The Livelong Newsletter

Happy Friday,

It’s almost Earth Day (April 22). Try allowing yourself a quick second to sit back and appreciate the scents, sounds, and tastes that the earth has provided—the crisp sweetness of an apple, the scent of morning dew, or a songbird’s melody.

In today’s issue:

• The hidden health risk of noise

• No nature, no health

• Shortfall nutrients

• and much more…

WISDOM FOR LIFE

Nature always wears the colors of the spirit

Ralph Waldo Emerson

👁️‍🗨️SPOTLIGHT

Have you heard about this silent killer?

🚙 Beeping horns, revving engines, and piercing shrieks….ssccreeecchhh! Whether it’s traffic or booming music in a basement bar, noise can have serious health consequences, from hearing loss and heart attacks to type two diabetes and dementia, according to an article in BBC.

The invisible killer

Your brain can interpret loud noise as potentially ‘dangerous,’ so it triggers a stress response called fight-or-flight.

Fight-or-flight manifests as:

• ♥️ Elevated heart rate

• 😧 The release of stress hormones

• 🩸 Increased blood pressure

Fight or flight is helpful for running away from a tiger, but on a daily basis? Not so much.

Charlotte Clark, a professor at St. George's, University of London, calls noise a ‘public health crisis’; Masrur Abdul Quader of the Bangladesh University of Professionals adds that it is "a silent killer and a slow poison." 

• In Europe, noise may cause 12,000 premature deaths every year. 

💤 While you were sleeping: Your body can be having this noise-related stress response while you are sleeping, which can impact sleep quality and health outcomes.

The big picture 🔊:

In life, you can’t always experience peaceful noise. The goal is to work more moments of quiet into your day.

• Aim for below 70 decibels of noise

• 53 decibels is optimal for heart health (think moderate rainfall)

LIVE MORE

• Unbearable chewing: Does the sound of chewing give you chills? You could have misophonia.

• Motion sickness: Listening to one minute of ‘sound spice’ can relieve motion sickness.

WELLNESS WATCH

No nature, no health

Nature provides. It gives us life-giving food, water, oxygen, warmth, vitamins, and superpower compounds that have been used for medicine to save billions of lives.

“Our health is intrinsically linked to the natural world,” says Ola Løkken Nordrum, an anesthesiology trainee and operations officer with Irish Doctors for the Environment (IDE), in an interview with The Irish Times. “No nature, no health.”

With smartphones and a lifestyle that revolves around being digitally connected, it’s important to take the time to connect back to nature.

⛰️ The call of the wild: Nature improves our health and well-being in a variety of ways. It is proven to lower the risk of chronic disease, death from cardiovascular disease, and anxiety and depression. It also boosts immunity and improves cognition.

There are millions of ways to reap the benefits of nature, but here are five easy ones that anyone can do.

Five easy ways to get in touch with nature:

• 🕊️ Birdsongs: Listen to prerecorded bird sounds or go to a park and listen for birds to reduce negative emotions.

• Forest bathing: Participate in the Japanese exercise of forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) to improve mindfulness 🌳.

• Running water: Listening to running water boosts relaxation and calms the nervous system.

• Stare into a fire 🔥: Staring into a fire reduces blood pressure and has a relaxing effect(Make sure it is a contained fire and allowable in your geographic area; a candle works too).

• Touch the ground: Touching earth, “the battery” of life, can significantly reduce inflammation, improve sleep, and heal wounds.

IN OTHER NEWS

Shortfall nutrients

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services have created a list of shortfall nutrients, which are healthy nutrients being under-consumed, according to Huffpost.

🥦 The short list: Fiber, calcium, vitamin D, and potassium. Under-consuming them is a “public health concern” because lacking these nutrients is linked to worse health outcomes.

Supplements can be an ‘insurance policy’ to get nutrients, but Marissa Karp, a registered dietician nutritionist, tells Huffpost that getting them from whole foods is a better and more sustainable approach.

Today’s top reads

🐬 The Longevity Nutrient: A new book outlines a ‘once-in-a-century’ discovery of a longevity nutrient called C15:0, an odd-chain essential fatty acid important for cell signaling, metabolism, immunity, sleep, and creating a stable cellular membrane. First discovered while studying U.S. Navy dolphins, the nutrient may reduce the risk of fatty liver disease, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

• 🏋️ Proper push-ups: How many push-ups should you be able to do?

• 🐕 1000 dogs: STAY study enrolls 1000 dogs to investigate pet longevity.

• ☂️ Raincheck on gut testing: Gut tests may not extend longevity.

LONG-LEVITY

Gotta love golf

🏌️ Irish golfer Rory McIlroy (35) dramatically claimed victory (and a green jacket) at this year’s Master’s Tournament on Sunday, but you don’t need the green jacket to get the benefits of the game.

Research tells us that it is an activity you can do for an entire lifetime–and to boost life expectancy. In a large-scale Swedish study, playing golf lowered a person’s risk of dying 40% more than had they not played. 

⛳

Golf promotes socialization, balance, muscle strength, and can be a form of moderate-intensity physical exercise. It can also improve proprioception and muscle function in older adults, which can reduce risk of falls and injury. Fore!

LIVELONG+

📚 READ: Outlive by Peter Attia. He explains all the foundations of longevity.

🎧 LISTEN: Bryan Johnson addresses a female longevity protocol.

🍽️ TASTE: Spring Panzanella Salad is on the menu. Loaded with fresh greens (including 2024’s healthiest vegetable), it’s a bright addition to any table.

💬 SHARE: Share this newsletter to spread the knowledge.

🚭 EXPERIENCE: A retreat at an abandoned tobacco factory in Italy.

About Livelong

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Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified healthcare professional before starting any exercise, wellness, or health program. Nothing in our content, products or services should be considered, or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Livelong is a media company and not a medical provider. We try to give the most accurate possible, but sometimes information is subject to change.