We can’t stop the aging process — it’s a fact of life. However, with the average life expectancy in the US being almost 80, we’re spending longer than ever before in old age.
How do we age gracefully? It’s something we should all aim for if we’re fortunate enough to get older, so you can check out our top seven tips and tricks for aging gracefully to find out how to do so.
Just keep reading below for how to feel younger and age gracefully.
- Exercise Regularly
There are so many benefits to exercising on a regular basis — too many even to mention here.
Exercise releases endorphins, those feel-good hormones, boosting both our energy levels and our mental health.
It improves your posture too — we start experiencing bone loss once we hit forty years old, and exercise offers a sort of counter to it.
There are so many ways to exercise too, from going to the gym or taking part in fitness classes to just going on walks with family or friends. Exercise with other people and you can maintain a vibrant social life too!
- Keep an Eye on Your Diet (and Drink Plenty of Water)
While there’s no harm in getting take-out or having that extra slice of cake once in a while, it’s important that you eat a healthy diet and consume a lot of water too.
When growing older, it helps to eat foods high in good fats — like omega-3 fatty acids — as these are great for protecting your skin and giving you a youthful look. Try fish like tuna and salmon, and walnuts too.
Make sure that you eat enough fruits and vegetables, as well as proteins, dairy, and whole grains — try not to consume too much sugar and fat!
- Make Sure You Get Enough Sleep
It can be difficult to get enough sleep with the demands of your job, housework, and family commitments, but it’s something that you should really aim for.
A study from 2015 indicated that the skin of women who had at least seven hours of sleep was able to ‘bounce back’ from exposure to ultraviolet rays better than the skin of women who had fewer than five hours.
While sleeping, your body releases a hormone that helps to restore your collagen and elastin, keeping your skin looking youthful.
Without sufficient sleep, your skin cells won’t renew, speeding up the aging process — it turns out that beauty sleep is a real thing after all!
- Look After Your Skin and Teeth
While sleep and diet help your skin to stay looking young, there are other things you can do too.
Don’t forget to use sunscreen when spending time in the sun — up to 90% of wrinkles, sagging and dark spots on our skin could be down to exposure to UV rays.
Use sunscreen regularly, and don’t forget about your hands or face!
Meanwhile, it’s advisable to use a cream that contains retinoid to stave off those wrinkles too. A derivative of vitamin A, retinol has some pretty useful anti-aging effects.
It speeds up the production of collagen and helps new blood vessels to develop too, contributing to healthy and young-looking skin.
Take care of your mouth as you age too, partly to keep that great smile, but also to reduce the risk of gum disease, which can lead to everything from stroke to bacterial pneumonia.
Brush twice a day, floss daily, and see your dentist on a regular basis — if you’re wondering how to feel younger, you can’t go wrong by looking after your mouth.
- Don’t Be Afraid To Alter Your Style
Whether you’re part of an independent living community or just seeing the first signs of aging creep in, you shouldn’t rule out changing up your style a little.
Take hair color as an example. If you’re going gray, you might decide to embrace it, as gray hair can look great with the right cut and style that suits you.
However, women who keep their hair cut or colored often feel younger and have lower blood pressure, so a change might be the way to go. A lighter blonde color can really soften your appearance, so might be ideal for you as you age, but it’s up to you!
When going through menopause, the hormonal changes can affect your hair, making it more brittle and thin than you’re used to. To counter this, hair dye can help — the hydrogen peroxide present in the dye makes hair appear thicker.
- Stay Positive
Believe it or not, keeping a positive mindset can help you stay younger, with people taking a positive view of aging living an average of 7.5 years longer than their pessimistic counterparts.
Like it or not, we can’t avoid aging. As much as we’d like to stay youthful forever, it’s not possible.
It’s better to embrace the process of aging and avoid worrying about things out of our control. No matter our gripes with aging, it beats the alternative!
Spend time with loved ones where possible too, as having a rich social life is linked to mental well-being. Don’t forget about pets either, as spending time with your favorite four-legged friends can lower stress and blood pressure.
- See Your Doctor Regularly
As you age, you should see your doctor on a regular basis as a matter of course.
Your doctor can identify potential health concerns even before they appear, meaning that you’ll be able to receive treatment early and have the best chance of staying in good health.
You should check with your doctor to find out how often you should pay them a visit for check-ups, but don’t be afraid to make an appointment if you’re worried about something — it might be nothing, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Aging Gracefully in Style
As you can see from our tips above, aging gracefully isn’t too difficult, and it’s something that everybody can do.
If you’re still wondering how to grow older gracefully, there’s more you can do, from cutting out alcohol and tobacco to practicing mindfulness — your options are endless!
For more lifestyle advice, don’t forget to check out the rest of the posts on our blog too.
