Whenever you are feeling anxious or stressed, the first thing you are told to do is control your breath. There are many different breathing techniques that you can try, like yoga breathing practices like Ujjayi breath, alternate nostril breathing, and deep diaphragmatic breathing.

Diaphragmatic breathing, often called belly breathing, is a simple way to use your diaphragm muscle to breathe more effectively. The Cleveland Clinic explains that the diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle at the bottom of your lungs. When you inhale, it moves down, making space for your lungs to fill with air. Your belly pushes out as this happens. When you exhale, the diaphragm moves up, pushing the air out. This type of breathing is different from chest breathing, where only your chest moves. You can do this breathing technique anywhere, anytime, and no one will even notice. It's a great tool for calming down quickly.

Why Do You Need Breathing Exercises

The reason why this is the go-to response for stressed people is because when you are stressed, your breathing becomes fast paced. The Cleveland clinic explains that stress triggers a fight or flight response in your body. Your body goes into survival mode as it thinks it is in danger. Some symptoms of this include, racing heart rate and blood pressure increase, this means that you are breathing quickly and heavily in order to move nutrients and oxygen into important muscles of your body.

Benefits of Belly Breathing

Belly breathing has many good things about it. It helps calm your nervous system, which is important when you're stressed. It activates a nerve called the vagus nerve, which helps your body relax. When you breathe slowly, your heart rate also slows down, and your body feels less stressed. It helps you control your feelings, like anxiety and fear, so you can think more clearly. This kind of breathing also helps your lungs work better by taking in more oxygen. It can even help you sleep better because it calms your mind. By practicing regularly, you can feel calmer and more relaxed every day.

How to Practice Diaphragmatic Breathing

Certain conditions like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) do make it difficult to work the diaphragm effectively. Your lungs rise and fall naturally, however with COPD air often becomes trapped in your lungs. Make sure you speak to a healthcare professional in case you are facing any difficulties while breathing.

To start, find a comfy spot. You can lie down with your knees bent or sit with your feet flat on the floor. Put one hand on your belly and the other on your chest. Now, breathe in deeply through your nose. Let your belly push out while your chest stays still. Hold your breath for a moment. Then, slowly breathe out through your nose or with your lips a little bit closed, letting your belly go back in. Do this four to six times, slowly and deeply. As you get better at it, you can do more breaths. Practice this every day, even when you're not feeling stressed, to feel calmer all the time.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 has reignited debate about the longevity of two of football's greatest icons — Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Both are well beyond the age at which most footballers begin to decline, yet they continue to compete at the highest level of the sport.

Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is 41, while Argentina legend Lionel Messi will turn 39 later this month. Both will be playing in their sixth FIFA World Cup this year.

In an era when 30 was once considered the beginning of a player's twilight years, Messi and Ronaldo have helped redefine expectations, making it seem as though 40 is the new 30.

So what is the secret behind their remarkable longevity?

Experts point to a combination of disciplined nutrition, rigorous recovery routines, high-quality sleep, injury prevention strategies, genes, and years of consistent training that have helped slow biological aging and preserve elite athletic performance.

Speaking to HealthandMe, Dr. Prateek Kumar Gupta, Consultant Orthopaedics and Sports Surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, said exercise may be key to their longevity and agility.

“The exercise can condition and improve the cardiovascular system and musculoskeletal readiness, which optimizes body fitness and can reduce time-related decay in the system and may delay age-related changes to a certain extent,” Dr. Gupta said.

“After the age of 35, strict discipline for target-based training, routine exercise programs, good nutrition, and complete focus on the game are a few things that athletes do to maintain their peak performance,” he added.

Ronaldo's Biological Age Shocked Even Him

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The 41-year-old Portuguese forward is renowned for his meticulous fitness regime and attention to detail in both physical and mental preparation.

In 2025, fitness technology company WHOOP conducted physiological assessments and estimated Ronaldo's biological age at 28.9 years — more than a decade younger than his actual age.

While chronological age is determined by a person's birth date, biological age reflects the condition and performance of various systems in the body.

Upon learning of the result, Ronaldo expressed disbelief.

“I can't believe it's so good. 28.9,” he said, adding that he could continue playing professional football for another decade.

Ronaldo and Messi are not alone among older footballers competing at the highest level. Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, 40, is set to appear at a record sixth men's World Cup. Other players over 40 include Croatia's Luka Modrić, Germany's Manuel Neuer, and Bosnia and Herzegovina's Edin Džeko.

How Messi and Ronaldo Are Slowing Biological Aging

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Dr. Yacov Grossman, Deputy Chief Physiotherapist at Meuhedet, one of Israel's public healthcare maintenance organizations, outlined several factors that help explain the longevity of elite athletes such as Messi and Ronaldo.

• Fighting Age-Related Muscle Loss: Muscle strength naturally declines after the age of 30. To counter this, Messi and Ronaldo prioritize strength and resistance training, which is essential for maintaining muscle function with age.

• Maintaining Aerobic Fitness: While the body's ability to use oxygen and sustain peak cardiovascular performance gradually decreases after 30, Messi and Ronaldo preserve endurance with regular interval training.
• Prioritizing Recovery: Rather than training harder, both stars focus on sleep, nutrition, recovery therapies, and carefully managed workloads to stay fit and avoid injuries.

• Smart Energy Management: Experience has helped Messi and Ronaldo adapt their game. Instead of constantly running, they conserve energy and choose key moments to accelerate, allowing them to remain highly effective despite their age.

Physical activity has long been known to reduce the risk of chronic diseases and premature death. But when it comes to living longer, which type of exercise matters most—strength training or aerobic activity?

To find out, researchers examined whether resistance training is associated with lower risks of all-cause and cause-specific mortality, how much training is needed for maximum benefit, and whether combining it with aerobic exercise offers additional advantages.

The study, led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, followed more than 147,000 adults for up to 30 years.

The findings, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, showed that both strength training and aerobic exercise are linked to lower risks of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers.

What Did the Study Find?

Using repeated measures of resistance training over nearly three decades, the researchers found that performing 90–119 minutes of strength training per week was associated with:

• 13% lower risk of death from all causes
• 19% lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality
• 27% lower risk of neurological disease mortality

How Much Strength Training Is Enough?

Performing more than 120 minutes of strength training per week did not appear to provide additional reductions in these risks.

For cancer mortality, a reduced risk was observed only at lower levels of resistance training, ranging from 1 to 59 minutes per week.

The study also found that engaging in either adequate aerobic activity or resistance training alone was associated with lower mortality risk, although the reduction was generally greater with aerobic exercise.

The lowest mortality risk was observed among people who combined both forms of exercise at high levels or who performed very high amounts of aerobic activity (45 or more metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-hours per week).

"More is not always better. Benefits appeared to plateau beyond approximately 120 minutes per week of strength training, with little additional reduction in mortality risk. Aerobic exercise remains crucial," said Dr. Sudhir Kumar, Senior Consultant Neurologist at the Institute of Neurosciences, Apollo Hospitals, in a post on X.

"The greatest longevity benefits were seen in people who combined regular aerobic activity—such as walking, jogging, cycling, or swimming—with strength training. Those who did both had up to 45–58% lower mortality risk compared with inactive individuals," he added.

The Ideal Exercise Routine for Longevity

Based on the findings, Dr. Kumar recommended that adults aim for:

• 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week
• 90–120 minutes of strength training per week, spread across two to three sessions
• Include exercises for all major muscle groups.

Beyond Muscles: Why Exercise Is Important?

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults aged 18–64 perform at least 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, or 75–150 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity, each week.

For a long time, workouts were seen as a way to build muscle or lose weight. But a recent study showed that resistance training could reduce brain age by up to two years. This means strength workouts could help the brain maintain characteristics that are seen in younger people.

This means that beyond physical strength, your brain could function more efficiently, particularly in areas like memory and reasoning.

For many women, fitness is still wrongly linked only with loss of weight, a slim body, or a certain physical appearance. In reality, fitness is much more than body size. It is also about strength, flexibility, hormonal balance, mental strength, bone strength, and long-term disease prevention.

A woman may not look thin and still be metabolically healthier and more active than someone who normally appears slim but has poor muscle strength and low stamina.

Myth: Strength Training Makes Women Bulky

Lifting heavy weights in the gym makes women bulky is the most common myth. This is not true for most of the women. Strength-related training helps to improve the tone of muscles, posture, metabolism, and density of bones. It is mainly important because women are at a greater risk of osteoporosis later in life. Regular resistance exercise can also help to protect the joints, reduce the risk of injury, and support healthy ageing.

Myth: Cardio Alone Is Enough

Some practices, such as walking, running, or cycling, are very good for the health of the heart, but cardio alone is not enough. Women also need a well-balanced routine that includes strength-related training, stretching, mobility exercises, and proper recovery as well. A complete fitness plan supports a better level of energy, improves the composition of the body, strengthens bones, and improves insulin sensitivity.

Fitness Supports Hormonal and Mental Health

During different stages of women's lives, exercise plays a very major role, including menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum recovery, perimenopause, and menopause. Regular physical exercise can also help to reduce stress, improve sleep, support mood regulation, and lower the risk of lifestyle-related conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and PCOS-related complications.

The Real Goal: Consistency Over Intensity

Women do not need extreme diets or exhausting workouts to stay fit. Even 30 minutes of regular movement, when integrated with strength exercises two to three times a week, can make a great difference. The main goal should be sustainable fitness, not punishment. When women see fitness as self-care rather than pressure, it becomes a powerful tool for confidence, independence, and long-term health.