Aging, while inevitable, can certainly be held back and tackled. A lot of our daily life habits impact the acceleration of aging, and small fixes can dramatically reduce these effects. Aging doesn’t have to process that gives into despair – follow these steps and ward off the worst effects!
1. Maintain a normal body weight. The only thing that has been proven medically to extend aging is caloric restrictions.
2. Sleep well. 7-8 hours nightly. Sleep is restorative and lack of sleep has devastating effects.
3. Aerobic exercise, 4 times weekly 45 minutes at a time (interval training may be best). Exercise lowers markers of inflammation, which helps to prevent dementia, heart disease, and fragility.
4. Stay socially and mentally active. Learning new skills helps to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. The one thing that is most associated with a long life is family to help care for you as you age. A corollary is that staying close to family and friends makes you feel “younger” and is protective.
5. Be young at heart. Never stop laughing, learning and living.
Here are some habits that may be aging you:
1. You multitask
If your to-do list never seems to get any shorter, the stress from your hectic life may be taxing your body.
2. You rarely pass up dessert
Internally, sugar molecules attach themselves to protein fibers in each of our cells. This damaging process, known as glycation, can result in a loss of radiance, dark circles under the eyes, loss of tone, puffiness, an increase in fine lines and wrinkles and a loss of facial contours and increased pore size. Pass on the sugary treats if you want to preserve your youthful glow.
3. You get by on fewer than five hours sleep a night
Skimping on sleep not only results in dark bags under the eyes – but it has also been linked to a shorter lifespan. Get to bed earlier if you have the symptoms of sleep deprivation, which include a lack of daytime energy, mental sluggishness, attention problems, or weight gain
4. You love a good TV marathon
Binge-watching the latest season of House of Cards is one thing; regularly gluing yourself to the TV is another.
5. You Slouch
Poor posture or slouching deviates the spine from this normal alignment, and as a result, the muscles, disks, and bones become abnormally stressed