7 ways to stay healthy

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Bonus Tips for Frequent Travellers: The biggest health disruptor while travelling is the absence of any order to your daily routine. So it all boils down to bringing back order. Get enough sunlight. Take naps. And get as much movement as you can - walk up and down the aircraft; walk rather than take the escalator.

5 Build in rest periods in your workout session
A workout routine goes hand in hand with a good diet to control weight. But if you find it difficult to schedule a block of time for the gym, here's some good news for you: Short 10-minute bursts of moderate-intensity exercise, adding up to a total of 30 minutes a day, works just as well for people with sedentary habits. The second bit of good news? Taking a well-timed rest in the middle of a long workout session helps the body burn more fat. According to an article in theJune 2007 edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology, "programs with repetition of shorter exercise might be preferred when prescribing exercise to sedentary people, such as overweight individuals. In addition, several studies have shown that repeated bouts of shorter exercise produce similar changes in cardiovascular fitness and weight loss compared with a single bout of prolonged exercise."

Resting is beneficial even for fitness freaks intent on bulking up. Muscle growth occurs whenever the rate of muscle protein synthesis is greater than the rate of muscle protein breakdown. During resistance training, muscle cells are damaged; during rest, satellite cells located on the outside of the muscle fibre repair damaged cells, resulting in increase in muscle fibres.

6 Hug your family and friends
Seriously. Several studies show that the human touch has a therapeutic physical and psychological effect. A study by University of North Carolina's Karen Grewen and Kathleen Light, shows that hugging your partner can reduce heart rate and blood pressure, both classic signs of stress.

According the Touch Research Institute, University of Miami School of Medicine, massage therapy benefits everyone, from newborns to senior citizens. It improves attentiveness, reduces stress hormones, improves immunity, and even reduces pain.

7 Study to prevent age-related memory loss
Several studies published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, show an inverse link between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and how highly educated you are. Essentially, the more formal education you have, the lower the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease compared to people with less education. However, higher education doesn't protect against how fast one loses memory if they do get affected by AD.

According to Alzheimer's Foundation of America (alzprevention.org) lifestyle choices have a lot to do with maintaining mental wellbeing. "Growing evidence suggests that regular mental callisthenics may help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease or other memory disorders by enhancing cognitive reserve - the mind's resistance to damage; stimulating growth of new brain cells; and maintaining or strengthening connections between brain cells."

So go solve that Sudoku puzzle or visit the museum and keep the brain ticking. 

Expert advice: Vikram Sheel Kumar MD

By Sveta Basraon/ Forbes India

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