By the year 2030, one out of five people in the U.S. will be over age 65, and by 2050 nearly 2 billion people globally will be at least 60. An expected 76 million baby boomers, more men and women born than at any other time in the history of the U.S., will be experiencing aging at the same time. This unprecedented demographic shift is bound to create profound social, economic, and cultural changes over the next decade.
Each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) chooses a global health topic to highlight on World Health Day. This year on April 7, World Health Day focused on healthy aging. The WHO addressed the global economic and social impact of our aging population.
Young or old, you can promote lasting health by incorporating yoga and the Mediterranean diet into your lifestyle. In honor of World Health Day, here are two ways to live a longer, healthier life.
1. Yoga Meditation Helps You Live Longer
A study presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Heart Association reports transcendental meditation (TM) can lower the risk of heart attack and death by nearly 50 percent in African-American patients with heart disease. Transcendental meditation (TM) is a form of yoga meditation introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1960s.
The researchers randomly assigned African-American patients with heart disease (a high risk group) either to a group including TM and high blood pressure prescription drugs or a group with high blood pressure prescription drugs only. TM was practiced for 15 to 20 minutes a day for 5 to 9 years.
The researchers found that the TM group experienced a 47 percent reduction in heart attack and death rates compared to the other group. The findings also revealed that the TM group had a significant reduction in blood pressure and psychological stress.
