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The ultimate guide to face signs of Aging
Healthy Aging
Healthy aging is the process of aging without getting old. It is about aging to perfection. It is to find out a way to become better with aging and to reduce the effects of aging on the body.
Science has made a lot of progress, but still there are a lot of questions remain unanswered even today. Healthy Aging is one of them. New discoveries are being made daily on aging and new secrets are being revealed. What are the common signs of aging? How they affect us? What are the external causes of skin aging? Is there something we can do to slow it down? And moreover, is there anything that gets better as we age?
These are the common questions, we all think about healthy aging every day.
Let’s try and find the answers to these questions.
Before we start, let’s know what is aging and how does it affect us?
Aging refers to the effects of the biological process of growing older. Aging refers to the effects of the biological process of growing older. As per the Biological Aging Definition, starting from a cell, aging affects the total organism of any living thing. The process goes on and over the entire life span. People are living longer than ever these days. It is due to the availability of better medical aids.
Education, technology, good food, and sanitary conditions also play a role in a long life span. That doesn’t impact the aging process. It goes on and on.
Before we understand it in-depth, let us talk about the effects of aging. We can also call them the common signs of aging.
- Gray, dull and thinner hairs and hair loss
- Spotted skin and frequent bruises
- Gaunt face and hands and Sore feets
- Fine lines and wrinkles or sagging skin and Turkey neck
- Reduced flexibility and Loss of elasticity
- Slow and limited movements
- Problems in getting a good night’s sleep
- Urinary incontinence
- Diminished peripheral vision and decreased visual acuity
- Fading smile
- Random periods and Menopause in women
Aging is not as simple as that, it is rather a complex process. Aging is a lifelong biological process and cells regularly grow older and older.
There is no way to stop aging or getting old but aging gracefully is possible. There is no pill to delay aging. We can not change the natural process of aging but somehow we can delay it a bit or we can slow it down. Moreover, we can enjoy it instead of being afraid of it.
Humans, to date, have not been able to challenge the natural process of aging. Yet, we can definitely slow it down a bit with few efforts. We can delay the signs of aging by having a healthy lifestyle and a good diet and making a few lifestyle changes.
It is you who can beat the signs of aging, not a pill
Although aging is a natural process. There are so many external causes of skin aging such as sun, pollution, smoking, nutrition, etc…
Below are 11 lifestyle changes to slow down the aging process and make you feel young.
Age is a number. Take charge of your health and stop thinking about it over and over. You can not change or control the genetic factors that affect aging. There are many other things that affect aging and you can control them as well. Aging does not affect everyone in the same way. People of the same chronological age [Number] may have different biological ages. That is due to genetic as well as lifestyle factors.
Not your age making you older, it is rather your thinking
Workout can help you look and feel younger than you are. It improves blood flow to relieve stress and to have a sound sleep. It helps you to boost your metabolism. Experts say that exercise can also boost your mood and even your sex drive.
You feel more flexible and your heart becomes more efficient by doing exercise. It improves your posture as well. It also enhances your memory and slows down the process of cell aging.
What else makes you young!!
Researches say that bacteria from oral infections may get into the blood. It may also increase inflammation in other parts of the body. So keeping your mouth healthy is likely keeping yourself away from many diseases.
Similarly, some gut microbiome or we may say “good bacteria” found in your intestine and keep your gut healthy. They even prevent us from age-related diseases.
You will be amazed to hear that a healthy gut is also responsible to keep your brain sharp. Yes!!! Digestive acids, available in your intestine, help in the absorption of Vitamin B12. Which keeps your brain sharp.
Smoking causes wrinkles. Other harmful effects of smoking are also well known. It damages collagen and elastin fibers. These fibers are responsible for skin strength and elasticity.
Nicotine narrows down the blood vessels present in the outer layer of skin. Due to less blood flow, the supply of oxygen and important nutrients to the skin hampers and it got wrinkles.
Quit smoking today and get rid of wrinkles.
As we age, we feel less thirsty and our kidneys also conserve less amount of water. This turns into dehydration and furthermore complications as well. Sleepiness or tiredness are common symptoms in elder age.
So stay hydrated yourself and drink water even if you are not feeling thirsty. This will help you to keep yourself alert and active.
Our digestive system slows down as we age. Slow contractions and thicker gastrointestinal tracts are the major reason for this. It invites constipation. Fibrous foods like wholegrain, nuts, legumes help you to get rid off constipation. Some other fibrous and available plant-based foods are vegetables, fruits, and brown rice.
They also reduce the risk of major chronic diseases such as heart disease. Fibrous foods also reduce your cholesterol level, blood pressure, and inflammation.
We all know that muscle mass reduces as we age. Protein can help maintain muscle mass and strength while you grow older. The needs of protein may vary according to one’s age, gender, weight. Other conditions like pregnancy or breastfeeding also have their impact on this.
Nuts, beans, yogurt, milk, fish, eggs, soy products, lean meat, and cheese are a good sources of protein. We must include them in our diet. One of the major reasons for having a protein-rich diet is that the human body can not store protein. This is why we must eat protein in every meal.
Vitamin D helps you keep your bones strong. Osteoporosis is a common disease in old age. Deficiency of Vitamin D is the reason for Osteoporosis.
Sunlight is the most common source of Vitamin D. It converts cholesterol to Vitamin D within the body. Other sources are such as egg yolk, milk, cereals, juices, cheese, cod liver oil, and salmon.
Go and have some sunshine to make your bones stronger.
According to research, meditation helps to change the thought process and bring positivity. it helps you to keep your brain and body calm and reduce the risk of heart diseases as well. It increases your emotional wellbeing and keeps your brain active.
Hobbies and learning new skills can keep your brain active and engaged. It boosts your memory and enhances your logical capabilities.
Sleep has enormous benefits. While you sleep, your body is still active and doing damage control. Your body repairs damaged cells while you enjoy your deep sleep. It is important to have 7–9 hours of deep and sound sleep to look younger.
Researches say that socially engaged people face fewer issues of memory loss in old age. It helps improve your mental health as well. Above all, if you have a positive mindset towards aging, you can beat anything. It will help you keep young your heart and brain.
With a positive attitude, we can fight depression and other health conditions as well. Remaining socially connected is helping aid to it. You will feel younger and it will also help you live longer.
Good is also associated with every evil thing. The same implies to aging. Aging is not always bad. Many things improve with aging. They make us better than others.
Let us talk about things that get better with age and add value to our lives.
- Wisdom and self-confidence
- Improved semantic memory and perception
- Your vocabulary and expertise
- Bonding with friends and family
- Female orgasm
- Work-life balance
- Investments and “Senior Citizen” discount
- Endurance and judgment skills
- Empathy and storytelling
- Parenthood and positive mindset
- Reduced stress levels and allergies
Now that we knew that we cannot stop aging but we can slow it down with a few of our efforts. Also, that aging has a lot of positive effects on our personality which helps us stay sane, healthy and happy.
Do not let aging dominate you.
Let’s age to perfection, not to get old
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