Telomeres are the structures made from DNA sequences that serve to protect the end of a chromosome. They are essential for cell division and get shorter over time until they are no longer able to divide, eventually leading to cell death and speeding up the aging process.

Since every organ and tissue in the body is made up of cells, telomeres are crucial to maintaining health and youthfulness. Think you are unable to lengthen your telomeres? Think again. You have more control over it than you think. Here’s how to do it.

Ways to Increase Telomere Length

Exercise

Studies show that those who have longer telomere lengths spend more time exercising than those who don’t. Obesity, in particular, has been linked to reduced telomere length and is also a cause of other health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease. In order to maximize your telomere length, you can do the following:

• Exercise in moderation (3-5 sessions a week).
• Avoid going overboard or exercising excessively.
• Make sure to hydrate while exercising. 

Eat a Mediterranean Diet

A healthy diet is essential to have good health and nutrition. Not only does it have the ability to affect your telomere length, but it can also prevent and protect you from a variety of health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. The Mediterranean diet, in particular, has been proven to promote health and longevity. 

Eat:

• Healthy fats such as extra virgin olive oil and avocado, both of which help lower “bad” cholesterol.
• Fresh, unprocessed fruits without pesticides since they are packed with antioxidants.
• Green vegetables (raw, steamed, or sauteed) as they are rich in potassium.
• Fish such as salmon, which is a valuable source of omega-3.

Reduce:

• Sodium intake. 
• Intake of processed/packaged foods.
• Refined grains such as white bread, pasta, and chips.

Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is one of the most important functions of the body. It allows us to function optimally and helps to better the immune system. Those diagnosed with insomnia have been shown to have significantly shorter telomeres than those who achieved adequate amounts of sleep.

Sleep also allows your body to repair cells and eliminate toxins stored in the brain. In order to sleep better, you can try the following:

• Go to bed at the same time every night.
• Limit daytime naps.
• Stop using electronics one hour before bedtime.
• If you can’t fall asleep, chamomile tea and lavender may be beneficial.

Reduce Stress 

Stress is the number one killer for a reason. It increases the level of cortisol, the main stress hormone, as well as insulin and cellular oxidation. It is also known to cause significant health issues and shorten telomere length. The best way to reduce stress levels is to do the following:

• Meditate for 20 minutes each day.
• Take supplements that relax the body and mind (such as magnesium, GABA, or other supplements recommended by your nutritionist).
• Take deep breaths when you feel your body is overloaded.

Let’s Have a Conversation 

What types of things are you doing to lengthen your telomeres? Is there anything on the list you are willing to try? Let us know in the comments below!

Paige DeSorbo’s White Chain Embellished Dress on The Today Show

Summer House 2023 Instagram Fashion

Yesterday was a great day because Paige DeSorbo was on The Today Show! She joined Hoda and Jenna to do a lil’ fashion segment of dressing moms like their daughters and totally nailed the assignment. Now today is a good day because we’re sharing deets on her white chain embellished she wore for it. And considering there’s still some pieces left in stock and great Style Stealers means we can get our hands on a new cute dress (and maybe even let our moms borrow it ).

Sincerely Stylish,

Jess

Click Here to Shop Her Alexis Dress

Click Here to Shop it in Green

Click Here to Shop Her Steve Madden Platforms

Photo + Info: @paige_desorbo

Originally posted at: Paige DeSorbo’s White Chain Embellished Dress

As a person with more years behind me than ahead, I am constantly reading and hearing about fulfilling my goals, living a good life, reimagining “this one life we’ve been given” and generally making these final years count.

After many decades of overwork, I couldn’t wait to get into my post-work life but I had big doubts about how I would handle it. I defined myself by my job.

I did know one thing: I was sure about what I wanted to leave behind but not as sure about what I wanted to go after. I knew I needed some down time, but the rest of it – the endless debates in my head about optimizing my time, making the most of this dwindling and precious resource – started to drive me crazy.

I was imposing the same pressures on myself in retirement that I did in my work life. What’s the right path? Figure it out. And do it now!

Clearly, constant deadlines and endless to-do lists aren’t as easy to shake off as I hoped. Two-plus years in, I’m seeing that this is an internal renovation process that might take a while and has nothing to do with rushing to get it right.

Enter The Artist’s Way, a philosophy that has been spreading through the creative community for three decades. I heard about it on a podcast on memoir-writing, which is one of the areas I’ve been pursuing in retirement.

You Don’t Have to Be an Artist to Think Creatively

But this isn’t a piece about writing, painting or any other activity we think of as “art.” That would be too intimidating. After all, not all of us are writers, musicians, actors or poets.

But just about all of us do want to be creative in our lives. In fact, that’s probably why we read publications like this – to think about ourselves in connection to others facing similar life decisions, and to get ideas, or share them. We know it’s a privilege to have this time right here, right now.

To tap into that creativity, The Artist’s Way has as its No. 1 tenet the concept of “morning pages,” which consists of filling three spiral notebook pages by hand shortly after arising each day (after coffee is okay).

I’ve tried journals off and on for years, but this isn’t that. You put your pen to paper and don’t lift it for three full pages. Grammar, punctuation, syntax be damned.

At first, you’re writing gobbledygook about how stupid the process is, about how bad your coffee tastes and the weather, but soon you go deeper. Your subconscious gets bored with your practical mind and begins to take over.

And that’s a good thing because your subconscious is the one who really knows what’s going on. Don’t worry if the writing is incoherent or whiny. And it’s definitely okay if anger comes up. Anger often gives birth to creative thinking.

Let Your Thoughts Flow!

One example: I’ve been going through the process of working with my two siblings to help relocate my mother to an assisted living facility in a town near my brother but far from the city where we all grew up. The process has been far more difficult than I imagined, and my mother, who is recuperating from a broken hip, is not cooperating; in fact, she’s hostile to the whole thing.

I began venting about this in my morning writing, raging on the page about my mother and her ungrateful attitude, about the straining of my sibling relationships as a result, etc., etc. But since I blessedly couldn’t fill three pages with vitriol, I started thinking about my mother, her life and how it was coming to this crucial and important point – one I, myself, will be facing in the not-too-distant future.

I began writing about the limited choices of her generation, including her lack of having what was “hers” as a woman of her era. For her, this manifested in her fierce claim later in life to the house she would now be giving up. After her children were gone, for example, she defiantly installed snow white carpeting throughout, daring us to boomerang (which none of us did).

In my scribbles, that all brought me to my own life, my own generation’s limitations, my own struggles. I kept going down this path, calming myself, exploring life options and coming up with a couple of essay ideas in the process.

In another entry, I started out mad at myself about my lack of accomplishment during the lockdown years of the pandemic and came out the other side with a long list of what I had actually done and how to move forward.

You Can Be Your Own Best Sounding Board

Other times I’ve started out with a daily log of activities that turns into figuring out why I did something 25 years ago. The goal is to become your own sounding board and learn about what’s been rattling around in your head, sometimes for years.

I can’t count the number of entries that begin, “Jumbled thoughts today” or “My mind is racing.” There’s even a, “F*ck you, morning pages” in there. You get the idea. It’s a bit of candid quality time with yourself, a meditation of sorts, if a sometimes chaotic one.

You can help things along by starting your morning pages with specific statements to think about like, “I am willing to be all that I am,” or asking questions like, “What would today be like with no judgments?”

According to The Artist’s Way, a sustained practice of Morning Pages helps us clear away the clutter that comes between us and creativity. Even if we don’t think of ourselves as artists, we can use this technique to be creative in building lives that make us satisfied at the end of each and every day, as they come.

And one last Artist’s Way rule that may be obvious: Never show your pages to anyone, ever. Your creative process will be its own reward, I promise.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Does thinking about the next phase drive you crazy some days? How do you muster creativity in trying out an internal renovation?

Since time immemorial, people have been discussing the quality of gratitude. Plato (427–347 BCE) said, “A grateful mind is a great mind, which eventually attracts to itself great things.” Aristotle (384–322 BCE), a pupil of Plato, pointed out the relationship between our better side and gratitude. He also suggested that “gratitude is more than mere thanks, but uniquely tied to the idea of giving oneself.”

The great Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger (4–65 CE) said, “We should try by all means to be as grateful as possible. For gratitude is a good thing for ourselves.”

Modern Research

Robert A. Emmons, a contemporary expert on gratitude, has found that people who practice gratitude regularly are healthier and happier. He points out that people who deliberately choose positive emotions are actually nurturing their mental health and well-being.

Modern research has backed up what we all know instinctively: feeling and expressing gratitude is good for us. When we do so, our brain releases dopamine and serotonin. These chemicals have a party inside us and lift our spirits and make us feel good. When we give thanks, we are benefitting ourselves as well as others.

The Benefits

The benefits of expressing gratitude are many. It improves our overall health, including our psychological well-being. By making us feel better about ourselves and our lives, it nurtures our self-esteem, which in turn boosts our mental strength, resilience and mood. And as our mood improves, we start to sleep better. Gratitude also reduces our desire for revenge and envy of others, which enhances our empathy.

According to Harvard Medical School, gratitude is “a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives.… As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals—whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.”

How to Practise Gratitude

Feeling gratitude is a practice that is good for us. The thing is, we have to train ourselves to do it. Where to start is always the question. We could begin with a gratitude journal. Every evening, as we go to bed, we can write in our journal at least three things we are grateful for and allow ourselves to feel that lovely emotion. Those little endorphins and serotonins that are released will help us sleep better.

In the morning we can do the same thing, which will give us a good start to our day. As we count our blessings, we can enjoy life at a much deeper level.

Another way to practice gratitude is to consciously perform at least one kind act during the day. A helpful book on practicing gratitude is The Book of Gratitude, a collection of texts by 30 international women writers who are inspired to heal the world through gratitude.

What Can We Be Grateful for?

There is so much to be grateful for. Life itself is such a gift, as is the incredible human body we have inherited from those who have gone before us. It behooves us to look after life. We have families and friends who enrich our lives and whose lives we can enrich.

We live in a wonderful society that is set up to improve our lives by providing us with food, shelter and clothing, as well as many other things that make life enjoyable.

We can take moments to recognize how much we have to be thankful for: the warmth of the sun; the refreshing rain; the beauty of flowers and trees; the joy of our pets; the greetings of family, friends and acquaintances. So much, and all of it free. No doubt you can add to this list.

Conclusion

We all have much to give thanks for, and it is important to recognize that, no matter what challenges we may face in life, there is always something to be grateful for. By focusing on the things we have, rather than what we lack, we can cultivate a feeling of gratitude and find greater joy and contentment. As we show that gratitude, we increase the pleasure of others and ourselves.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Is gratitude a part of your life? How do you express it to yourself? How do you express it to others? What benefits have you noticed when practicing gratitude?

Paige DeSorbo’s Jeans on Her Instastories

Summer House 2023 Instagram Fashion

If you happen to have missed Paige DeSorbo’s Instastories the other day we’re here to inform you they came with some must-know intel from her. Which is of course that jeans she’s wearing here are basically modern day jeggings. Don’t lie we know you rocked them back in their prime and now with this little update you can rock them again. Especially because they are in stock AND on sale.

Sincerely Stylish,

Jess

Click Here to Shop Her Rag & Bone Jeans

Photo + Info: @paige_desorbo

Originally posted at: Paige DeSorbo’s Jeans