15 Ways to Live Longer

Here's a reason not to hit the snooze button anymore: Sleeping too much can reduce life expectancy, according to a February 2002 study in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The study found that people who sleep more than eight hours per night had a significantly higher death rate than normal. But late-night-party-goers shouldn't rejoice: researches say that sleeping less than four hours also increases death rates. People who sleep between six and seven hours per night were shown to live the longest.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found that optimistic people had a 50% decreased risk of early death compared with those who leaned more toward pessimism. The results, published in the August 2002 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, make sense: Those with a positive outlook on life are probably less stressed, better equipped to deal with adversity and, consequently, healthier. Optimists also tend to have lower blood pressure than pessimists, which, again, is most likely related to how positive thinkers respond to stress.

No complaints here. There's decent evidence that sex helps keep us healthy, and thus increases longevity. But according to researchers, it's not necessarily an actual biological response generated by sex that makes us live longer. What's more likely is that having intimate sex means you are less stressed, happier and better rested–all factors that can lower blood pressure and protect against stroke and heart disease. A study published in the April 2004 Journal of the American Medical Association found that "high ejaculation frequency was related to decreased risk of total prostate cancer."

People who own pets, especially dogs, have been shown to be less stressed and require fewer visits to their physicians than non-owners. Survival rates for heart-attack victims who had a pet have been shown to be 12% longer than for those who did not have one, according to one of the first studies dealing with the impact pets can have on our health, led by researcher Erica Friedmann. Pet owners have also been shown to have lower blood pressure. The reasons are most likely related to an array of psychological factors, such as the facts that owning a pet decreases loneliness and depression, encourages laughter and nurturing, and stimulates exercise.

It's estimated that about half of the people with heart disease–the No. 1 killer in the U.S.–have normal cholesterol levels, which raises serious doubt about the ability of traditional cholesterol tests to detect risk. But more advanced cholesterol tests, like the VAP test, made by the Birmingham, Ala.-based lab Atherotech, may remedy that. VAP measures important metrics that traditional tests miss. Regular tests only detect half of the people with heart disease, while the VAP has been shown to detect 90% of heart disease patients. That's important because lipid abnormalities can most often be rectified with medication and dietary changes. And the sooner you start making changes, the better.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 24% of Americans whose family income is less than $20,000 are "limited" by chronic disease, whereas only 6% of people with an income of $75,000 or more have this problem. In general, population groups that suffer the worst health have the highest poverty rates and the least education. One possible explanation: Higher incomes permit access to better food and housing, safer neighborhoods and increased medical care. Higher incomes also increase the opportunity to engage in health-promoting behaviors. Of course, being a chief executive certainly exposes you to a high level of stress that can decrease life expectancy. But according to the data, striving to be financially comfortable is a good goal for aspiring centenarians.

To say that smoking is bad for your health is, of course, not revelatory. But it still cannot be denied that quitting can significantly improve your prospects for a long life. Middle-aged men who are long-term, heavy smokers face twice the risk of developing more aggressive forms of prostate cancer than men who have never smoked, according to findings that appeared in the July 2003 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. According to a recent study in the Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, cigarette smoking has been clearly linked to the most common causes of death in the elderly.

A study led by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2002 found that men classified as having the highest level of anger in response to stress were over three times more likely to develop premature heart disease than men who reported lower anger responses. They were also over six times more likely to have a heart attack by the age of 55. One possible explanation is the correlation between anger and high blood pressure, a condition that commonly develops in highly stressed individuals. The lesson is simple: Try as much as you can to let unavoidable, everyday stresses roll off your shoulders. 

Antioxidants, substances that are found in foods ranging from cinnamon to blueberries, can scavenge free radicals, compounds whose unstable chemical nature accelerates the effect of aging on our cells. Until these excess free radicals are quenched by antioxidant molecules, cellular damage accumulates. This contributes to an array of degenerative diseases, including atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's and cancer. Research shows that certain types of beans (kidney, pinto, black) are among the best sources of antioxidants, while blueberries and other berries follow close behind.

While the phrase "marry well" is typically used to describe people who marry someone rich, we are talking about something entirely different: genetics. Apparently, longevity genes can be inherited. According to a February 2005 study in Mechanisms of Aging and Development, exceptional longevity and healthy aging is an inherited phenotype across three generations. So, for the single people out there, pick a spouse whose grandparents are still alive. This won't make you live longer, but it might help your children.

Get up and start moving. Not only does exercise help us maintain our weight, it improves our cardiovascular health, strengthens the bones and increases endorphins in the body–hormones that give us energy, make us happier and help ward off stress and disease. "If you don't use it, you lose it," says Dr. Merl Myerson, director of cardiovascular prevention at St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan. "We find that active people will do better, live longer."

Laughter reduces levels of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. It also releases endorphins that work as pain killers and gives your blood circulation a boost. Not to mention it relaxes blood vessels and keeps a person from being angry–a significant predictor of heart disease. "The higher you score on anger and hostility, the greater the likely hood you'll have a heart attack," says Dr. David Fein, medical director at Princeton Longevity Center in New Jersey.

For people who are overweight or obese, life is a ticking time bomb. They have increased risk of heart disease and several types of cancer, along with higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes–a condition that is becoming an epidemic in the U.S. "The real way to lose weight is to cut back on food intake," says Dr. David Fein, Medical Director at Princeton Longevity Center in New Jersey. "People are under the impression that they can exercise weight off, but exercise is a means to maintain weight.

Everyone has stress to a certain degree, but not everyone knows how to manage it. The key is to recognize what the big factors are in your life and how to mitigate them. Constant stress produces high levels of cortisol, which has been shown to impair cognitive functioning and weaken the immune system. "I think stress kills more people than just about anything else," says Dr. David Fein, medical Director at Princeton Longevity Center in New Jersey.

According to Dr. Woodson Merrell of Beth Israel Hospital in New York City, the most powerful healing tool for stress and prolonged life is meditation. It clears the mind of thought and lets a person concentrate on tranquility. Fifteen minutes of meditation has been shown to produce a much more relaxed state of mind than one hour of the deepest sleep. Even starting the day with just two minutes of meditation can be beneficial. Sit with your spine erect and try to quiet your thoughts; it may help to concentrate on one word.

Source: Forbes.com 

I Practically Grew up in that Mall

      I still could not get over the Glorietta blast. I mean, its not just because there were casualties and more than a hundred injured nor the damage it caused to the mall. It is because ever since I was a kid, that place have been a part of my memories. It still is now, ever since I transferred to Assumption Collage, a 15 minute walk to Ayala center, me and my friends are always there almost every other day. We consider ourselves lucky because our sembreak just started this Tuesday. Have the schedule been moved further, fellow students would’ve been hurt too. And to think that students usually pass by G2 to and fro the school.

    When I was in elementary, tita patty usually takes me to her office when she has overtime during the weekends. And by lunch time, we are already at glorietta for lunch. Then when she has shopping to do, she’d leave me at the armchair reader, a commercial libary then located by parksquare 2, now by zagu.  We also love strolling along Quest, an indoor mini zoo then found at G2 where Goldcrest is now situated. Then in highschool, I remember the good ol times we spent here with my friends. Those with Meg, Eileen, Pinks, Checks… I think that this mall had every significant event in almost all stages of my life. 

     When I got admitted to UP, I only bought clothes at red lane kasi nobody there cared with what one wears. Where’s this redlane you may ask? Just beside Timezone G2. Right below where the explosion happened.

      Then my AC times were mostly spent at starbucks g4, W grill or just simply roaming around the mall. I could remember that 2 weeks ago I spent my time at starbucks g2 waiting for the rain to stop. When I go back to the dorm, I always pass by that G2 entrance/exit, cross the street under the walkway to parksquare 2. And at times, I do my online homework at Netopia, Parksquare2, book browsing at the book sale thing by the G2 lobby, shopping at tomato, bought baby RC at the gift factory. The places I spend time in or pass by the most, is the part of glorietta that was affected by the blast.

     Its both a shock and mystery as to why this tragic event happened. I was silently playing a pc game when I received a text from lala. "Something exploded." I replied to her as to what it is. 10 minutes later, I received a call from Mom that Glorietta 2 exploded, probably a gas leak from Luk Yuen, even affecting the top of the activity center. At first, I thought that my mom probably might have exaggerated the story because no gas explosion is that strong. So I turned on the tv, went online and did some news research about the matter.

     Little did I found out that the explosion was that strong, that it left more than a hundred casualties, some fatalities. I was really shocked, and immediately sent messages to my friends who might be at Glorietta during those times… Clarise and Joyce, two of my dorm mates, who I know did not go home because of their school related affairs. Oya and Micah, and Lulu. Lulu however, after saying that she was watching stardust, did not reply to my question about the glo blast. Worried, I asked my mom to send me phone credits to call up my friends. And I got frantic enough that I used our landline to call lala up. She might be watching at Glorietta 1 or 4 and probably didn’t even get up the movie seat to leave. It was a good thing she was watching at greenbelt. whew. So worry and paranoia was over once all of my friends replied.

    Concerned friends also texted me, like lea and lalaine, telling me of the gruesome aftermath of the explosion at makati. It was a good thing none of my friends were there, or if they were there i haven’t been receiving news that any got hurt.

    The term lucky is not the word to describe the event to me. It is depressing that the place that cradled my most precious memory is partly destroyed, affecting lives of other people. I hope that tragedies like these could be prevented. 

14 LOVES

I grew up not knowing what the term love meant. Not because I did not experience love at all but I could not quite grasp its definition. Oxford had defined it as 1 an intense feeling of deep affection. 2 a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone. 3 a great interest and pleasure in something. 4 a person or thing that one loves. However, dictionary meanings did not quench my thirst in finding what love truly meant.

            There was a time when I scraped my knee. Being a 5 year old, I did not know what to do so I rushed towards my mother. Instead of comforting words and immediate medication, she told me how naughty I was as to why I got my wound. This left me confused as to where the deep affection lay when I experienced pains in my life.

I looked at my parents, hoping to see love. I could not help but close my eyes either way, I did not want to see the two of them bickering with each other. I could not help but cover my ears, fearing any exchange of cuss. I could not help but lay silent at the backseat, knowing that my poignant feelings will not be heard.

I tried to look beyond the context of family. I watched movies that presented love and it did not involve family members. I thought this time, I’d be able to know what that fluttering and ecstatic feeling is to incessantly long to be with that person. At last, I found this boy who grew fond of me and introduced me to love.

            We had the best moments with each other. He provided me with the most memorable days that one did not want to end. He offered songs and prose to delight my senses. He took me up in the roof to watch the stars twinkle and fall for us. He cradled my emotions and body with ease, so comforting, so tender.

 I thought that I’d be able to experience love as long as he belonged in my life. Later did I find out that he experienced boredom because his feelings did not last that long.  He found someone else and I walked away from his life.

Like Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian said, “Love's pleasure lasts but a moment; love's sorrow lasts all through life.” I was back to square one. My wound however was not to be found on my knee but on a part of my body that was invisible, intangible and inoperable. I did not suffer from heartbreak because my perfectly healthy heart had its skin peeled. It possessed a pretense of being whole but vulnerable.

            Since then, I did not believe in love anymore. Instead I tried to solely hang on to good things that came with being in love, the romance and the intimacy that entailed behind it. I took pleasure in the romance that I experienced with my second man but it only left me with great disappointment. The third man had me through intimacy and I only got hurt in the end. I do not know what to believe in anymore.

            And then after I lost hope in looking for love in other people, I found it in myself. I did not realize that love lay inside me all this time. For me to experience the full extent of what love is, I have to learn how to give importance to myself.

 I guess the definition of  love is relative but the comprehension is known by every one. It is not an act, thinking or even feeling. It is a common understanding of people that binds our differences with each other.

Like what I wrote in my latest blog entry, when one starts learning how what pleasure there is in feeling contented and complete, that would be the time when love enters in your life. The feeling is overflowing, overwhelming, overpowering over all things.

Soundtrip: Colbie Caillat Lines

Feelings Show
You told me
You'd wait here patiently but
I wonder if he's kidding
Well maybe he could be serious now
Maybe not

Anything at All
And if I learned anything at all it was to
never give in
cause I see all my dreams laid out in front of me
And for once, it doesn't seem so tough
no it doesn't seem so tough 

Tied Down
That I'm keeping it cool, now thinking about you, sticking around and if we should pay
Tied down, I'm looking around and I know what I want so don't hold me down…

Battle
You've got them on your side
They won't change their minds
Now its over and i'm feeling like i missed out on everything
I just hope it's worth the fight

Bubbly
I've been asleep for a while now
You tucked me in just like a child now
Cause every time you hold me in your arms
I'm comfortable enough to feel your warmth

Realize
If you just realize
What I just realized
That we'd be perfect for each other
And we'll never find another

…. A midnight bottle I forgot how good it felt to be in a dream just like you had me

The Little Things
this ain't just a thing that you
give up, give up

Magic
I remember the way that you moved
Your dancing easily through my dreams
It's hitting me harder and harder
with all your smiles

Midnight Bottle
If only for tonight I've got a midnight bottle gonna ease my pain
From all these feelings driving me insane

Leaving…

    So far, this semester has been one of my best semesters in college, especially in AC. Not only did I meet a lot of new friends but also strenghtened my bond with a lot of old ones. It's depressing however, that some of the new ones are leaving AC. What ever reasons they have to do so, it is irrelevant because I'll miss them so much.

    To Micah. You're such a bright, smart and wise girl. I know that you are deeper than what you are. Sayang ka. But then, I felt the same thing when I was a freshy too. I understand why you're leaving for something that you want. It just saddens me that for a short time we got so close, and then we'll eventually part ways so soon. wah. sabi ko pa naman nung retreat, na if ever madelay ako… gusto ko sabay tayo ggraduate. Super mamimiss kita. sobra. Nakakaiyak. Pero I'm happy sa whatever decision you will end with.

    To Diane. I still remember the time when we met. Ikaw ung first roomie ko sa bago kong room. Hayyy. Mukha kang masungit pero super naggandahan ako sayo. Nung una, di masyado tayo nagpapansinan kasi medyo nagkakailangan pa. Pero after the bonding moments sa room naten at nila berl, eh i get to find out na super nagkakasundo tayo. Cute na cute ako, pag tinatawag mo kong tooty. hehehe. Mamimiss ko ung hair mo and all, ung mga artistic kabaliwan mo. Ayaw kong iwan mo kami. Sana di ka pumasa ng school na lilipatan mo. Ayokong maisip na wala ka na sa room next sem. Naiiyak na talaga ko.

    To 1b2 people who thinks of leaving. Alam nyo girls, thank you sa lahat for making me feel welcome sa block. I had a wonderful retreat with you guys. Nakakasad na may balak ang ibang umalis. Naiintindihan ko naman na you need to pursue your dreams at wala sa AC ang mga courses na gusto nyo. Nakakalungkot kasi I'm looking forward na kayo ulit kasama ko sa retreat in the next years to come. Hayyy. Ngayon pa lang, namimiss ko na ung kakulitan nyo kahit di naman ako nakikisali. hehe.

So now I know how it feels to be left behind. Sorry sa mga UP friends ko na naiwan ko ng walang paalam. Naging selfish ako from withholding the information from you guys. Ayoko lang kasi nun na magsalita ng tapos, then wala rin naman pala. Namimiss ko na kayo. Kung sana lang I have enough courage para bisitahin ko kayo sa UP, gagawin ko. Nagiging iyakin nanaman ako pag naaalala ko kayo. Sana magkikita kita uli tayo. Good luck sa mga graduating na. Sa mga TLB peeps ko. Sa Org ko dati.

For my AC and UP friends. Ano man ang mangyari… hinding hindi ko kayo makakalimutan, especially ang mga panahon na pinagsamahan natin.

PS. Oya… magagalit ako pag ikaw din umalis… huhu.