After the age of 50, people will obviously feel that the decline of various physiological functions is accelerating. Ordinary people often say that after the age of 50, your energy is not as good as before. Everyone hopes to grow old slowly and live a long life. Of course, this depends on many prerequisites, which vary from person to person and from country to country.

If people from all over the world talk about longevity, the Japanese are definitely indispensable.

According to statistics, in the ranking of average life expectancy among countries, Japan has ranked first for many years, reaching an astonishing 84.2 years. : Life expectancy is 87.1 years for women and 81.1 years for men. In addition to Japan, the top ten countries are: Switzerland, Spain, France, Singapore, Australia, Italy, Canada, South Korea and Norway.

We all know that factors such as diet and exercise are closely related to life span, but according to a survey released by The Lancet Global Health in 2018, Among the least active countries in the world, Japan ranks 11th, with only 40% of people in Japan actively engaging in physical exercise. This is very strange, why the Japanese who do not like sports have become the big winners of longevity.

The secret of Japanese longevity lies more in their eating habits

Researchers summarized seven types of foods that Japanese people often eat and Food that Japanese people don’t eat very much. The conclusion is that Japanese people eat more rice, miso soup, seaweed, pickles, yellow and green vegetables, fish, and green tea, but they eat less beef and pork. And studies have shown that the Japanese diet is associated with a reduced risk of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and cardiac death.

This may be related to the healthy nutrients in the Japanese diet of seaweed, pickles, yellow and green vegetables, fish and green tea . Although each food provides limited health benefits, the combination of these foods creates complex interactions between various nutrients that contribute to a healthy and long life.

In addition, the secret of Japanese longevity is related to their favorite sports

According to the survey, baseball is among the favorite sports of Japanese people Number one. Second is football and third is tennis. In other words, two of the Japanese favorite sports are swing sports.

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The Lancet magazine published a corresponding study. Through a sampling data survey of 1.2 million people and a comprehensive analysis of 75 sports, researchers found that the most important factors for physical health are A ranking of exercises that are good and can help prolong life. Among them, the number one one is racket-swinging sports.

Common swing sports include tennis, baseball, badminton and table tennis. This sport requires speed, reaction ability, There are relatively high requirements for endurance and control. When swinging the racket, using the shoulder and arm muscles to exert force can enhance muscle strength. Continuously moving the body during exercise requires coordination of muscles throughout the body, especially the leg muscles. When exercising, the brain will also follow the thinking, which can achieve the effect of strengthening the brain and refreshing the brain. At the same time, the eyes follow the movement of the ball, which can improve the blood circulation and metabolism of the eyeball tissue, relieve eye fatigue, and effectively prevent myopia.

Let’s take a detailed look at why the racket swing is the longest-lasting exercise

1. The racket swing is a whole-body exercise. Whole-body exercise can significantly improve various organs and parts of the body. It can not only stimulate the muscles of the upper limbs and shoulders and enhance the strength of each part, but also requires the cooperation of the lower limbs during the exercise, thereby increasing the flexibility of the body. and stability.

2. Swinging sports require the eyes and attention to focus on the eyeball body during the process, which can not only strengthen the eyeball It can also improve concentration and thinking flexibility, which can help alleviate the degeneration of the body and brain.

According to statistics from The Lancet, swing sports such as baseball, table tennis, and tennis can reduce deaths by 47% rate, which means that long-term persistence in racket-type sports can reduce the risk of death by nearly half of people.

Let’s continue to look at what other longevity campaigns are listed in The Lancet?

The second-ranked longevity exercise is swimming

When swimming, the muscles of the whole body are involved, and through continuous Breathing and ventilation can improve cardiopulmonary function and promote blood circulation throughout the body. Because of the buoyancy of water, the pressure on each joint of the body is relatively small, and the joints are less likely to be injured. Persistence in swimming can prevent arteriosclerosis and delay the decline of respiratory function. The amount of exercise should not be too large at the beginning, rest for a few minutes every 30 minutes, and control the swimming time every day. In Japan, the government, companies and schools all regard cultivating children's swimming skills as a major event. In Japan, swimming is a basic sport that is highly valued by universities, middle schools and primary schools. Almost all middle schools and elementary schools of a certain size have regular swimming pools. And Japan itself is an island country, and swimming is definitely very popular.

The third longevity exercise is aerobic gymnastics.

The oxygen inhaled during aerobic gymnastics is almost equal to the body’s demand. It can improve cardiopulmonary function, help stabilize blood pressure and blood sugar, help lower blood lipids, improve blood vessel elasticity, and prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. , and can also lose weight.

The fourth longevity sport is running.

Running is a longevity sport that many people can easily participate in. Keeping running can improve the strength of the lower limbs, improve cardiopulmonary function, delay brain aging, and also reduce the risk of falls.

The fifth-ranked longevity sport is ball sports

For example, playing football or basketball, ball sports can consume excess calories in the body and help lose weight. They can also improve psychological quality and reaction ability, and enhance teamwork ability. However, ball games consume a lot of physical energy and are not suitable for the elderly.