As the years go by, we gain the gifts of wisdom, experience, and success, but even so, we all want to remain as young, healthy, and vigorous in body and mind as we can while we grow older.
A critical key of anti-aging is to stay active and content. Here are some simple strategies you can use to combat the aging process:
1. Engage your mind. It’s important to keep your mind active. When you exercise your mind, you’ll stay sharp and keep your memory intact. Avoid falling into predictable patterns and always strive to challenge yourself. Take time to do puzzles each day and seek out new experiences.
* Your exciting years are never over as long as you’re still out there seeking thrills.
2. Exercise. Just like the mind, it’s important to exercise your body. The saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it” is so true! Follow an exercise routine that makes use of all your muscle groups.
* If you make the effort to stay active, you’ll look and feel younger. This is one of the main reasons why some people in their 70’s can do yoga, while others are walking with assistance.
3. Eat a balanced diet. A balanced diet is simply the best thing you can do for your health. An unhealthy indulgence here and there shouldn’t hurt you, but your overall goal should be to have a well balanced diet.
* Having a poor diet can lead to obesity and other health problems. These health issues could end up shaving years off of your life or cause your golden years to be fraught with pain and distress.
4. Reduce stress. Stress is often ignored as a necessary part of life, but it’s a huge problem in the world today. Stress is a major cause of illness, including heart disease and weakened immune systems. When you’re overly stressed, it’ll interfere with your health.
* Do what you can to combat stress by finding activities that you find relaxing at the end of each day.
5. Take care of your skin. Even if you feel okay with the fact that you’re getting older, you may still be concerned about wrinkles or sagging skin showing your age. Proper skin care is a must.
* Drink 8 glasses of water every day to keep your skin well hydrated.
* Use a good moisturizer.
* Keep your body well stocked with Vitamin C. Eat citrus fruits and berries or take a supplement.
6. Adopt a healthy lifestyle. Shoot for having an overall healthy lifestyle, including eating right, exercising, and avoiding unhealthy habits. Things like alcohol and smoking should be cut out or left for rare occasions.
7. Consider hormone therapy. Hormone therapy can be considered under the care of a licensed physician. While it might not be an option for everyone, some feel that hormone replacements can help people fight aging, because hormone levels are important to healthy function and some of them can decrease as you age.
8. Remember to get your antioxidants. Antioxidants from food or vitamins are always a good idea. They tend to reduce the amount of free radicals, which may contribute to cancer, in the body. Healthy cell function enables you to lead a longer and healthier life.
Just remember to treat yourself right and you’ll help your body combat aging!