HACKS FOR HEALTHY LIVING

BY Dr. Sanjiva Wijesinha

While browsing in a local bookshop recently, I discovered an intriguing tome titled ‘Cheat Sheets for Life: over 750 hacks for health, happiness and success.’ Written by Ayesha Ratnayake, the book contains a wealth of information presented in the form of reader friendly snippets. And it provides many useful insights.

Ratnayake has captured the essence of her knowledge in nuggets of advice that are backed by research. The book contains chapters on various topics ranging from leadership and productivity, to learning and parenting.

But what caught my eye were the 10 pages on health – they provide many practical tips, which are worth sharing.

All of us would like to live a life free of pain and suffering. We want to live and keep fit for as long as possible. With this in mind, here are some tips from Cheat Sheets for Life…

Prioritise sleep. Having less than six hours of sleep every night greatly increases your risk of premature death. While we sleep, the body flushes out toxins from the brain. Aiming for between seven and eight hours’ sleep is ideal.

In contrast, sleeping for more than nine hours a night can be detrimental to your health. There’s so much truth to Mahatma Gandhi’s words: “When I wake up, I am reborn.”

Stay sociable. Since being socially connected is an important ingredient for wellbeing, make sure you stay in touch with others. Regular contact with at least 10 friends has been shown to greatly boost happiness.

Keep in touch with pals, join a group if you need to and accept social invitations. While we’re working, we have the benefit of a network of colleagues; but upon retirement, this safety net disappears – unless we cultivate social connections.

Sharing reminiscences and happy memories with others has been shown to generate good feelings and positive emotions. The least socially connected people experience memory loss much sooner than those who interact with others regularly.

Work out regularly and choose your exercise wisely. Half an hour of exercise a day is essen­tial for mental and physical health. What matters more is that you exercise regularly rather than the kind of workout you choose.

Exercising in nature environments is recommended as is working out in a group and/or with motivating music. Not only is exercise important for your overall health and wellbeing, it also keeps your joints and muscles in shape.

It pays to choose your exercise; because if you enjoy an activity, chances are that you’ll stick with it. It doesn’t matter whether you walk, jog, swim, play golf or dance – as long as it’s fun and you enjoy it.

Even using a treadmill can be enjoyable if you watch a movie or an interesting TV show while walking or running. And studies have shown that frequent dancing retards dementia much more than any other physical or cognitive activity.

Read, laugh and sing! Research affirms that those who read books have less cognitive decline and lower mortality rates than nonreaders. Laughing improves heart function and has been found to have a similar effect as that of antidepressants.

In the case of singing, researchers in Sweden have discovered that it improves heart health. So if you aren’t doing so already, seriously consider reading, laughing and singing – it could add years (and better health!) to your life…