Healthy Lifestyle - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations

Hello and welcome to Lifestyle Today, in this programme we will be looking at ways of living a healthier life. Many experts believe that including some of the elements we will discuss today into your lifestyle can actually also lead to a longer life.

We'll start with the more familiar aspects of healthy living; these being diet and exercise. For some time now, experts have been advising us that incorporation of a Mediterranean-style diet into our eating habits can bring enormous benefits. Research studies report, that those following such diets are 25% less likely to die at a young age - many of the advantages being attributed to the properties of olive oil. Red wine drunk in moderation can also allow the body to detoxify and protect the heart in particular, due to the high levels of anti-oxidants it contains.

Regarding exercise, many of us find it difficult to set time aside for visits to the gym or an exercise class; however, it is important not to under-estimate the contribution that walking can make to our health. More people nowadays are buying a pedometer, which can count their steps as they go about their day to day business. Health experts say that we should aim to take 10,000 steps everyday. This can be achieved more easily than you think, using stairs instead of lifts, walking to a bus stop further away than the one you may usually use if you travel to work by bus, and ditching the car altogether for shorter trips. Any type of exercise is beneficial; however, yoga in particular is thought to make a number of valuable contributions to health. It has been proven to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and protect the body from disease.

Also remember that it is not just important to exercise your body, but also your mind. Like any muscle or body part, it becomes more robust through exercise and stimulation. Playing chess, reading books or completing puzzles challenge our mind and keep it active and healthy. Use it or lose it, some might say.

The type of lifestyle we lead also impacts enormously on our health. Getting enough sleep is vital and getting too little can result in us becoming stressed, irritable and can even speed up the aging process. What is 'enough' varies from person to person; however, somewhere between 6 and 8 hours per night is a good benchmark. Our bodies are given a chance to recuperate during sleep and it improves our concentration, appearance and boosts the immune system. More recent studies suggest that appropriate quantities of sleep can also help us burn calories and maintain a healthy weight.

Being happy during our waking hours is also important; laughter is the body's natural way of reducing stress and it also improves blood circulation. A research conducted in the Netherlands indicates that there are close links between having a positive attitude and health. According to the study, optimists are 55% less likely to die of one of the most significant killer diseases of our time, such as heart disease, that someone with a negative attitude. In order to maintain happiness, it is also important to be able to leave work in the workplace, employment-related stress is on the increase and is not only detrimental to health, but can also have a knock-on effect on our personal relationships, which can lead to a spiralling situation of unhappiness and high anxiety levels.

Human beings are naturally social animals and having someone close to share our lives with also contributes to good health. Research studies suggest that being married increases a person's life expectancy; however, getting divorced can have the opposite effect, almost certainly due to the high levels of stress that are normally involved in the ending of a relationship. Pet ownership, dogs in particular, has also been observed to lower blood pressure and fight off depression.

Finally, recent studies from the UK revealed that people living in rural areas, on average, live 6 years longer than urban dwellers; these findings are likely to be due to the fact that air is cleaner and those living in the countryside tend to have more active lifestyles. There are enormous benefits to spend time outdoors in the fresh air. Although over-exposure to sun can be dangerous, provided we protect ourselves from UV rays with sunscreen, sunshine is extremely beneficial as it allows the body to metabolise vitamin D which contributes to bone strength.

Well, that's it for today. Thanks for listening. After the break we will be opening our phone lines to hear what you think about our suggestions and to find out what ideas our listeners have for leading a more healthy life.