1. Constantly educate yourself and apply what you learn. Kind of self-explanatory really. It's a pity people choose not to learn.
2. Listen to your body. Sometimes it's the only one who knows what you need. It's a great teacher but are you a good student?
3. Eat for health not pleasure. No, this doesn't mean you can't enjoy food, it means don't be a pig. It means have a healthy relationship with food. Don't reward, motivate or medicate with food.
4. Move your body. This isn’t just about structured exercise; it's about living a life with more movement in it. Compared with our great grandparents, the majority of us expend about 800 less calories per day simply because we spend so much time lying and sitting. Increase your incidental and occupational activity.
5. Manage your stress. Along with sleep, stress is the one thing that can have a dramatic (negative) impact on your physical health in a very short time. That and getting hit by a truck. We now know that there is a huge relationship between mental and emotional stress and physical disease. If you don't manage it, it will manage you.
6. Sleep. Kind of important. Zzzzz.
7. Stay well hydrated. Being as your body's about two thirds water, you might want to stay hydrated. A surprising number of people (about 60-70%) are dehydrated on a regular basis. Constipation, headaches, lethargy, mood swings, inability to concentrate and reduced physical ability (endurance, strength, co-ordination) are some of the potential outcomes of dehydration. If you're not a fan of water, eat foods with high water content (fruit, vegetables).
8. Find happiness. There's a lot of evidence to suggest a very strong correlation between happiness and longevity. Find what (who) makes you happy and hang the heck on.
