Warning: Are You At Risk For Early Death?

Do you have back pain? You’re at risk for early death.

According to a study of 4,390 twins by the University of Sydney Australia, participants who reported lower back pain were much more likely to die.

The researchers are unsure as to why lower back pain increases your risk of early death. Lower back pain can be an indicator of a sedentary lifestyle, a lack of muscular strength, or the presence of inflammation, and rarely, cancer or abdominal diseases.

One of the best ways to reduce or eliminate back pain is to consult your doctor and begin a yoga program. Yoga will both stretch and strengthen not only the muscles in your back, but also the muscles in your legs, hips, and abdominals from where the lower back pain could be radiating.

Are you a night owl? You’re at risk for early death even if you sleep enough.

Individuals who go to bed late and wake up late have a higher chance of dying early. A scientific study involving 433,000 participants aged 38-78 over a time range of 6.5 years revealed that night owls are ten percent more likely to die an early death (2).

Not only the risk of early death was increased by going to bed late. Night owls in the study were 90% more likely to develop psychological disorders and 30% more likely to have diabetes than early risers.

Night owls were also more likely to have neurological, respiratory, cardiovascular disease as well as gastrointestinal and abdominal disorders than those who went early to bed.

Don’t despair if you struggle with insomnia and going to bed early. Start waking up at 5:30 in the morning and step directly into bright light to reset your circadian rhythm.

For best results, get in at least forty minutes of walking outside to increase your ability to fall asleep earlier and get a better night’s sleep. It doesn’t matter if you break the forty minutes of walking up into mini walks through the day of five minutes each. The total time, and not the continuity of the walking, are what count.

Do You Sit Hours a Day? You’re at risk for early death, even if you exercise.

You could be going to bed early and waking up to exercise for an hour each morning. But if you are sitting still for the rest of the day, you are still at risk of early death.

In a study, 7,985 black and white adults 45 years or older were tracked to find the effect of total inactive hours per day and complete uninterrupted inactivity per day impacted health (3).

According to Dr. Diaz, a research scientist at Columbia University Medical, those who sit for more than thirteen hours a day have a 200% greater risk of early death compared to people who sit for no more than eleven hours each day (4).

The American Journal of Preventive Medicine discovered a similar result in their research of women 92,234 women aged 50–79 years. The risk of early death for the women in the study increased with the number of hours of sedentary activity per day.

Surprisingly, the women who exercised regularly still had a higher risk of early death if they spent too many hours a day sitting at work, watching TV, driving, or other inactive activities.

So how many hours of sitting per day decreases your longevity?

Dr. I-Min Lee, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, recommends less than eight to six hours of sitting per day. The rest of the day you should be moving.

Does this sound impossible? Aim to get up and move for five minutes every half hour. Follow a yoga workflow at your desk once an hour for five minutes to break up sitting at your computer.

Alternate chores with leisure activities in the evening to increase your well-being and decrease your risk of early death and acquiring chronic disease as you age.

Does it sound exhausting? It did to me too.

The more you move, the more energy you will feel. The movement builds power into your body and improves the quality of your sleep, so you gain even more vitality.

Do You Smoke? You’re at risk for early death even if you exercise.

Everyone knows that smoking takes years off your life and increases your risk of lung cancer. For help quitting, you can give hypnotherapy a try.

Do You Eat a Diet High in Saturated Fat, Sugar, Salt and Low in Nutrients?

A poor diet can cause early death. A diet high in unhealthy saturated fat, sugar, and salt increases your risk of developing diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, and inflammation.

A diet low in nutrients, healthy fats, and fiber not only increases your risk for the previously listed diseases but tortures your body. Fatigue, sugar highs and lows, and hormone disruption wear and tear your organs and entire body from the inside out.

To increase your health and well-being, add more pure water, unprocessed, raw vegetables and fruit, whole grains, nuts, beans, and lentils to your diet.

Do You Drink Heavily? You are at risk of early death even if you eat healthily.

Moderate drinking does not put you at risk of early death, but heavy drinking does.

Heavy alcohol consumption increases your risk of liver disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia, gout, kidney disease, stroke, and infectious diseases.

So how much is too much?

Moderate alcohol consumption is defined as one drink for women and two for men per day, with no more than seven drinks per week for women and 14 per week for men. One drink is either 5 ounces of wine, 8 ounces of malt liquor, 1.5 ounces of liquor like vodka,