Healthy living

People often ask Alfred how he’s kept in such good shape for a man of his age. If we’re only going to live once, we should aim to live as long as we can.

Here’s seven things to try to help you with this:

Stress relief
It’s not all fun and games here at Alfred HQ. It’s a fantastic feeling to be able to provide so many people with security, protection and help when they need it most, but it can be stressful too. The UAE can be a high stress environment generally, so we tell our employees that, if it’s ever getting too much, take 5 minutes to turn the tap and release the stress. Laugh. Go for a walk around the block, think about something else for a while. Breath slowly and deeply. Or ask a colleague for a massage – perhaps one you know well.

Smoking
It seems obvious, but smoking is the single most preventable cause of death. Smoking actually increases stress, and is responsible for nearly a third of all cancers. In fact, for people who have died under 65 in the last 20 years, nearly a fifth of them have been due to smoke related problems. Show yourself how strong you are and stop. What’s worse, your smoke will also affect the people you spend the most time with. So twice the reason to stop. And it’s an expensive hobby. Thrice the reason to stop.

Drink more water
Especially in the summers where the heat is unbearable, hydration is completely key to concentration. If you drank an extra litre of water every day, you’d notice how much better you felt. Try it.

5 fruit and veg
Governments all around the world are adopting this ‘5 portions of fruit and vegetables’ every day. As well they should; fruit guards against diabetes, heart disease and cancer, as well as the risk of a stroke.

Sleep well
Being active is important, but doing nothing is equally important. Getting somewhere in the region of 7-8 hours sleep every night is essential if you want to give every day your all.

Eat less salt
On average, we eat nearly twice as much salt every day as we should do. Salt raises blood pressure and increases the risk of stroke and heart disease. So next time you’re cooking and you’re searching for something to give it that extra kick, just give salt a miss.

Optimism, sharing and smiling
Living healthily isn’t just about what you eat or drink, it’s a mental state too. You don’t have to push weights in the mirror or cycle 10 miles to feel good about yourself, why not try sharing something? Smile more, too. These actions release endorphins, which are natural pain killers and stress relievers. And they sound like good things. It sounds corny, but try to see a little bit of good in everything too. We are lucky, just sometimes our judgement is clouded.

Walk or swim
When you have a fancy car it’s easy to want to drive it everywhere, especially in the heat. But when it’s not so warm, why not have a walk? Even twenty minutes of walking each day will be great for your heart and muscles. Or swim – there’s lots of pools around the UAE, and swimming is a fantastic workout for your body.