Everyone wants to age gracefully. But that isn’t always easy to do. It’s hard to maintain a youthful appearance without doing things that may make you look and feel a little less like yourself. In this article, you’ll find some great suggestions on how to keep looking great as you grow older.
One of the best ways on how to prevent and slow the aging process is by being happy. This can be done by filling your life with love and joy. A good habit is to practice stress relieving activities since stress contributes to speeding up the aging process. A happy person automatically has a happy body.
Perform random acts of kindness and spread joy. You can feel great by helping others feel happy. Being happy does not cost a thing, it is a priceless gift to others.
Pre-plan for the time when you are going to need senior services. This may be planning for your retirement home, nursing home or home health care. If you take the time to plan it while you are able to, you are sure to end up in the place that you want to and that will bring you peace.
If you’re going outside in the sunlight, make sure you always wear sunglasses. The benefits from sunglasses are two fold. They protect your eyes from the harmful UV rays and can help keep your eyes sharp for years to come. They’ll also keep you from squinting to see and stop you from getting wrinkles from it.
Our society is too preoccupied with money. Once we reach retirement age we can let go of this. We have the time to pursue interests like music and painting, and can gain enormous enjoyment from them. An art or craft done for the pure joy of it brings real fulfillment.
A critical factor to prevent aging and increase lifespan is to not smoke. Smoking destroys the body and speeds up the aging process. Smoking is the easiest way to look older and shorten your lifespan at the same time. It causes disease, ages the skin, and is overall one of the main preventable killers known to man.
As you start getting older, your metabolism slows down. So if you aren’t at a weight you are comfortable with now, it will be even harder to keep your weight under control as you age. Take up exercise and get moving regularly, preferably 3 to 4 days a week.
Try to remember that aging is a part of life, not a disease or illness! Bodies do become more vulnerable to common infectious diseases during aging, so taking care of yourself and getting adequate exercise will help you feel youthful. Keeping active is very important to keep your body strong and your mind sharp.
Pay special attention to your diet. As you get older, you need to pay attention to what you are eating much more carefully. A balanced diet is essential to keep as healthy and energized as possible. Try to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, and 3 servings of whole grains per day. Limit your fat intake to no more than 30 percent of your diet. Focus on complex carbohydrates, such as wild rice, whole wheat bread and oatmeal. Last but not least, drink plenty of water.
If you notice a lack of balance, weakened limbs, memory loss and poor coordination as you age, start taking a vitamin B12 supplement. Most people automatically assume that senility is the cause of memory loss yet it can also be a vitamin B12 deficiency. Talk to your doctor about testing to see if you are vitamin B12 deficient and how much you should supplement into your diet.
Drink adequate amounts of water. Older people are more likely to be dehydrated, so it is very important to make sure you drink 8-10 glasses of clean water everyday.
As the day wears on, you will notice that your skin may become more dry and irritated. Therefore, it is important to keep your skin moisturized at all times. Moisturizing your skin can give you a smooth feel and can reduce the dry skin cells on your face which will help you look more vivacious.
Keep an active social circle. Many older people find that they drift apart from family members, as those family members develop lives of their own. You may lose friends to illness, disability, and even death. Keep making new friends and stay in contact with family. You’ll be happier and healthier for it.
A great way to slow the aging process and keep feeling young is to make health your hobby. Try keeping a journal of the foods you eat and evaluate it at the end of the week to see how healthy you are eating and work on not only eating better but eating properly for a longer life.
Practice safe sex. Seniors in their 70’s, 80’s and upward are having sex more often than ever. Unfortunately, more are getting hepatitis B, syphilis, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Medicare already pays for HIV testing and there’s talk about covering other STD tests. Please use lubrication and wear condoms (polyurethane or latex).
A great tip for people who want to slow down their aging process is to get rid of the stress in your life. Stress has been shown to cause wrinkles and grey hair, not to mention that it also leads to lack of motivation. All these things can be postponed if your life is stress free.
A great tip for people who want to slow down the effects of aging is to get lift weights. People tend to lose muscle as they age so adding a weight lifting routine to your regimen is a great way to preserve that youthful look and prolong your wonderful life.
Growing old isn’t easy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it with style. Now that you’ve read this article, you have a number of ideas on what you can do for yourself as you age. If you apply the tips in this article, everyone will be wishing they could age, as gracefully as you have.
