What is the key to living longer? A new study says
it could all be to do with following fi ve good health
habits. By analysing more than 38,000 men for 28
years and 73,000 women for 34 years, the study was
designed to see how never smoking, keeping a
healthy BMI below 25, doing at least 30 minutes of
physical activity each day, drinking alcohol
moderately and eating a good quality diet a ected
disease risk. The results showed that the women
who followed four or fi ve of the healthy habits for
20 to 30 years had an additional 10.6 years of
disease-free living, compared to women who
adopted no lifestyle changes. Men who practised
four to fi ve of the healthy habits over the same time
frame added 7.6 years to their life expectancy. “This
is a positive health message because it means
healthy lifestyle habits not only prolong life, but
also improve the quality of life and reduce su ering
related to chronic diseases. It’s never too late to
adopt these habits,” says senior author Dr Frank Hu.
“For smokers, the single most important thing that
one should do is to stop smoking. For non-smokers,
eating a healthy diet and being physically active are
important for keeping a healthy weight.”If you struggle to switch off and take
some time out for yourself, The Clear
Mind Experiment might create some
calm in your life. Developed in
partnership with ahm health insurance
and The Mind Room, the audio-visual
tool allows users to choose and
combine a number of unlikely
elements such as kittens, baby goats,
ava amps and ocean waves to
generate their own immersive
experience specifically designed to
help calm the mind. ahm Senior
executive Jan O’Keefe says, “The Clear
Mind Experiment provides Australians
with an easy way to create 90 seconds
of calm focus. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy
staring at a baby goat on the beach?”
Find out which combination works
best for you at thesimplebit.com.au/
clearmymind.
clear the mind
IN PLAIN SIGHT
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
is thought to aff ect one in 70
Australians, but a new study has
found a way to detect the disorder
sooner than previously possible.
Using a non-invasive eye test called an
electroretinogram (ERG), researchers
tested 90 adolescents with ASD and
87 without. “The ERG is a simple way
of objectively assessing how the retina
is performing,” says lead author of
the study Paul Constable, with the
device exposing a pattern of electrical
signals in the retina that are unique
to children on the autism spectrum.
“The next stage is to look at young
children, even infants, as the earlier
we can get to intervention stages the
better,” says Paul.Live well, live long