Live longer!

want to live longer? Want to be healthier? We have the NHS and much of the rest of the world envies us for it, but how long and healthily we live is not so much about how hospitals look after us – medical care contributes only about 20% to our healthy lifespans – as how we care for ourselves before we get there The Guardian has published an article today with lots of hints on how we could all make a difference to our health - I'll post one tip a day. However, today's one is 'Move to Japan' - maybe not realistic ? But some hints none the less! 1 Move to Japan With the highest healthy life expectancy in the world, as well as the longest lives for women (men in Andorra just pip their Japanese counterparts to first place), Japan is clearly the place to buy a 1LDK (one room apartment with a living, dining and kitchen area). Space may be limited but a healthy life is not. On average, Japanese women can expect 75.5 years of good health while men enjoy 70.6 years. In the UK, we get 70.1 years and 67.1 years respectively. It is not just about sushi and rice, according to Professor Kenji Shibuya and colleagues at the University of Tokyo, writing in the Lancet in 2011. "Japanese people give attention to hygiene in all aspects of their daily life," they said. "This attitude might partly be attributable to a complex interaction of culture, education, climate [eg humidity, temperature], environment [eg having plenty of water and being a rice-eating nation] and the old Shinto tradition of purifying the body and mind before meeting others." (Not something we can replicate with a little bottle of hand sanitiser on the desk.) They have regular health checks. We weren't designed to sit around – so get running.