Before cremation services in Kettering, OH, many factors in your life, whether behavioral or social, will have a significant impact on how long you actually live, barring an unforeseen accident or catastrophic injury.
Many of our lifestyle behaviors are formed when we’re young and healthy, so we don’t think about, or perhaps even know, their cumulative impact on the quality and the length of our lives.
Almost everybody has some good lifestyle behaviors. You may exercise seven days a week. You may eat an extremely healthy diet. You may sleep well every single night. You may take care of and nourish the relationships around you so that they are loving and supportive.
But among those good lifestyle behaviors, you may also have some bad lifestyle behaviors. And these behaviors may impact your life in such a way that they actually shorten the amount of time you have on earth.
One of the lifestyle behaviors that can potentially shorten your life is habitual alcohol abuse. Whether you’re someone who drinks a lot of alcohol every day or you’re someone who occasionally binge drinks alcohol, the odds of you having a shortened life are increased.
Habitual alcohol abuse can damage the liver. There are stages of liver damage in which, if you completely abstain from ever drinking alcohol again, the damage can be reversed. However, in the later stages of liver damage, leading up to the final stage of cirrhosis of the liver, the damage to this vital organ cannot be undone.
The liver is responsible for removing toxins from the body. If these toxins are not removed, then they can adversely affect every other part of the body including the brain. Toxicity in the brain leads to brain damage, which in the case of irreversible liver damage, first affects the central nervous system.
The central nervous system is responsible for motor skills and speech evidence. Evidence of irreversible liver damage is usually not seen until motor skills are affected. By then, it’s too late. Once cirrhosis of the liver is diagnosed, death occurs within three to six months.
Smoking is another lifestyle behavior that can potentially shorten your life. In the 21st century, it is no secret that smoking is highly addictive and the cigarettes have a lot of very dangerous chemicals in them.
However, it can be very difficult to try to kick smoking habit. There are some people who smoke all their adult lives who lived to be a ripe old age and in good health. There are other people who develop pulmonary problems like COPD or cancer and died an early death.
Since you don’t know on which side of that equation you are going to fall, you should try everything possible to quit smoking so that your life is not shortened. There are many resources to help with smoking cessation, including counseling and support groups. Whatever it takes, smoking should be a lifestyle behavior that is eliminated.
Societal factors can also shorten your life. Many of these may be out of your control to prevent, but it doesn’t change the negative affect it has on your lifespan.
Two of the most common societal factors that can shorten your life are the dissolution of a long-term relationship and long-term unemployment.
You may be completely devoted and committed to your relationship, but your spouse decides that they want out. The effect can be so emotionally devastating that it can cause physical health problems, especially with the heart, that can lead to early death.
For the last 15 years, long-term unemployment that is not caused by a lack of trying, applying, and willingness to work has been a serious problem in the United States. The stress of not working and not being able to be financially secure can adversely affect health and shorten your lifespan.
For information about cremation services offered in Kettering, OH, our caring and knowledgeable staff at Glickler Funeral Home & Cremation Service is here to assist you.