A very good friend of mine showed me the ‘Tape Measure’ analogy a few years ago and it really made me think. If you’re not familiar with it, go grab a tape measure and I’ll talk you through it!

So pull the tape out to 81-82cm, this is the average life expectancy in the UK. To be exact, it’s 79.4 years for men and 83.1 years for women. I know a few factors will obviously affect this but for arguments sake, let’s just go with 81-82cm.

Put the latch on the tape measure and position it on the floor. Now grab something at hand like a pen and position it on your age.

I’m 38 so my tape measure looks like this. You can see straight away, I’m just about halfway through my life. Wowser. Some of you reading this will be younger and some of you will be older. Sometimes it takes a visual aid like this to give us that gentle reminder that life really is short. You’re in a job you hate, change it. You’re surrounded by negative people, leave them behind. Everything’s getting a little bit too much, head to the beach for a walk. You are in complete control of your next move.

Have you ever wondered how much the little things in life can affect your health? How your surroundings can have an impact on your life expectancy (or tape measure!). I came across this dark yet fun online calculator called the ‘death clock.’ It shows you how long you’re roughly expected to live until. Simply choose your gender, age and region and answer a few questions to find out.

My result was 92, suggesting I have 54 years left to live. It was interesting answering the questions and seeing what impact it had on your age. Eating dark chocolate and whether you have a partner or not, all have a huge impact on your life. I don’t like dark chocolate unfortunately!

As I’m getting older, I’m appreciating the little things much more. I’m also dealing much better when negative things come up and how to deflect them. There’s definitely a future post in this as I’d like to explain more and why, but in a nutshell, I’m very much into meditation these days. Amy isn’t quite with me on this topic! A beach walk is usually enough to clear her head and Amy deals with things much better than I do. Everyone is different though and what works for one, may not necessarily work for someone else.

One factor I know that has a huge impact on your health (and it certainly added years on the calculator) is exercise. The time-lapse above shows a top to toe ‘total body workout’ I do on a regular basis. I wish it were as easy as it looks! A little boxing warm-up followed by Deadlifts and Lateral Raises (Legs and Shoulders). Dumbbell Curls and Press-ups (Biceps and Triceps). Bench Press and Pull-ups (Chest and Back). I normally superset this type of workout and I dance loads between sets, haha!

I’ve just been chatting to an old friend via Facebook messenger. He agrees that quite often, it’s a struggle to fit everything in. Remember the pizza? I personally find if I don’t get up early and head to David Lloyd Clubs, by the time I’m done with the day ahead, I just don’t have the energy to go in the gym. A few years ago, 7pm was always the time I’d workout. It’s very rare these days. It’s good to mix things up though, your body gets used to the same exercises, routines and times that you train. Shock your system by doing different exercises at a different time of day. Why not try the routine above?

What do you guys do to help clear your mind?

What age did the ‘death clock’ calculator give you?

*Disclosure: This was a collaborative post with SunLife. All words and opinions are my own.