Stay Active and Live Longer

Get up off the couch – and add years to your life. A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that you can reduce your risk of death by 50 percent, just by staying active as you age. Even walking for 15 to 20 minutes once or twice a day helps. The added challenge to your heart and lungs will extend your "healthspan" even further.

Researchers in the study followed 302 men and women ages 70 to 82 for six years. The mortality rate was 12 percent for the active group, compared to 24 percent for the less-active group. Not surprisingly, the active group climbed more stairs than their sedentary counterparts. Most striking was the revelation that many of the health benefits enjoyed by these seniors were the result of simply continuing to do ordinary daily chores as they aged – like gardening, grocery shopping, and washing the dishes.

Jon Herring is the former Health Editor and copywriter for Early To Rise. While his formal education is in finance, Jon has invested over 3000 hours in the study of health and nutrition. He is deeply motivated to provide people with the information and the inspiration to live a long and active life, filled with energy and free from disease. Jon has also been a student of direct sales and marketing since an early age. Before he was 10 years old, he was selling door to door, and he has been an active entrepreneur ever since. After graduating from the University of Georgia in 1993, Jon moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming where he learned how to build houses, climb mountains, catch trout, and ski fast down hill. However, after several years of poverty with a nice view, Jon returned to his hometown of Nashville to seek his fortune. Within two years – at the age of 26 – he had started a direct marketing business that was earning six figure annual revenues. In addition to his passion for health, Jon has a strong interest in business and investing. He is also a staunch advocate for honest government and the libertarian values of privacy, freedom, and personal responsibility.