Whoever said that age is a virtue must not have looked in the mirror after waking up. Aging can be tough, especially as wrinkles and gray hair start appearing and your middle starts widening. These things happen to all of us, and one of the best things you can do is cultivate an attitude of acceptance.
Learn a new language, play Sudoku, travel the world! These are all things that can help you stay younger longer. Challenging yourself mentally has been shown to keep your brain younger. Audit some classes at the local college or just start up a book club with your friends. Keep your brain active and engaged!
As we age, it is important to keep up on regular eye exams. As we age, our eyes age too and are more susceptible to diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration. These conditions impair vision and make walking and driving more difficult, which can in turn impose danger to ourselves and others.
When you get older, you tend to want to hold onto the past and resist change, but you should really embrace this change as the whole part of the process of getting older. It’s all in the attitude. Look forward to them, and think of them as a new adventure.
As you age, watch your sugar intake. Sugars have been been found to be directly linked to the negative effects of aging, including a decreased lifespan! To increase your longevity, take sugar out of your diet and replace it with natural sweeteners. It can add years to your life.
Powder makeup and foundation may actually cause your skin to age prematurely. As you age, your skin requires even more hydration than when you were young, making this effect even more apparent. Consider ways that simpler cosmetics like eye liner, lip gloss and mascara could work into your life style.
Make sure you’re keeping active. Your body needs exercise to function properly, especially as you age. Adding thirty minutes of exercise into your daily routine can not only keep you looking younger, but it can also extend your life. And don’t wait until you’re already old to exercise, start as early as possible.
Don’t smoke! Smoking has been shown to prematurely age you. Not only can it make you look older, but it can actually reduce your life expectancy. If you stop smoking, your body will start to repair itself within a day of no longer smoking. This will lower your risk for heart and lung diseases.
Do protect your skin against wrinkles and cancer by wearing proper sunblock but don’t over do it to the extent that you deprive yourself of much needed vitamin D! As much harm as too much sun can do, too little of it can also hurt you so find a suitable SPF that will prevent damage without completely prohibiting your intake of highly beneficial sunlight!
A key element to staying young and looking young is to get plenty of sleep. Not only is it important on how you look each day, but it is critical to feeling your best. Everyone’s ideal amount of sleep is different so determine when you feel best after different lengths of sleep over a week.
Perhaps there was something you really wanted to do when you were in your twenties, but you set it aside as impractical: you had to pay the bills, provide for your family. Now that you have reached retirement age, it is time to think back to those interests you set aside. Don’t think you can’t pursue them now. You can!
Hormone levels can drop as you age leading to some unwanted issues. Follow up with your doctor regularly about your hormone levels through check-ups and physicals. Listen closely to the results and potential ramifications. Look for foods that will help promote production of these hormones or look for supplements from your doctor as needed.
To combat the aging process one of the things that you can do is get some sun. This will help you to maximize the way that you feel and get vitamin D into your system, which can be very beneficial for your looks. During the spring and summer, spend at least an hour in the sun to look much younger and feel great during the day.
When you wake up, take a multivitamin with the first meal or snack that you eat. If you work full-time, it may be hard to get all of the vitamins that you need, as a multivitamin will supply you with essential nutrients. Make sure not to take more than one vitamin, as this can have damaging affects to your body.
Sexual health is important for leading a long life and reducing the effects of aging. A healthy sex life contributes to overall health by reducing stress and releasing hormones in the body. It also leads to better mental health and causes a general sense of well-being for an improved quality of life.
Relationships are important as we get older. Maintaining friendships and family relationships help keep the mind healthy. It’s good to get out and spend time doing fun things with other people. It can be as simple as taking a walk around the block, going to play bingo or having a picnic with the grandchildren at the park.
If you want to reduce the effects of aging, be sure that you get plenty of rest. Not only is it good for your overall body, it also helps to give you the energy boost that you need. Taking a one hour nap is also a good idea, too.
With aging, our bones tends to decrease in size and they lose density. This causes your bones to weaken which makes them more apt to fracture easily. Because of these two changes to the bone tissue, people tend to become shorter in stature as they age. To combat these changes in your bones, include plenty of vitamin D and calcium in your diet. You can build bone density by doing weight-bearing activities such as walking.
Despite this, getting older can help you realize what is most important, and it can allow you to slow down long enough to pay attention to smaller details in your life and surroundings. Learn to age well, and you’ll see your own old age the same way.
