kicking the salt habit, and 5 easy at-home exercises

Insomnia leads to insidious health problems. This study says that you can negate the problems with regular exercise - see item #2.

A seven-year study of 62-year-olds validated the American Heart Foundation's "Life's Essential 8" score. The path to a longer life expectancy is clear - see item #1.

⭑ How to live longer and less time with chronic diseases ✔
⭑ Insomnia triggers heart attacks ✔ Exercise counters the damage from insomnia
⭑ We all eat too much salt, and bread is a surprisingly bad actor ✔
⭑ Not exercising regularly? Do these 5 at home and you'll likely live longer ✔

01 Life's Essential 8: Higher Scores Extend Healthy Life Span​

How much would you pay for an extra 7 to 10 years free of chronic disease?

If you saw such an offer advertised on TV, you'd think it was a scam, right?

A recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine analysed the association between the American Heart Association's "Life's Essential 8" metric and chronic disease-free life expectancy in 135,000 UK adults - average age 62.

The study found those with high cardiovascular health scores averaged an additional 7 years (men) and 9.5 years (women) of life expectancy free of chronic diseases compared to those with lower scores.

⇒ Those with higher scores also lived fewer years with chronic disease but more years without chronic disease. In other words, their painful time was compressed!

What I found interesting in this study was that it found no differences in outcomes across differences in income, education, or socioeconomic status. In other words, there is no one else to blame!

What this means for you: This study shows that changing your lifestyle choices pays big dividends. Of course, we already know this, so how can we change?

The Life's Essential 8 behavioural factors mentioned in the study are:

1. Not smoking
2. Regular physical activity
3. Healthy weight
4. Healthy diet
5. Healthy sleep (defined as an average of 7-9 hours nightly)
6. Blood pressure in a healthy range
7. Blood glucose in a healthy range
8. Non-HDL cholesterol in a healthy range.

Changing your habits is hard.

Try ranking the factors which apply to you in order of their difficulty to change. For example, smoking, followed by maintaining a healthy weight, following a healthy diet, achieving healthy sleep patterns, engaging in regular physical activity, controlling blood glucose levels, keeping blood pressure in a healthy range, and finally, maintaining healthy non-HDL cholesterol levels.

Then, I would seek help from family, friends, and professional providers to start improving the top one or two factors.

And, at the same time, think about what you can do to improve the "universal factors" of sleep, diet and exercise. For example, to improve your sleep patterns:

• set a consistent sleep schedule;
• establish a relaxing bedtime routine; and,
• avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime.

To maintain a healthy diet:

• gradually adding more fruit, vegetables, and whole grains to your meals;
• reducing processed and high-fat foods; and,
• controlling portion sizes.

For exercise, if you are doing a little then you are on the way to doing just a little more each day. Otherwise, get moving during the ad breaks on TV, set your watch to remind you to stand up every 25 minutes, join a gym class, try pilates, and start walking for 10 minutes daily. See item #4 below for some at-home ideas.

Start by setting small achievable goals, such as incorporating just one better habit from the above into your daily routine at a time. Stick with it, and add one more small change when it becomes a habit.

⇒ I think of starting this way - eat 20% less, exercise 20% more - whatever that means for you. That's how I started.

Your small successes will add up to a longer life.

Related: ​​Brain Health Is Boosted By Eating Less, Often — Here’s How To Start​

//

02 Run For Your Life: Exercise ‘wipes out’ Heart Disease Risk From Insomnia​

This is good news because our sleep quality falls as we age - exercise has been found to offset the negative health consequences of poor sleep.

The study followed 92,221 adults in the UK Biobank database, with an average age of 62, for seven years. During that period, 3,080 died. The study found:

• People who sleep less than six hours a night were 52% more likely to die of heart disease than normal sleepers.
• Engaging in 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week eliminated the increased risk of death from heart disease associated with poor sleep.
• Short sleepers were 31% more likely to die of any cause.
• 7% of the adults in the group slept less than six hours a night on average, while 20% slept more than eight hours.

Scientists believe a lack of sleep increases inflammation, blood pressure and stress hormones, causing long-term heart damage and weakening our immune system. The new research found that exercise “attenuates or eliminates” these consequences of poor sleep by reducing inflammatory responses and keeping your heart strong and healthy.

⇒ Something to note: those who slept longer than 8 hours daily were also more likely to die than those who slept between 7 and 8 hours. Their risk was about 25% of those who slept less than 6 hours.

What this means for you: Doing at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week will minimise the adverse outcomes of insufficient or poor sleep.

The good news is that you don't have to become a marathon runner to enjoy better sleep. 25 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise can make a difference in your sleep quality the same night.

Picking an exercise you enjoy will help you stick with it, and any form of physical activity that elevates your heart rate can contribute to better sleep. See item #4 below for some at-home ideas.

Here are my three top tips, and in my experience, #2 is the most important:

1. Listen to your body. Pay attention to how your sleep is affected by the timing of your exercise. If exercising close to bedtime keeps you awake, do it earlier.
2. Establish a consistent sleep schedule. Aim to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. And get some sunlight/daylight every day as early as possible after you wake up.
3. Create a sleep-friendly environment. Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet. Invest in a comfortable mattress and pillows, and eliminate electronic devices from your sleep space (or at least reduce their use close to sleep time).

Related: How To Sleep Better And Recover Like Elite Soccer Players​

@Medium - Follow me on Medium ↗, covering ⭑food, ⭑brain, ⭑body, ⭑life

//

03 A Slice of Bread Has More Salt Than A Packet Of Crisps​

Our body needs only a small amount of sodium (from salt). We should get about 1,500 milligrams of it every day. But the average American eats about 3,400 milligrams, and the average Australian about 2,150 milligrams. Roughly 80% of this would be from processed foods and 20% from salt used at the table or in home cooking.

What surprised me in this study is the statement that bread is the main source of salt in the UK diet and that "just one slice of bread is typically saltier than a packet of ready salted crisps".

Too much sodium in your diet can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. It can also cause calcium losses, some of which may be pulled from your bones, which is bad news as we age and especially for women. We need to do everything possible to maintain our bone mass and not risk losing it.

⇒ High blood pressure from excess salt is especially concerning as it is linked to 75,000 premature deaths annually from heart disease and stroke in the UK alone, according to the study. Presumably, this will be a far higher number in the US.

What this means for you: I like good bread, although I don’t eat much of it. And I am not likely to stop eating it. If you are eating too much bread then you'd be best to cut back, and also check for lower-salt bread as per my tips below:

• Check food labels: When shopping for bread and other packaged foods, check the nutrition labels for the salt content. Choose lower-salt versions whenever possible - I'll be checking the labels, and the taste, to find lower-salt breads which still taste good.
• Use herbs and spices: Instead of adding salt to your meals, try using herbs and spices to add flavor. Fresh herbs like basil, rosemary, and thyme are great options, as are spices like cumin, coriander, and paprika.
• Avoid processed foods: Processed foods like ready meals, sauces, and snacks often contain high levels of salt. Try to limit your intake of these foods and opt for fresh, whole foods instead - or compare labels and choose the low-salt option.

This is particularly important if you are at risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, or stroke.

By making small changes to your diet, you can reduce your salt intake and improve your overall health.

Good luck.

Related: Holy Mackerel! Researchers Confirm Walnuts Help Your Muscles Stay Stronger Helping Live Longer​

//

04 5 At-home Exercises to Improve Your Healthy Longevity

Our exercises of the week are... five easy at-home exercises to improve your score on the Life's Essential 8 test.

Regular exercise not only helps you live disease-free for longer, but it also helps you feel better as well. And it's never too late to start. You'll need a resistance band, and light dumbbells to complete the set. You can buy these cheaply.

What this means for you: The five exercises I have chosen are Chair Squats, Wall Push-ups, Seated Rows with Resistance Bands, Bicep Curls with dumbbells, and Seated Marching.

Chair Squats: Chair squats help strengthen your lower body, particularly the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. Strong leg muscles contribute to overall fitness and a more active metabolism, which helps you maintain a healthy weight, and it promotes better sleep by reducing stress and anxiety levels.

How to perform: Stand in front of a sturdy chair with feet hip-width apart. Lower your body as if sitting down, aiming to barely touch the chair before standing back up. Repeat for 10-15 repetitions.

Wall Push-Ups: Wall push-ups target the chest, shoulders, and triceps, engaging the upper body muscles. Developing these muscles contributes to maintaining a healthy weight by increasing overall muscle mass, which in turn increases your resting metabolic rate. Regular upper body exercise also helps relieve tension and stress, improving sleep quality.

How to perform: Stand facing a wall, place your hands on the wall at shoulder height and shoulder-width apart. Bend your elbows, lower your chest toward the wall, and then push back to the starting position. Repeat for 10-15 repetitions. To increase the load stand further back from the wall.

Seated Rows with Resistance Bands: This exercise targets your back muscles, specifically the rhomboids and latissimus dorsi. Strengthening these muscles also helps maintain a healthy weight by increasing muscle mass and boosting your metabolism. Additionally, a strong back helps maintain good posture and reduces the risk of back pain, promoting better sleep.

How to perform: Sit on the floor with your legs extended, wrap a resistance band around the soles of your feet, and hold the ends of the band. Pull the band toward your chest, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Slowly release and repeat for 10-15 repetitions. Tip: always maintain tension in the band.

Bicep Curls with Dumbbells: Bicep curls improve your upper body strength. As mentioned above, maintaining muscle mass helps keep your metabolism high, contributing to a healthy weight and helps regulate your sleep patterns.

How to perform: Sit or stand holding a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing forward. Bend your elbows, lift the weights toward your shoulders, and lower them back down. Repeat for 10-15 repetitions. Maintain tension through the entire movement and go slower on the lowering movement - count to 4.

Seated Marching: Seated marching engages the hip flexors and lower abdominal muscles, contributing to overall core strength. A strong core will improve your balance and stability and also reduce the risk of back pain.

How to perform: Sit on the edge of a sturdy chair with feet flat on the ground. Lift one knee toward your chest, then lower it back down. Repeat with the other leg. Continue alternating legs for 10-15 repetitions per side. Level up by grasping a small cushion between your feet, lifting both legs simultaneously, and going slower on the lowering movement - count to 4.

⇒ These are simple exercises, but if you are consistent and do them regularly, you will really notice the benefit and feel good about it.

Good luck.

Related: The Surprising Way Hip Flexors Pull You Down Into An Elderly Stoop And ​Shuffle, And How To Avoid It​

​How To Go From On-knee to Full Pushups, and Reap The Benefits​

​

Thanks for reading!

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>> My Latest Blog Post: How Many Pistachios Should I Eat For Sleep and When?​

About the newsletter: Do you think it can be improved? Have a story idea? Want to share about the time you met Chris Hemsworth, or your questions about how to live longer better? Send those thoughts and more to me at walter@bodyagebuster.com

'4 Most Valuable' is a weekly newsletter from Walter Adamson. If you like it, please forward to a like-minded soul. Someone forward this to you? You can subscribe from this page.

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