10 Simple Habits to Help You Live Longer and Look Younger

1. Bathe with Olive Oil.
We know that Olive oil is healthy for cooking but it is also good for your skin. Skin is made up of mainly fat, and you need high quality fats and oils from natural sources such as an Olive Oil, which is an excellent source of Vitamin E and essential fatty acids. Apply small amounts of Olive oil to moisturize dry skin, chapped lips, feet, elbows and your face. Olive oil resembles the natural oil that our body produces. You can also improve hair conditioning by soaking and rinsing your hair with it. It is inexpensive as well.

2. Eat healthy.
A healthy diet contains a balanced intake of complex carbohydrates, protein and fats. Whole-wheat pasta, beans, brown rice, potatoes all provides complex carbohydrates, which are very beneficial for your body. Complex carbohydrates keep control over hunger by preventing your blood-sugar level from dropping. Scientists have found that the use of complex carbohydrates is most effective for weight loss for a simple reason - complex carbohydrates will control your hunger and provide energy as your body is burning them more efficiently. Vegetables and marine (fish and shellfish) sources of protein are best for your heath and vitality.
Pasta, wheat bread, beans, and salads are also fiber rich. Fiber cleans your intestine and colon by moving unwanted substances quickly. This is important not only in fighting colon cancer but also in improving weight loss and making the skin glow. Eating fiber rich food with plenty of drinking water is a healthy formula for a great looking body and skin as well.

3. Drink Water.
Drinking plenty of water instead of calorie filled sodas is a healthy habit for not only weight loss but also for achieving luminous, smooth skin. Water flushes the kidneys and liver, enabling them to remove toxins.
It is not only excellent for your body but also for your brain as the intake of water fights dehydration, which can cause memory loss and senility over the long term. You may have to urinate more but your bladder will be eliminating unwanted substances.


4. Citrus Fruits and Vegetables are a must.
Antioxidants are essential for healthy skin. Spinach and other leafy greens - as well as green tea - contain vast amounts of antioxidants. Citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit have vitamin C, which boosts the skin's production of collagen.
Collagen is essential for skin elasticity, and firmness, and prevents the onset of premature wrinkling.

5. Sleep well.
A sound sleep provides the backbone for your well-being. A restful sleep refreshes your mental and physical condition so that you feel energetic when you wake up the next day. Nighttime is Mother Nature's cue to rest your body after a hectic day filled with stressful events and anxiety. Hours of sleep before midnight are most effective for the body's renewal. Aim to develop the habit of sleeping a few hours before midnight to rest and restore your mind and body. Remember that sleep deprivation has a negative impact on the overall quality of your life.

6. Exercise daily.
Exercise is the most effective way to counteract the effects of aging.
Regular exercise improves muscle mass and raises the level of HDL (High Density Lipoproteins) cholesterol - the "good" cholesterol - in your body.
Exercise makes the body stronger and leaner which, in turn, makes you look and feel both younger and healthier.
Exercise is also the most effective way to control weight.
The benefits of weight control are many - a healthier heart, a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes, more energy and younger looks are just a few.

7. Practice Yoga or Meditation daily.
Your breathing slows; blood pressure decreases and stress hormone levels fall during the yoga or meditation practice.
The beauty of yoga and meditation lies in their ability to create restful awareness.
Your body rests while your mind is still active, yet quiet.
Regular practice of meditation or yoga leads to less hypertension, blood pressure, heart disease and stress.
A stronger body/mind connection is vital for feeling younger and healthier.

8. Fast for a day.
Fasting is an excellent way to detoxify your body. It's a period of time allocated to avoiding food intake. Fasting detoxifies your body by giving the organs a rest and also brings natural healing by cleansing out the body. Fasting also detoxifies your mind by eliminating anxiety, hypertension and stress. The process helps speed up weight loss, which in turn brings feelings of better health. However, before embarking upon any detoxification it is essential that you first seek the advice of a qualified Health care professional.

9. Develop healthy relationships.
Every relationship portrays us by revealing our view of others. A healthy relationship means changing the way we perceive the other person. It is essential to transform a toxic relationship into a harmonious relationship for a healthy and happy life. List the traits of the person involved in the toxic relationship. Your list may include - greedy, rude, self-centered, controlling. You may be surprised if you ask someone if any of these traits mirror your own personality. As you squash your desire to judge the other person with a grudge, you will feel a new understanding of the positive and pleasant characteristics of that person. Relationships are strengthened when needs are met by both parties. Try to understand the needs of the other person and do the best in your capacity to meet those needs. A healthy relationship will reduce stress, anxiety and other toxic emotions and make you feel healthier and happier.

10. Have a positive attitude.
The Placebo effect on the state of our health is well known. Numerous studies have shown that when both doctor and patient believe in a specific treatment, the rate of success goes up significantly. My mother was told to remain bed ridden after losing her kidney yet her own perception and optimism won. She still lives an active life at the age of 72. Whatever you anticipate happening with your heath will likely happen. You can use the effect of thoughts on your health to good advantage by breeding positivity in your life.
We live a life of choices. Why not choose habits that can lead us to feel younger and live longer? Are there any habits that you can reveal to all of us which help you to feel younger and love longer? You may make difference in our world by sharing those habits.
The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not.

Love Yourself To Live A Happy And Joyful Life

Generally peoples fail to recognize their importance and spend most of their Important time in waiting to be loved by someone else.

Unfortunately, this is not the way to live life happily. If you try to find love from someone else, then you'll possibly end up with a feeling of emptiness.

So, to avoid this situation, try to love yourself and then expect more love in your life.

Loving yourself is not that easy as it seems to be. But, there are certain ways, which can help you to develop an optimistic feeling towards yourself and makes you to realize your own importance in this world.

Avoid Self - Criticism:-
Do you often berate yourself for every tiniest issue in your life? If this is the case, then try to realize that criticism never alters anything in your life.

So, if you really want to fall in love with yourself, turn down to criticize or berate yourself. When you berate yourself, you can just merely develop negative attitude or negative thoughts in yourself.

Be Honest With Yourself:-
Take a reasonable evaluation of yourself and make a list of all things that you like about yourself.

If you have any trouble in finding valuable things about yourself, then try to think about those positive things of your best friend and try to check whether you possess those particular qualities or not.

Praise And Support Yourself:-
As already said, never try to criticize yourself. Usually, criticism breaks your inner spirit and mainly develops hatredness towards yourself. As possible as you can, try to praise yourself. Try to tell yourself how well you are doing at work and how well you are handling the situations in your life.

Take Proper Care Of Your Body:-
It is very important for you to maintain better health and strengthen yourself with proper nutrition and exercise. This can help you to stay fit and healthy and gives you emotional strength, which is very necessary for you to love yourself and live a joyful life.

Boost Your Self-Confidence:-
If you lack self-confidence, then you can never love yourself. So, make mindful attempt to look for effective opportunities that can help you to improve your self-confidence levels.

Have More Fun In Your Life:-
Try to realize that life essentially means to enjoy a lot. So, never take your life too seriously. Of course, to become successful in your life, certain levels of seriousness is required, but never take your life too seriously.

Explore various ways to enjoy your life to its full extent.

14 Ways To Boost Brain Power

Just a few years ago, doctors believed that the brain stopped making new neural connections-meaning that the memory began to get permanently not as good as - when the body stopped developing, usually in the early 20s. And doctors knew that, like any other part of the body, neurons weaken as people age. Loss of brain function due to neural break-down was assumed to be a normal, obvious part of aging. It turns out they were wrong.

In the past few years, it has become clear that you can, in fact, make new neurons starting in your 20s and continuing well into old age. You can exactly rewire the brain with new parts as the older parts wear out. How? There are lots of things you can do right now to preserve, protect and enhance your gray matter.

Physical Exercise:

A healthy body really does mean a healthy mind. In the last decade it became clear that regular exercise beneficially affects brain function. Exercise boosts brain power by inspiring formation of new brain cells (neurons), the process known as neurogenesis2. Also, exercise strengthens connections between those cells. Researchers have found the areas of the brain that are stimulated through exercise are associated with memory and learning1.
Physical exercise may even help prevent Alzheimer's disease. Several studies7-9 have confirmed that regular physical activity reduces the risk of cognitive decline and dementia in old age.

Lifelong Learning - Your Brain Is A Learning Machine

For most of us, after we graduate from high school or college, our pursuit of new knowledge bottoms out over time. We may be masters at what we do, but we aren't learning new things. There is clear evidence10-11 that education and learning produce favourable changes in the brain. Researchers believe that intellectual activity play a neuroprotective role against dementia. Some studies suggest that having a low level of formal education and poor linguistic skills is a risk factor for cognitive decline in later life.

But if you continue to learn and challenge yourself, your brain continues to grow, literally. Recent research12 have demonstrated that learning over time enhances memory and the survival of new brain cells. An active brain produces new connections between nerve cells that allow cells to communicate with one another. This helps your brain store and retrieve information more easily, no matter what your age.

How can you challenge yourself? Scientists agree that anything that is new and expands your knowledge will be effective:
Learning to play a musical instrument.
Switching careers or starting a new one.
Starting a new hobby, such as crafts, painting, biking or bird-watching.
Learning a foreign language. According to the latest study speaking more than one language may slow the aging process in the mind.
Staying informed about what's going on in the world
Learning to cook new dish.

If you let your brain be idle, it's not going to be in the best health.

Steps to Improve Your Mental Fitness

There are two basic principles to keep your brain healthy and sharp as you age: Selection & Interest.

When anything you do becomes second nature, you need to make a change. If you can do the crossword puzzle in your sleep, it's time for you to move on to a new challenge in order to get the best workout for your brain. Interest about the world around you, how it works and how you can understand it will keep your brain working fast and efficiently.

Use the ideas below to help reach your quest for Mental Fitness.

[A] Play Games: Games are a wonderful way to make fun of and challenge your brain. suduko, crosswords and electronic games can all improve your brain's speed and memory. These games really on logic, word skills, math and more. These games are also fun. You'll get benefit more by doing these games a little bit every day. Spend few minutes or so, not hours.

[B] Meditation: Daily meditation is perhaps the single greatest thing you can do for your mind/body health. Meditation not only relaxes you, it gives rest to your brain a workout. By creating a different mental state, you engage your brain in new and interesting ways.

[C] Eat for Your Brain: Your brain needs you to eat healthy fats. Focus on fish oils from wild salmon, nuts such as walnuts, seeds such as flax seed and olive oil. Eat more of these foods and less saturated fats. Eliminate transfers completely from your diet.

[D] Tell Good Stories: Stories are a way that we solidify memories, interpret events and share moments. Practice telling your stories, both new and old, so that they are interesting, compelling and fun. Some basic storytelling techniques will go a long way in keeping people's interest both in you and in what you have to say.

[E] Turn Off Your Television: The average person watches more than 4 hours of television everyday. Television can stand in the way of relationships, life and more. Turn off your TV and spend more time living and exercising your mind and body.

[F] Exercise Your Body To Exercise Your Brain: Physical exercise is great brain xercise too. By moving your body, your brain has to learn new muscle skills, estimate distance and practice balance. Choose a variety of exercises to challenge your brain.

[G] Read Something Different: Books are portable, free from libraries and filled with infinite interesting characters, information and facts. Branch out from familiar reading topics. If you usually read history books, try a contemporary novel. Read foreign authors, the classics and random books. Not only will your brain get a workout by imagining different time periods, cultures and peoples, you will also have interesting stories to tell about your reading, what it makes you think of and the connections you draw between modern life and the words.

[H] Learn a New Skill: Learning a new skill works multiple areas of the brain. Your memory comes into play, you learn new movements and you associate things differently. Reading Shakespeare, learning to cook and building an airplane out of toothpicks all will challenge your brain and give you something to think about.

[I] Make Simple Changes: We love our routines. We have hobbies and pastimes that we could do for hours on end. But the more something is 'second nature,' the less our brains have to work to do it. To really help your brain stay young, challenge it. Change routes to the grocery store, use your opposite hand to open doors and eat dessert first. All this will force your brain to wake up from habits and pay attention again.

[J] Train Your Brain: Brain training is becoming a trend. There are formal courses, websites and books with programs on how to train your brain to work better and faster. There is some research behind these programs, but the basic principles are memory, visualization and reasoning. Work on these three concepts everyday and your brain will be ready for anything.

More Fun Ways to Live Longer.