forever young naturally lifestyle

Age brings increased susceptibility to cardiovascular disease—one of the greatest risk factors is simply being over 65. Reducing risk is relatively simple: stop smoking, eat healthily, and be active most days. Happily, what's good for the heart keeps the brain acting youthfully, too.

Get to know the risk factors for cardiovascular disease for people over 50: smoking, high blood pressure or cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity. If you check yes to two or more, you are 50-69 percent more likely to develop the disease suggests a study published in one medical journal. Visit your doctor to work out ways to reduce your risk.

Smokers are up to five times more likely to have a heart attack earlier in life than nonsmokers. Twenty a day doubles your risk of developing heart disease. Try the stop-smoking ideas.

A study of people aged 32–59 suggested sleeping five hours or less a night might increase risk of high blood pressure. Aim for seven or eight hours to allow the heart to slow and blood pressure to drop.

Stress can raise blood pressure and release stress hormones detrimental to heart health. Use all the destressing techniques that work for you to reduce daily worries. Establish a long-term stress-reduction plan by enrolling on a term's meditation, t'ai chi, or yoga course. Alternatively, book a session with a life coach.

Drinking herbal tea is an easy way to support the heart as you grow older. Try hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) tea bags. This herb is widely used as a cardiac tonic and circulatory stimulant. Studies have shown that it improves coronary circulation, reducing risk of angina and helping normalize blood pressure.

This breathing exercise stretches the subtle energy pathway known as the heart meridian, opens the chest, and reminds you that love is about giving and receiving. Stand with feet hip-width apart and arms crossed over your chest (hugging yourself), head down. Inhaling, open your arms and chest as wide as possible, raising your head. Exhaling, close your arms gently around yourself. Repeat several times, changing the cross of your arms each time.

If you don't have a heart condition, start taking weekly saunas, shown in Japanese studies to reduce risk of heart problems in susceptible men.

Those who are quick to anger may be more at risk of heart attack, angina, heart failure, or stroke. Feeling angry in middle age makes you more than twice as likely to suffer heart disease and heart attacks later in life than if you maintain a calm disposition. Adopt strategies that stop you from reacting with hostility to stressful situations or people: counting to 10, taking a deep breath, calling a friend, or lunchtime kick-boxing sessions.

In one study, male civil servants aged from 35–55 who felt justly treated at work had less risk of coronary heart disease than those who felt badly treated. If you sense injustice at work, try to resolve issues not by moaning to colleagues, but by speaking out to those who have the power to help: managers, HR personnel, union reps.