Reduce Stress and Boost Longevity by Doing This Daily for 20 Minutes
20-minute activity helps me combat stress every evening.
Stress is the reality of our life. This world is too fast-paced for your lizard brain.
Yes, we have evolved, but not enough to take on all the challenges of the modern without a price. Stress is the price you pay to live in this modern world.
Chronic stress can harm your DNA by shortening the telomere length and can lead to cell death which can reduce your lifespan.
The telomere is the end of the DNA that protects the cell, a longer telomere is associated with longevity
Life is stressful. No matter how hard you try you can never eliminate the stress.
Here’s what you can do to reduce stress and live longer.
The 20-minute anti-stress pill
Your brain craves the nature that it's known forever. We have evolved as a civilized race but in this journey, we have strayed too far away from our origin.
Jungles, water streams, lakes, wide-open gree fields — nature was our dangerous companion from the beginning.
So, it is no shock that you still need to be in nature for better health. Being cooped up daily in your office sitting in front of a screen is taking a toll on your health as your lizard brain craves nature.
Chronic stress is harming your DNA. Stress can shorten the telomeres, which is linked with cardiac diseases, diabetes, and cancer.
Spending just 20 minutes in nature can reduce your cortisol levels. It is free stress therapy that you should do daily.
You need to leave the indoors and venture outside daily for at least 20 minutes to connect with your old primal self.
So, go outside every day. No excuses no matter how busy you are you need to soak in the beauty of nature every day.
What can you do
Go outside daily for at least 20 minutes. It is up to you how you want to spend this time. But the only rule that you need to follow is that you cannot stare into a screen.
You need to look around. Try to connect with the sounds of nature. It’s your primal habitat so get comfortable.
Twenty minutes daily can decrease your stress. Read this powerful article if you want to make daily walks a part of your life.
The best way to spend these 20 minutes
Twenty minutes in nature is all it takes to reduce your stress. But how you spend these 20 minutes matters.
You can boost your productivity and creativity while increasing your longevity if you decide to do this easy aerobic exercise — Walking.
Older people who walked at least 4400 steps daily lived longer than the people who walked fewer steps.
Moderate aerobic exercise 3–4 times a week can actually increase your lifespan.
Walking activates creativity. It helped you form new ideas. It can boost your productivity as well.
You can decrease the risk of depression by 26% if you go on a walk daily.
So, rather than sitting in the park brisk walk daily for better health benefits.
The best way to walk for a longer life
Fast-paced walkers live longer than slow pace walers.
Brisk walking helps elongates your telomere length which is a strong indicator of longevity.
Telomere is the DNA end, the longer the better. Shorter telomere can lead to cell death. So, you need to walk faster for healthier DNA cells.
Moreover, moderate aerobic exercise like brisk or power walking can make you live longer.
The simplest way to walk fast is by listening to high-tempo songs. When you listen to fast songs you automatically run or walk faster to match the beat.
How nature can actually boost longevity
Spending time in nature can also boost your longevity.
A study with over 100,000 participants found that women living in greener areas had a 12% lower death rate than those living near the least greenery.
Spending time in nature is also associated with lower levels of depression and loneliness. It can also help you decrease anxiety.
Just living near nature increases your lifespan. If you don’t have much greenery near you then make sure to spend at least 20 minutes daily in your nearest park.
Conclusion
The best fitness habit that I adopted is a daily walk. I have been following this habit for more than 7 years now.
Brisk walking in nature can decrease chronic stress that is destroying your DNA.
Boost longevity by walking in nature. You can protect your DNA and decrease the risk of depression by going on daily walks in nature.
Walking is the easiest exercise and nature is beautiful. So, what are you still thinking about?
Go for a walk today!
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