Perhaps one of the greatest dreams of human kind is immortality. Through medical advances and increase in quality of life our life expectancy keeps going up, but immortality is still far from being reached. Until that happens (if it will happen) there are ways you can increase your chances of a long and healthy life. This article was researched mostly because of my parents, since I’m still in my twenties and life expectancy is less of a worry for me now (though it should be).

1. Get friends and stick with them

In a 10 year study done by the Harvard School of Public Health, on more then 28.000 men and women, those that lived a solitary life were 20% more likely to die from any cause, then those that maintained a large network of family, friends and had community involvement. The solitary type was 53% more likely to die from heart related problems and twice as likely to die from accidents or by suicide.

2. Use a bicycle instead of driving when possible

A study done in Denmark on 13.000 women and 17.000 men with ages from 20 to 93 years old, revealed that those that didn’t use a bicycle to get to work experienced a mortality rate 39% higher. Though it wasn’t clear exactly why this was, the researchers think that it has to do with the average 3 hours of cycling done every week, which is considered moderate exercise. So if going to work on your bike isn’t an option, you can still go to the gym and exercise to get these benefits. In addition to that, bicycling home after a hard day at work may relieve some of the stress. Also, another result was that the older a woman was, the better the results were from using bicycles. Apparently this strategy has the best results when used by women.

3. Volunteer for 30-40 hours a year when you’re older

A study done in the period 1986-1994 on 1,211 older adults showed that those that volunteered for a moderate period of time each year were less likely to die then those that didn’t have activities. Also, volunteering too much can increase the death rate according to the scientists. The best effects of volunteering were seen on older men and women who didn’t have an active social life. Volunteering can give people once they stop working both a social life, the chance to make new friends and a new meaning and purpose for their life.

4. Get tested

Get tested every couple of months and make sure you’re disease free. There are a lot of diseases that can be caught and neutralized if detected early and a doctor can tell you what your risks are and what steps you should make to prevent them. When your body tells you that something is not right, go to a doctor and make sure everything is alright.

5. Don’t smoke

I know you hear this all the time, but it’s still worth mentioning. Every cigarette you smoke shortens your life expectancy by 11 minutes. If you smoke one pack a day for 10 years then your life expectancy is lower by 1.5 years. Is it really worth it?

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