Everyone on Earth is going to have to go through the aging process. But how well (or how poorly) you age depends on what you’ve done in the past and what you’re doing now and in the future.
The aging process affects almost every area of your life – including your emotional well-being, cognitive prowess, physical abilities and more.
In order to slow down the aging process, you have to know what you can do to combat it.
This requires you to be proactive and not simply hope it all turns out well for you. Even if things seem to be going fine right now, the things you do today might help you in later years.
You might have one main concern, such as dementia or some other disease.
But you need to take a well-rounded approach to anti aging so that you aren’t someday filled with regret, wishing you’d done more to defy the aging process.
Below, you’ll discover a plan of action you can integrate into your life that will allow you to age gracefully, maintain your youthful appearance and physical health – and protect your mental state as well.
Sharpen Your Mind and Keep Your Brain Healthy as You Age
As you grow older, your brain volume actually shrinks. This can diminish your cognitive function and ability to communicate as well as you once did. There’s also less blood flow to your brain as you age, and a decrease in the production of fresh brain cells.
Learning and challenging your mind is a great way to keep your mental acuity in check. Whenever people stop learning, reading and engaging their brain, it grows stagnant, and in some cases, begins to reverse.
You can pick topics you know nothing about and have always wanted to learn more about, or advance your knowledge about topics you don’t know enough about, but have wanted to level up in.
You can absorb the information in any way that you feel most comfortable, whether it’s by reading books, listening to audio information such as a podcast or audio book, or even watching videos.
You may even want to learn a new language. It’s never too late to pick up a second or even third language. There are free and paid tools online that can help you learn how to do this, and practicing it on a regular basis can keep your mind sharp.
Another thing that can help is writing your thoughts out. Some people simply journal, while others decide to take up the task of writing their own book. You can self publish your book on sites like Amazon at no cost to you up front, or you can simply keep it to yourself.
Make sure you are staying hydrated whenever you consider your mental sharpness, water actually improves your cognitive function and overall brain health and contributes to health in other areas, too.
You might want to have fun while keeping your brain sharp. In that case, you might want to play memory games, logic or strategy games, do some puzzles or brain teasers or other games that engage your mind.
Keep Your Youthful Appearance with An Anti Aging Skincare Routine
As you age, your skin – the largest organ in your body – changes. Collagen production decreases, which means your skin isn’t as firm as it once was. You may notice some sagging and wrinkles that weren’t there before.
It becomes dry and flaky in some instances, and if you weren’t careful in the sun, you might start to see sun spots and other damage. Your skin also might start to look more thin.
Any little bump can cause a bruise or scratch that wouldn’t have happened before. Broken blood vessels will look worse now than ever before, too. When you’re growing older, your body isn’t sloughing off the dead skin cells and replacing them with new ones as often, so your skin will lose that dewy, fresh glow.
Not everyone’s skin ages the same. How much sun you were exposed to, as well as whether you were a smoker or exposed to other damaging things can determine whether or not it suffered more.
It’s never too late for you to start wearing sunscreen and stopping any smoking habit you may have. Smoking creates fine lines around the mouth and depending on the severity of your habit, may make your skin look more dull and leathery.
Your sunscreen should be at least 30 SPF, but it’s better if you can find the 100 SPF broad spectrum sunscreen that offers more protection as you age in the sun. Remember, that your skin is exposed even if you’re in the car driving somewhere, so get in the habit of always applying it.
You want to be sure to nourish your skin from the inside-out, not just slather it in moisturizer topically. Drink plenty of water to keep your skin from developing that dehydrated look.
Whenever you’re shopping for anti aging skincare products to use, steer clear of anything too harsh. You want gentle cleansers, exfoliants and moisturizers to clean the skin without stripping it of the necessary oils it needs.
Protect Your Mobility as You Age
As we grow older, our mobility isn’t what it used to be. You might suffer from things like osteoarthritis, which is very common and debilitating. It affects your joints and makes it hard to move around because of the pain and stiffness.
You might lose some of your muscle mass, and those muscles strengthen the joints that help you move with flexibility and better balance. If you’re unsure on your feet, you might suffer from a fall, injuring yourself and further damaging your mobility in the process.
A decrease in vision abilities can make mobility more challenging, too. And lessening bone density makes any fall or injury much more dangerous, so you need to protect your ability to get around as much as possible.
You want to make stretching a priority in your life. Stretching your body so that it’s not so stiff can be a great help to you in terms of mobility. It gives you a better range of motion and helps reduce your risk of sudden injury.
You may also want to engage in other flexibility exercise regimens. These might include things like yoga, Pilates, or even some Tai Chi for better flow of movement. These are not harsh for any age and can improve your mobility or protect it.
If you’re a member of a gym, ask what kinds of equipment they have to help you with better balance. For example, there are balance boards that you can use and if you have a personal trainer, they can be there to assist you and make sure you don’t fall.
You can also do some swimming or water aerobic routines to help your body function better in terms of movement. This is easy on your joints, so if you’re prone to experiencing pain, swimming will alleviate that while helping you get exercise and strengthen your muscles.
Strength Training and Activity Boosters That Prevent Aging Issues
The age at which mobility will begin to diminish in some cases (not all) could be as early as your 40s or 50s – or as late as never, depending on how you’ve lived your life and whether you’ve maintained your physical health.
Many people try to avoid strength training as they age, fearing they’re past the age when they should be trying to build muscle. But muscle is very protective over your joints and ability to maneuver your body, so both men and women can work on maintaining and building some muscle in order to stay mobile.
This doesn’t mean you’re going to resemble a bodybuilder. On the contrary. You just want to make sure that you’re giving your muscles the power they need to support you as you move.
If you belong to a gym, there are both machines and free weights you can use to prevent the loss of muscle mass. But even if you’re just working on it from home, you can use bodyweights, squats, lunges and pushups to help with muscle building.
You can take the process slow if you want to. Don’t try to do more than you’re capable of and end up injuring yourself. You can proceed gradually in leveling up to more weights or repetitions.
It’s not even the amount you can lift or how many times you can lift it that matters most. What matters most is whether or not your form is good. That will decide whether you’re going to injure yourself or enjoy the benefits of strength training.
A personal trainer can help you by seeing what your baseline abilities are, and then showing you exactly how to do each move. They’ll watch you do it and give you instructions such as keeping your shoulders down on a certain movement so that you don’t suffer some sort of strain.
Whenever you start strength training, make sure you’re using a warm up and cool down routine. This prevents injury as well. And switch things up from day to day. Do upper body one day and lower body the next.
Or work on a specific set of muscles, like chest or back. The variety not only prevents boredom, but it also helps in not allowing your body to get used to the exercises, so it performs better.
Never push your body to a point that you’re feeling pain that’s too much to handle. While you might feel a burn when lifting weights, you should not suffer any type of sharp pain.
Besides making consistent progress at the gym, make sure you’re engaging in more physical activity in general. Take the stairs whenever possible – even if you only do a couple of flights, and park farther from the door of a store than you’re used to doing.
Fuel Your Body with Nutrition to Fight the Aging Process
We talked about the importance of staying hydrated and giving your body what it needs from the inside-out. The same holds true for your nutrients. There are some ways you can use food to protect your body from aging poorly.
You want to make sure that you’re limiting processed foods and sugars in your diet. These can cause inflammation and make moving around more painful. Your body needs a well-balanced diet, with healthy fats, protein and smart carbs.
By keeping your nutrition in check, you’ll be able to avoid diseases that typically affect older people, such as diabetes. Depending on what foods you incorporate, you’ll be fueling your body with vitamins and minerals it needs to thrive on a cellular level, too.
Taking in antioxidants through your food sources will help with the anti aging process, too. It can reverse or prevent damage that’s been done from the environment you’ve been living in.
One thing that’s important for you to get is calcium. You don’t want to have fragile bones, and foods rich in calcium and vitamin D can help with that. It’s more than dairy, too – try foods like leafy greens to support your quest for more calcium, too.
For brain protection and heart health, try adding omega-3 foods like fish (salmon) and nuts. These can protect you in many ways. A Mediterranean Diet can be wonderful for this type of nutritional boost.
An overall diet that’s rich in healthy fat, like avocados, and low in processed carbs will benefit you when it comes to aging in a healthy manner. For a sweet snack, eat berries such as blueberries and raspberries.
These have antioxidants in them. Any leafy greens are good, such as collard greens, mustard greens, kale, spinach and more. The vitamin C and K in these foods will protect your eyes, skin and bones.
If you love snacking on nuts, try walnuts and almonds. These two nuts are heart healthy and also include fiber, too, which is good for digestion. Try adding tomatoes and sweet potatoes to the mix, too.
Tomatoes have lycopene to protect against cancer and boost your heart health. Sweet potatoes are wonderful for your eyes and skin, because they contain beta-carotene. Even eggs, which are a great source of muscle-building protein, can help in other areas.
They contain vitamins D and B12, which help with bones and brain function, too. Don’t forget nutrient-rich beverages, too. You can sip bone broth for collagen to protect your joints and skin – or green tea, to deliver much-needed antioxidants that stave off diseases.
The Role Supplements Play in Your Anti Aging Efforts
Sometimes, try as you might, foods just can’t deliver the kind of nutritional support that you need to stave off the aging process. That’s where supplements can make a big difference.
You can take a variety of supplements to help you reverse or manage the aging process. For example, vitamin D3 is a great supplement to take with your doctor’s permission.
You can get tested to see where your levels are, and if they’re lacking, a supplement can make up for it. But you can also take supplements like calcium, omega-3 fatty acids (like fish oil), vitamin B12, vitamin C and E and more.
You can also find things like collagen supplements that come in pill form or as a scoop that you add to your morning beverage. Before shopping for any supplements, you need to consult your doctor to do a baseline blood test and determine what you’re lacking, so that you know what to buy.
You also might need their assistance determining whether any supplements will interfere with any medications he or she has you on. When you are ready to buy, consider whether you want pill form that you swallow, or a sublingual version (either dissolvable pill or liquid).
You may want to consider the size of the pills and the dosage required to get the right amount. Check out the ingredients to see if it has anything harmful in it and whether it’s been tested by a third party for purity and quality.
Make sure you’re not using supplements in place of healthy foods. There’s no better way for your body to absorb the nutrients it needs than by getting sunlight (for vitamin D) and healthy foods.
The Protective Benefits Sleep Offers Against Aging
Some people think it’s nothing more than an annoyance if they don’t get enough sleep at night, but there are more severe consequences for those who are aging. It can affect your cognitive abilities and even contribute to age-related diseases.
A lack of sleep can ruin your immune system and even cause you to suffer from depression – not to mention it also puts you off balance and can put your mobility at risk.
As you get older, you may notice that you begin suffering from insomnia. You can have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Your body might wake you to go to the restroom more than you used to.
Your entire sleep schedule might change. Many people go to bed earlier and wake up earlier as they age. Or they just get fewer hours in total. Your circadian rhythm changes as you grow older, and you might also suffer from sleep apnea or other issues like restless leg syndrome, finding sleep more difficult.
In order to maintain proper sleep as you age, start by investing in good sleep hygiene. This means you have a comfortable mattress and pillow as well as sheets and blankets. You also want to make sure the environment is cool as you’re drifting off, and that distracting noises are banished from your bedroom.
Be consistent with your sleep routine. Don’t stay up late one night and go to bed super early the next. Have a set schedule to help your body get used to the routine. You want a relaxing ritual before bed, too.
Don’t be on your phone or tablet or watching TV before bed. It’s better to read than to engage in technology activities. You might want to take a relaxing bath, too or meditate or journal before bed.
During the day, engage in exercise to help your body tire out, but don’t do it too soon before bed. Also make sure you aren’t napping for long periods of time. This can detract from your body’s ability to fall asleep at night.
Reducing Stress to Combat the Aging Process
Stress is known as a silent killer, and it’s even more so as you grow older. Chronic stress, which is when you’re in a constant state of debilitating stress, is even worse on you.
Stress can affect your brain function and increase the odds of you developing diabetes or heart disease. It lessens your ability to sleep and lowers your overall quality of life. So it’s important that you work to combat it.
You want to learn how to engage in mindfulness, which will have you living in the present rather than beating yourself up about the past or worrying about the future. Meditation can help you achieve this goal.
Practice deep breathing, too. It’s been proven to alleviate stress quickly and it won’t cost you a penny to do it. It can also be done anywhere, at any time without anyone else knowing that you’re doing it.
Making sure you stay social is an important part of easing stress. Whether you’re getting together with friends and family or volunteering to help others, it will help with your emotional well-being.
If you need someone to talk to about your stress, seek professional help. You no longer have to go to a therapist’s office. You can meet with them on your computer or smart phone over a video call!
Make sure you’re addressing your stress in a healthy way. Instead of numbing yourself with alcohol, for example, engage in activities that bring you happiness, such as cooking or playing golf.
Growing older doesn’t have to be a sad or scary experience. You can start looking after yourself today and every day moving forward to ensure you’re able to live a fulfilling life, ripe with physical health and peace of mind!