Ah, the fountain of youth. When it comes to aging gracefully, let's face it -- we want it all. We want to feel good, look good and, most of all, live a long, healthy life. Here are twenty ways to get your game on and hopefully live to 100 and beyond!

Get Married

Exchanging vows comes with its own medical perks.  A study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health showed the death rate for people who were unmarried was significantly higher compared to people who were married and living with their spouses.  While the results were significant among the various unmarried subcategories such as divorced, separated, or widowed populations, it was significantly stronger for people who had never been married. 

Laugh out Loud

Experts say that laughter is the best medicine. After all, it increases your immune system response, lowers blood sugar levels in diabetics, increases oxygen flow throughout your entire body and helps induce a state of relaxation promoting better sleep.  The positive health effects are no laughing matter: according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, average blood flow typically increases 22 percent during and after bursts of laughter compared to a decrease in blood flow by 35 percent during mental stress.

Quit Smoking

Let's face it: smoking is bad for you. Really bad. Need proof? Based on data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adult male smokers lost approximately 13.2 years of their lives and female smokers lost 14.5 years of their lives because of smoking. Plus, chronic diseases caused by smoking tended to curtail the quality of life of smokers while they were still alive.

Exercise More

Exercise is all around good -- giving you the positive effects of increased endorphins and a reduced waistline.  It makes your heart stronger by pumping more blood with less effort, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, prevents and controls diabetes, strengthens bones and muscles and controls weight. Convinced yet?  A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that participants who had moderate to high exercise routines lived 1.3 to 3.7 years longer than their couch potato counterparts.

Give Your Brain a Workout

Having a good workout isn't only limited to your body. Playing chess, reading newspapers, attending plays or finishing a crossword puzzle all have positive health results, experts say. Brain fitness is paramount to maintaining your cognitive abilities. According to one study by Neurology Online, people who mentally exercised their brains had a reduced risk of mild cognitive impairment and a risk of Alzheimer's that was 2.6 times less than people who did not stimulate their mind. 

Limit Sun Exposure

Wearing sunscreen, limiting your exposure to the sun during peak hours and wearing sunglasses are some ways to prevent skin damage and cancer. Considering skin cancer is the most common of cancer types --  more than one million cases are diagnosed each year in the U.S. --  prevention and early detection are key to prolonging your life.

Visit the Doctor Regularly

This one's a no brainer: seeing a general physician on an annual basis can significantly lengthen your life by catching ailments before they start or treating emerging ones.  An annual exam should include a blood pressure check, cholesterol and sugar level screening, bone density test, and examination of the ears, nose, throat and reflexes.  For instance, if high blood pressure is not found and treated, significant health problems such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure or eye problems may result. 

Eat Fish
 
Eating up to two portions of fish on a weekly basis is beneficial, reported the Harvard School of Public Health. In fact, eating fish could possibly cut the risk of death by heart disease by one-third.  Here's why: omega-3's fatty acids are healthy. They keep blood from clotting, lower the amount of fats in the bloodstream and reduce the risk of obesity. Plus, they provide a lot of nutrients like selenium, antioxidants and protein.  However, pregnant women and children need to limit their intake of high-mercury fish like swordfish, king mackerel and others. 

Eat More Fruits and Veggies

You know what they say, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Broccoli, kale, bananas, whatever the fruit or veggie, chances are you're doing a body good with its vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and fiber. According to the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research, diets that contain substantial and varied amounts of fruits and vegetables may potentially prevent 20 percent or more cancer cases.

Share a Hug

Couples who had physical contact, such as a brief hug and ten minutes of hand holding, actually lowered their heart rates and blood pressure by 50 percent, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.  Plus, in a previous study it was determined that hugging and hand-holding reduces the negative effects of stress.

Limit Alcohol

Too much alcohol will shorten your life, while moderate imbibing may actually lengthen it, concluded researchers published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.  Generally men who drink up to four drinks on a daily basis and women who drink up to two drinks per day reduce the risk of death from any cause by roughly 18 percent. However, men and women who drink more than this amount curtail their lifespan and increase their risk of death.

Get Your Zzzz's
 
Getting less than six hours of sleep each night could have negative health effects.  A study from the Sleep Health Centers in Boston reported that getting less than this amount of sleep each night increased the risk of dying.  Plus, having too little sleep increases your risk of diabetes. Sleeping reduces the levels of leptin, which is the hormone that signals us to stop eating. A heavier weight equates to an increased diabetes risk. Experts recommend getting between six to nine hours of sleep each night for optimum health.

Stay Positive

If you always think the glass is half full, you're on the right track. Mayo Clinic research shows that people with a positive outlook typically live 19 percent longer than people who see the glass as half empty.  Although it's questionable if this can be attributed to optimists being more likely to seek medical help when they're ill or their immune systems being stronger as a result of their sunny outlook, the result is that they live longer. Optimists are also less likely to suffer depression and helplessness than their pessimist counterparts.

Consume a Low-fat Diet

While you may have a Big Mac attack every now and then, experts say a low fat diet is the way to go for aspiring centenarians. One of the benefits, of course, is cutting calories. Health-conscious people tend to choose lower fat options such as light Italian salad dressing instead of oily, thick regular salad dressing. Low fat diets help lower risk of heart disease as well.

Go to the Dentist

As we age regular visits to the dentist may become less about flashing those pearly whites and more about preventing the onset of diseases like gingivitis. This mild form of periodontal disease causes the gums to become red, swollen and bleed easily.  This is reversible with proper care, but other gum ailments may ensue if they're not treated. For instance, when left untreated advanced conditions such as tooth loss, heart disease, respiratory disease and diabetes can develop from severe gum ailments.

Manage Stress

Whether you manage stress by getting a massage, meditating or working out, as long as you're doing something to curtail the anxiety you're headed towards a healthier life.  Stressful situations such as births, deaths, divorce and employment concerns often slow down the blood flow to the heart, raise cholesterol levels, decrease your mental well-being and weaken the immune system. 

Go Back to School

If you want to live a longer life hit the books. A recent study from Harvard found a correlation between a longer lifespan and people with at least one year of college compared to people with a high school diploma or less. People with at least one year of college increased their lifespan by almost 1.6 years from 1990 to 2000, while the less educated remained flat.  

Go Back to School

If you want to live a longer life hit the books. A recent study from Harvard found a correlation between a longer lifespan and people with at least one year of college compared to people with a high school diploma or less. People with at least one year of college increased their lifespan by almost 1.6 years from 1990 to 2000, while the less educated remained flat.  

Drink Tea

Your taste buds may enjoy green tea, but what you may not know is that it's good for your health too. In a recent study, Japanese adults who consumed the most green tea during an eleven year duration were less likely to die from cardiovascular disease or other causes (except cancer) compared to the less frequent tea-drinkers.  Essentially, it reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.