That's Fit

Finding a way to thwart death and live forever is the stuff of movies and legends -- how many characters have gone in search of the fountain of youth? That's all just fiction and fun, of course, but in real life there are real things you can do to help not only get the most years out of your life as possible but also the most quality years out of your life. A good start to a solid fitness plan is implementing healthy (i.e. life-extending) habits. So try these on for size:

• Get enough sleep, but not too much! Studies show that people who sleep too much (generally 8+ hours per night) have shorter life expectancies, but then again so do those who don't get enough sleep (less than 6 hours). It seems there's a magical number of just enough sleep, which for most people lands somewhere between 6 and 8 hours.

How much do you know about healthy living, really? How you age through life has so much to do with some of the things we all take for granted, like how much sleep we get and at what age we decide to retire. Some things may even be the exact opposite of what you'd first guess, like eating sweets for one: good or bad?

You should pop over to Prevention and take this quiz, it's only 10 questions so it doesn't take long. I won't give up my score, but let's just say I did a lot worse than I thought I would! The questions are strictly true/false, so I'm blaming some of my wrong answers on possible "gray areas." Ha.

According to a study published recently in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings medical journal, people who view their glass as half full will probably live longer than those who see it as half empty. Researchers followed almost 7,000 adults since the 1960s, and found that the pessimistic participants were 42% more likely to die of various causes than their optimistic counterparts.

The reasons behind these results could be any number of things -- like the fact that optimistic personalities are less likely to suffer from depression, and are more likely to take care of themselves by making healthier lifestyle choices.

This isn't the first study to show that a positive attitude can extend your life expectancy, so if you're naturally a pessimist is there anything you can do? Doctors warn that it can be difficult to make changes in your core personality, but not impossible. Studies have shown that therapy and meditation are both effective ways of increasing positive emotions and changing your outlook for the better.