Written by Kathryn Savage

These scientists just keep making it harder for me to continue my bad habits! And now it appears all us night owls are under attack! Sleep deprivation is linked to obesity. Not getting enough sleep lowers the protein hormone leptin, scientists say. Leptin suppresses appetite, and its absence may make you hungrier during the day if you skimp on sleep.

A good night's rest is a losing battle, losing to the demands of kids, careers, and computers. Modern life makes a goodnights rest a hard thing to achieve. To be sure, lack of sleep is be a regular part of life, but that doesn't make it good for you. A number of recent studies explain that not sleeping enough, or sleeping at strange hours may increase your risk factors for a wide array of illnesses including cancer, heart disease and obesity.

Written by Kathryn Savage

Centenarians around the globe don’t pump iron, they don’t run marathons or spend long hours sweating to the oldies. Instead, they make time for regular, steady movement throughout the day.

Movement and healthy eating should be more-often-than-nots. You eat well more often than not. You workout (walk, hike, chop wood, do yoga, vacuum, hand-whip whipped cream, whatever) more often than not.

In other words, you make moving an unavoidable and fun part of your day. Every day. Most male centenarians in Sardinia’s Blue Zone work as shepherds, a profession that involves a lot of interval-cardio. What? Cardio isn’t the first thing you think of when you think of shepherds? They spend long hours every day walking up and down hillsides. Sounds pretty intense to me. The most I lift while working is a coffee mug. Sometimes a cookie or two. Okinawans? They spend an average three hours daily in their gardens harvesting their own food. And Adventists in Loma Linda, California relax and take nature walks together.

Be warned, gardening and walking won’t be sufficient if your goal is weight loss. If you want to lose weight you are best off reducing calorie intake. (Not very groundbreaking, I’ll admit) But if your focus is on overall, lifelong health and reaching triple digits, an ideal routine would include a combo of aerobic, stretching and muscle-strengthening.

Written by Dan Buettner

Preparing for a TV interview teaches you is to condense every idea, no matter how complex, to a pithy 10 second sound bite. Talk shows want news "you can use." And then they break for a commercial.

In my book, The Blue Zones, I take 38 pages to explain the nine common denominators of the world's longest-lived people (the Power 9). An average reader could read it in two hours. On "Good Morning America" I had four minutes, on "Fox and Friends" I had three and for the forthcoming Martha Stewart show (April 9) they just wanted the ten things the average person could do live longer and stay younger.

So, here's Blue Zones Top Ten for TV. Do them, and you can add up to 14 good years to your life and stay younger along the way:

1. De-convenience your home – lose the remote, buy a light garage door and lift it yourself, use a shovel instead of a snowblower
2. Eat Nuts – Have a can of nuts around your office or home, eat a handful daily
3. Drink Sardinian wine – Sardinian canonau wine has the world's highest levels of antioxidants. Drink a glass or two a day
4. Play with your children – this is excellent low intensity exercise and will strenthen a family. Both associated with longer life expectancy
5. Grow a Garden – This proven stress reducer will put your body through the range of motion and yield fresh vegtables
6. Hour of Power – Downshift daily with a nap, meditation, prayer or a quiet walk--destressing is a proven way to slow aging
7. Eat Tofu – Arguably the world's most perfect food, eaten by the world's longest lived women. Contains a plant estrogen that makes skin look younger
8. Get a Tan – Doctors are rethinking the notion of slathering yourself with sunscreen. Up to half of Americans are Vitamin D deficient--a condition that can double your chance of dying in any given year. A tan not only looks healthy, it is.
9. Donate your large dinner plates  – eat off 9 inch plates as the Okinawans do and reduce calorie consumption at dinner by 20-30%
10. Write Down your Personal Mission – Know and putting into practice your sense of purpose can give you up to a decade of good life.

Written by Kathryn Savage

	Even if you're no spring chicken, you can adopt life-lengthening habits.

Four simple (not to be confused with easy) behaviors might add fourteen extra healthy years to your life!

The four behaviors are not smoking, moderate alcohol intake, regular exercise and a healthy diet filled with lots of fruits and vegetables.

People who consistently demonstrate these behaviors live an average of fourteen additional years compared with people who don’t make these healthy choices.

What are great ways to start adopting these behaviors today?

Written by Kathryn Savage

In Port-Au Prince Haiti, the sweat stains are the same whether you are working out in the affluent Gold’s Gym or the more economical – and open-air – Temple of Pain.

In a culture with steep class divides, Temple of Pain is a testament to personal ingenuity, and a great place to break a sweat. Before Temple of Pain took up residency, the area where the gym now sits was a rat infested garbage dump. 

While the more affluent Gold’s Gym sells fancy sports drinks and work out clothes, Temple of Pain is a nuts and bolts operation. Literally. The equipment was forged out of old car parts, lead batteries and pieces of metal.

The class divides are strong in this part of Haiti, but when it comes to strength training, there is only one way to get ahead – hard work. 

Hard work, and a healthy body transcend class no matter who you are, where you come from, or how much money you have. Marc Lacey, reporting for The New York Times, covers Haiti's gym and cultural divides. It's a fascinating, in depth read. For the full article follow this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/world/americas/18bodybuilders.html.

This article highlights how good things can come from living with a sense of purpose. For members of the Temple of Pain gym, the place is a way to build strength, confidence and muscle mass. Inventive and rugged, these men are fulfilling their desire to be strong – strong in their bodies and strong in their cultures – by creating a place where they belong.

What can we learn from Haiti’s Bodybuilders? 

1. You don’t need high-end, expensive equipment to live a healthy, active life. That old pair of sneakers will do.
2. In the words of Julien Spencer, 34, a bodybuilder who lifts weights at Temple of Pain, "You can have all the money in the world but you can’t buy a body." Nor can you buy health, longevity or peace of mind. Take care of your body today.
3. Don’t put off tomorrow what you can do today. Can’t afford that gym membership? Find a creative solution, think outside the box. Join a pick-up sports club, do some vigorous volunteering, or just walk down to the post office next time instead of driving.

Written by Kathryn Savage

A regular sex life is not the first thing I associate with grandma. But studies suggest that old timers are getting their freak on, and that getting it on may improve overall health.

A national survey distributed to American between the ages of 57 and 85 asked about attitudes toward sex, sexual behaviors, and intimacy problems. It indicates that many people well into their seventies and eighties are doing the horizontal shuffle. And then some!

Written by Kathryn Savage

I like to start my morning off with a combination of real news, (New York Times, CNN) and fake news (Yahoo, Gawker, Perez Hilton). While making my morning rounds today I read something truly amazing. I read about this person:

“LONDON - Already Britain’s oldest employee, 101-year-old Buster Martin now aims to become the world’s oldest marathon runner by completing the London Marathon and celebrating with a pint of beer and a cigarette.”

Mischievous and intense-looking in a photo, dressed in a bright blue shirt and a baseball cap, he already completed a half marathon in five hours and 13 minutes over the weekend. The father of seventeen, a former Army physical training instructor, Buster Martin has been training for the April 13th London Marathon on his days off. That’s right - he came out of retirement at age 99 after two years of it, retirement bored him.

Mr. Martin is being sponsored by the Rhys Daniels Trust, a charity that provides temporary housing for families of patients in children’s hospitals. How does Mr. Martin plan to celebrate if he finishes the marathon?

According to the Reuters reporter who interviewed him, “If I finish, I’ll do what I always do and have a pint and a fag (cigarette),” he said. “People ask what is my secret but I haven’t got one. They say fags and booze are bad for you—but I’m still here, aren’t I?” Perhaps not the BlueZone-endorsed way to longevity, but it just goes to show you how much influence your attitude might have on your health. 

For the full article follow this link: http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=britmarathon030508&prov=reuters&type=lgns

Written by Kathryn Savage

What to look for when picking a yoga and pilates studio? What’s the difference anyway? Allow me to break it down.

Yoga

In India yoga is mostly a spiritual practice, a way to help people understand their purpose and existence. Most yoga studios in America focus on asanas (postures) as a way to enlighten and lighten your load. Hatha Yoga is a popular form of yoga but there are a lot of varieties to choose from.

Picking a Yoga Studio

If you are just getting started, you want a studio that offers a variety of classes and styles so you can try different yoga practices and see what works best for you.

Ask the studio manager or front desk coordinator what styles the studio offers, what the classes cost, if you have to sign up in advance, if you can try a class for free, if you need to bring your own mat etc.

Most yoga studios have a lot of great information on their websites. Teacher bios, fees and schedules are usually available online.

Written by Kathryn Savage

No, you don’t need to be a gym rat, a marathon runner or a yogi, but moving every day is a great thing to do for your body. So what if you lack motivation?

A great and usually more-affordable-than-you-think option, might just be to hire a personal trainer.

Written by Michelle Albert

Now that February is almost over, it’s natural for thoughts to start to turn toward spring and sunshine. The inhabitants of the Blue Zones are familiar with the sun: Okinawans, Sardinians, and Nicoyans spend time outdoors, gardening, walking, and visiting. Plus geography helps them maximize their exposure. They live closer to the equator than residents of New York City, Seattle, or Minneapolis.