Let’s face it: nobody wants to get old. Unfortunately, it’s tough to avoid.
While aging is inevitable, it’s easy to develop a series of healthy habits that can help fight the signs of aging and make your golden years healthier, happier, and more exciting than they’ve ever been.
Read on to learn more.
18 Healthy Habits to Help You Age Gracefully
Want to enjoy your retirement and senior years more? Focus on developing these 18 healthy habits.
1. Eat right and watch your weight
We’ve all heard the saying “you are what you eat,” and it gets truer with age. When you feed your body high-quality, nutrient-dense foods, it stands up to the stresses and rigors of aging better and is less likely to break down or stop working over time.
What’s more, a well-rounded diet can also help fight off disease and keep the skin and body looking and feeling their best.
2. Protect your skin with SPF
When it comes to the way you look, the sun is responsible for more premature aging than virtually anything else. With this in mind, wear SPF every time you go outside. In addition to keeping your skin healthy, and wrinkle – and age spot-free, wearing SPF also decrease the risk of skin cancer and helps you stay healthy in your older years.
3. Drink enough water
Drinking enough water is essential to looking and feeling your best. With this in mind, shoot for at least eight glasses each day and don’t skimp on the other liquids, either. If you have a difficult time remembering to drink water, consider carrying a water bottle with you or setting alarms on your phone to remind yourself to have a glass several times each day.
4. Avoid alcohol as you age
While a glass of wine with dinner is a habit many people enjoy, excess drinking ages the skin and can damage your appearance. With this in mind, keep your drinking to a minimum, and think twice before you pour that extra glass of red wine.
5. Stop (or avoid) smoking
If you smoke tobacco, your skin ages quicker, and you put yourself at risk for a whole slew of health complications that affect non-smokers at much lower rates. In addition to the fact that smoking increases the risk of cancer, it also damages your skin and enhances the look of wrinkles, age spots, and creepy skin.
With this in mind, work to stop smoking today. If you don’t smoke, be sure to avoid second-hand smoke which can have equally detrimental effects.
6. Laugh as often as possible
Laughter is your best medicine, and maintaining a good sense of humor and lightheartedness can help you age gracefully.
In addition to relieving stress, laughter also helps to improve your mood and make you more approachable, so it can benefit your social relationships while also brightening your outlook – all of which are good for your mental and emotional health during the aging process.
7. Get active on a regular basis
Exercise is critical for staying fit and active as you age, and it’s important to get your heart rate up every day. Regardless of whether you choose to walk, run, or do yoga, getting moving on a daily basis is one of the best defenses against the signs of aging.
8. Get enough sleep
Getting a minimum of seven hours of sleep each night has far-reaching implications for your health. From helping your skin look more youthful to improving your cognitive function and outlook, there’s no question that adequate sleep is truly the fountain of youth. With this in mind, practice healthy sleep habits and prioritize your sleep for better health.
9. Keep a positive attitude
Positivity is paramount for aging well, and people who maintain a positive outlook on life simply age better. In fact, one study reports that individuals who remain positive are 40% more likely to recover from an injury or disability than those who get negative about the situation.
10. Mind your dinner portions
Just like watching what you eat is important, so, too, is watching how much you eat. A healthy diet full of balanced proportions will keep you looking and feeling great for longer.
11. Maintain your social relationships
Healthy social relationships help people live longer, and keeping up on your friendships, social groups, and volunteering opportunities will give you a leg-up on aging. What’s more, it will also make it that much easier to enjoy your retirement and all of the free time that comes with it.
12. Do away with toxic relationships
Toxic relationships suck the life-force out of people, and they can make it difficult to stay healthy. With this in mind, allow yourself to walk away from the relationships and situations that no longer serve you or make you happy.
13. Stop multitasking and allow yourself to focus
Multitasking creates stress and stress damages health. With this in mind, concentrate on cutting down on multitasking and sticking to one responsibility at a time. In addition to allowing you to execute your duties more efficiently, this will also make it easier to ensure a job well done, with as little stress as possible.
14. Avoid sweets and consider skipping dessert
While sweets are a heady temptation, excess sugar can damage your health and your appearance. With this in mind, consider cutting sweets out of your diet or, at the very least, avoiding them as often as possible. In addition to helping you stay trim and healthy, avoiding sugar can also keep you feeling and looking your best.
15. Try not to sit for long periods of time
Sitting for hours on end is associated with a plethora of health problems, and people who get up and move fare better than their sedentary counterparts. With this in mind, take several short walks a day and set timers to get up and move around regularly if you must sit for extended periods of time. This will keep you healthy and lithe and feeling good throughout your golden years.
16. Keep your skin moisturized
Things like indoor heaters and dry climates suck the moisture out of the skin, which can accelerate the aging process. With this in mind, keep your skin moisturized and avoid the temptation to skip on the skin lotion before bed.
17. Eat a selection of healthy fats
The brain and other vital body organs rely on fat for proper function, so keeping your diet rich in healthy and beneficial fats is key. The omega-3 fatty acids found in things like Salmon and walnuts can benefit your health for years to come, while also keeping you full.
18. Mind your posture
Slouching can contribute to a hunchback appearance that makes you look older than you are. Instead, remember your posture and be proactive about improving it. In addition to keeping your spine healthy, this will also help you appear younger.
The Signs of Aging Stop Here
While it’s impossible to stop the aging process altogether, these 18 tips can help you fight the signs of aging and move through your golden years happily, gracefully, and beautifully.
