This simple daily habit can help you live longer
Which habit will allow you to live longer (photo: freepik.com)
According to the BBC, humanity is currently living longer than ever before, and while things like the Mediterranean diet are said to increase lifespan, a new study has found that there is a cost-free practice that can also be highly beneficial, reports Huffington Post.
What is the secret to a happy life
This may seem overly simplistic: just feel gratitude as often as possible, and you could extend your life.
Researchers used data from the Nurses' Health Study, which involved nearly 50,000 women aged 69 to 96 years. They completed a gratitude questionnaire with six items in 2016. Participants were asked to rate how strongly they agreed with statements such as "I have so much in life to be thankful for" and "I am grateful to a wide variety of people."
From this data, researchers determined the percentage of women who had the highest and lowest levels of gratitude.
When the team reviewed the data three years later, they found that women with the highest levels of gratitude had a 9% lower risk of death from any cause, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases.
How to practice gratitude
Experts from Mind, focusing on mental health, recommend these steps to practice gratitude in your daily life:
- Write down things you are grateful for every day
- Express gratitude to loved ones whenever possible
- Try gratitude meditation
- Volunteer, donate to a cause you believe in, or perform acts of kindness
- Set daily reminders on your phone to think about what you're grateful for
- Take a walk and observe the beauty around you
- Say "thank you" more often
- Reflect on the challenges you've faced and how they've helped you grow
- Visualize what you're grateful for
Certainly, while gratitude is a beneficial practice, it cannot eliminate structural inequalities. Many of us still face these challenges despite practicing gratitude.
Also, read about how being near trees helps you live longer.
This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.
