Keeping young and healthy is actually very easy when you know how. This checklist will walk you through all the important steps to ensure that you know exactly what you need to do to stay looking and feeling young.
Know the Problem
Sometimes our aging is due to illness or other unavoidable causes. But often it’s the result of:
- Lack of movement, leading to poor mobility
- Lack of challenge or engagement, loneliness
- Poor nutrition
- Sun damage
- Lack of sleep
- Stress
What actually causes your aging physically? There are many things:
- Damage to the cells from free radicals, UV rays and more
- Shortening of the telomeres, leading to imperfect copies of cells and mutations
- Hormonal changes: menopause or low testosterone
- Lifestyle changes – reduction in activity, social stimulus
- Lack of movement, resulting in damage to the body over time and poor mobility
- Reduction in mitochondria, leading to low energy levels
- Lack of cognitive challenge and novelty, reducing brain plasticity
Fix the Problem
So what do you do to fix this?
Here are some top pointers:
Move!
Start with gentle walking and any kind of activity. Don’t let yourself get to the point where you are barely ever moving.
Don’t treat your body like it’s made of glass. You’re old, not dead! Find a good personal trainer who understands functional movement and gets them to challenge you with deadlifts, squats, and CV.
Get outside – vitamin D will do your body a world of good.
Challenge your brain
Don’t let yourself sink into the same routine day in and out, or stop going out. Keep challenging yourself with new things.
Computer games are a great tool. That’s because every new game has new rules and requires you to learn and develop new motor skills – which in turn is great for your brain.
Socializing is highly important. Join classes and put yourself out there.
It’s never too late to be what you always wanted to be. That means you can use your time in retirement to begin a pet project like writing a novel, starting your own business or even taking parts in films and TV as an actor or actress.
Make lifestyle changes while you’re young
Avoid direct sunlight which will cause skin damage. Where a sunblock and take opportunities to get some shade.
Prioritize your sleep as this is when your body produces growth hormone and testosterone to repair your body.
Avoid stress – stress ages you more than anything else. For evidence, just look at any president before and after they served in office.
Nutrition
Many of the problems we associate with old age are mainly due to poor nutrition in our youth. Make sure you are getting all of your micronutrients at every age. At the same time, fuel yourself with plenty of protein, which acts as the building blocks for our skin, muscle, and bones!
Think about trying nootropics. Nootropics are brain foods and supplements that can prevent age-related cognitive decline in numerous ways.
Other Age-Related Issues
Then there are those specific age-related issues, many of which can be fixed. Here are some examples:
Low Sex Drive: A low sex drive can often be fixed by raising levels of testosterone in men or estrogen in women. Saturated fats, plenty of sleep, vitamin C and vitamin D will all help to do this but if it’s not enough, see your doctor about HRT.
Eyesight: Nutrition can often help with eyesight, such as getting more lutein. Another option is laser surgery.
Hair: Guys, shave your head if you are losing your hair. Women, consider using a product that only dyes your grey hairs as you’re getting older. Avoid harsh chemicals that strip hair of its natural oils.
Incontinence: This is most common in women and the most common type is stress incontinence. The best solution is to use Kegel exercises. This means contracting your pelvic floor muscle, which you can feel if you imagine stopping your urine in mid-flow.
Bones: As mentioned, vitamin D can help your bones. So too can calcium and magnesium. It’s also helpful to get more exercise which will further thicken and strengthen them!