There’s no reason to dread getting older. It happens to everyone. Luckily, as time goes on we have all kinds of ways to make aging easier. For example, medicine and information have made older life much better. Here are a few aging tips to help you cope with aging in a positive, capable manner.
Keep your body hydrated to reduce the affects of aging on your skin. Our skin is one of the first things to show the signs of dehydration with sunken eyes and leathery skin. Keep up your water intake and make sure to eat foods that are high in water content like cucumbers and oranges.
Increasing your social activities can improve your lifestyle as you get older. Being part of a group can help you to keep learning and experiencing new things. Join a seniors group, a craft class, or a cooking class. Keeping busy will give you no time to feel older!
Exercise can improve the aging process. As we get older, our muscle mass naturally declines, making everyday activities more difficult and reducing the number of calories we burn. While aerobic exercise helps maintain muscle mass and control weight, resistance exercise has the added benefit of helping maintain bone mass.
Keeping your cholesterol under control is important for aging well. A build up of cholesterol can raise your risk of stroke or heart attack. Eating a diet low in animal fats and high in fiber can help keep your cholesterol level under control by increasing your HDL (good) cholesterol and reducing your LDL (bad) cholesterol.
Understand hormone imbalances and be sure to treat them. As you age, many of the more difficult challenges are caused by imbalances in your hormones. This includes issues like depression, insomnia and weight increases. Go to your doctor if you are feeling off in any way and have yourself tested. Doctors can put you on a plan for supplementing your hormones.
Eat with your friends and your family. You can make a day of it with your family, and it does not have to be a holiday to do it. Prepare the meal together. Make it a meal of everyone’s favorite foods, and teach them the way that you have prepared these kinds of food throughout their lives.
It may sound depressing but remember you are nearing the end of your life each day. Keeping this in mind will allow you to appreciate even the smallest things in life. It will give you the drive to strive to get the most out of each and every day in your life.
Start to exercise with weights. As you age, you start to lose your muscle density, so you have to make the most out of the muscle you have left. Get into a routine of weight-lifting a few times a week so that you can stay strong even as you go into your later years.
Start making a will. Death is a topic people don’t like to talk about, but it is inevitable. When you feel ready, begin preparing your will and final papers so that your family knows how you would like things to be handled after you pass on. This will also make sure that there are not any family fights and disagreements later on.
Aging well depends on knowing the right time to step back from some things. You have always cleaned the chimney yourself. Now perhaps, it is time to let a professional do it. It may make you feel incompetent, but you must get over that. You don’t want to risk a fall and be laid up for weeks or months, trying to heal. There is wisdom in doing as much as you can do and knowing your limitations.
Getting older can often seem like a scary prospect especially for people who are worried about their mental capabilities. The loss of mental ability is a real threat and to help avoid this it is important to maintain a good diet as well as do things to stimulate your thoughts and your brain.
Antioxidants are absolutely one of your best weapons against aging! It is a proven fact that antioxidants counteract the free radicals that are constantly working against your body and the good things you are trying to do with it. Get plenty of antioxidants as you age, with dark vegetables and fruits like carrots, squash and spinach or blue and purple berries!
Find a support group if you’re having trouble adjusting to age. Other people who are going through the same things you’re going through may have different ways of doing things and different methods of coping. They can help you navigate the unfamiliar waters of aging as well as lend an ear or shoulder to lean on.
Despite popular dogma, older folks need as much sleep as younger people, which is at least 7 or 8 hours nightly. If you get that much sleep and still feel sleepy during the day, see your doctor because you may have sleep apnea. People afflicted with sleep apnea repeatedly pause breathing while asleep. Left untreated, this disorder can increase your chances of heart disease and other problems.
Keep up with your social calendar as you age. Studies have shown that people with an active social life have less chance of suffering from Alzheimer’s. Visiting with friends and family will nourish those relationships and keep your mental health in top condition. Sharing your life with your social circle will lead you to a more fulfilling life.
Search for sports groups in your area to join activities with people who are your age. This will help to get your blood pumping with your peers so that you are not sitting home and watching television. The more active you are, the more vibrant your skin will look and the more fit you will become.
Use these great tips as a way to pave your path toward growing older. Follow them and look for others to help you on your way. While aging is inevitable, you have the information available and medical access that generations before you didn’t have; use these things to have a great life for as long as you live.
