Longevity science is exploding in the field of health and wellness right now. Everyone seems intent on searching for the elixir of life. Universities have dedicated entire research departments to it in recent years, mainly due to the Harvard University discovery of a little coenzyme called NMN (Nicotinamide Mononucleotide). The implications of this exciting and dynamic research are profound for elongating human life and although studies continue, scientists feel poised for a vast medical break though in just a few short years.

Today, putting complicated science aside, there are many things we can adopt into our daily lives right now that can have an exponential effect on increasing our life span. Most commonly known are things like meditation or a veggie-based diet and avoiding stress and bad habits like smoking. But lesser known are some things so ordinary in our everyday lives that we underestimate their health benefits. These are things considered so normal most of us would never consider them as advanced longevity facilitators.

So, we’ve plucked a handful of these misunderstood longevity gems from obscurity and listed them below. Prepare to have your mind blown.

Chili Peppers

People who eat red chili peppers may be more likely to live longer, a new study from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHNES) suggests. Researchers found that eating these little red, nutrient-dense powerhouses was associated with a 12 percent lower risk of death, particularly from heart problems or stroke, over a 19-year study period.

One possible explanation is that a compound called capsaicin, one of the principal components of chili peppers, may play a major role binding to certain receptors, which may, in turn, help protect against obesity and lead to a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases, according to the study reported on LiveScience in 2017.

Capsaicin also has anti-microbial properties that could alter the bacteria in the gut, protecting against obesity and cardiovascular disease, the researchers noted. Finally, hot red chili peppers contain numerous other nutrients, such as B vitamins, vitamin C and a compound that the body converts into vitamin A, all of which may contribute to the beneficial effects from the pepper.

Color

Our world is filled with vibrant colors, and they may affect us more than we realize. Color has an enormous power over our emotions which can directly affect mood, behavior and health. Color has a direct line to our emotional life.

Colors affects our memory. If there’s lots of red around, you’re more likely to experience negative feelings. Green, on the other hand, tends to make you hold on to positive thoughts and may help you have a happier view of your life, a healthier state of mind and impart a feeling of balance and overall wellness.

The color green seems to invoke positive emotions stronger and negative emotions weaker. White has the ability to calm, while red seems to have the opposite effect and makes negative emotions — like those linked to failure and danger — more intense.

Advertisers have long understood how to manipulate customers through the use of color and spend a lot of money on figuring out which have what effect on the human brain. For example, McDonalds chose red and yellow in their logo, and much of their advertising because it’s proven the combined effect of red and yellow arouses appetite.

Color also induces healthy sensory reactions in the body. For example, scientists have found that bright blue light may help reset our circadian rhythms, and positively affect our physical, mental, and behavioral patterns, and researchers use color in the treatment of depression and in children with behavioral problems.

Coffee

In a study in 2018 of around half-a-million British adults, coffee drinkers were found to have a slightly lower risk of death over a 10-year follow-up period than non-coffee drinkers but researchers discovered people were more likely to live longer with nearly every level and type of coffee consumption.

The apparent longevity boost comes with additional health benefits, recorded in drinkers of instant, ground and decaffeinated coffee. The study is also the first of its kind to suggest health benefits in people with so-called genetic anomalies that directly benefit from drinking coffee.

Overall, coffee drinkers were found to be about 10 percent to 15 percent less likely to die than non-coffee drinkers during a decade of follow-up checks.

Smiling

Smiling, regardless of mood, can improve your health and help you live longer. Smiling has a long list of health benefits and when smiling leads to laughing, that list grows exponentially.

Smile science often points to the now famous experiment where people, when encouraged to smile, even when they are not feeling happy, quickly experience an emotional lift, and negativity shifts almost instantly to a more positive mood, creating an over-all feeling in the body of wellness.

Good vibes and happy feelings are good, not only for your emotional health but for digestion, improve cardiovascular well-being, neuropathy, blood pressure, increase pain relief and benefit immunity. A body at ease, or experiencing contentment balances its hormones and produces serotonins which then solidifies the positive emotions into an actual chemical reaction in the body, affecting all the body’s systems.

Smiling and laughter are beneficial for your mind, body and overall well-being. Even if you’re feeling blue, crack a smile and reap the numerous health benefits of smiling.