How to Slow Down Aging and Look and Feel Younger

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There is a lot of merit to the adage, “You’re only as young as you feel.”

There may be days when you feel a lot older than your years, but there will be times when you remember your age and you’re shocked. Shocked!

Where did the years go? 

Most people will agree that time seems to go much faster as you get older. Busy lives, whether they’re stressful or relaxed, make the minutes disappear quickly.

While you can’t slow down time, you can slow down aging. When you’re ready to look and feel younger, use these five near-magic tips to inhibit your body’s natural aging process.

1. Reduce Your Stress

We all want to get rid of stress, but it’s a part of life … or is it?

Some people just seem to be magnets for stress, while others appear to be untouchable. The truth is somewhere in between. 

In everyone’s life, there are periods of high stress mixed with calm. How you handle the stress during the rough times impacts your aging process.

This statement is based on Nobel-winning scientific research. Stress causes damage to your telomeres, parts of the DNA that protect your chromosomes. 

When these telomeres are stressed, they shorten. This damages the cells and causes you to age faster. It also makes you more susceptible to chronic conditions like heart disease.

If you’ve already stressed too much and you’re worried about your telomeres on top of your other problems, there’s good news! Some studies have shown that changing your lifestyle can lengthen the telomeres again.

There might be some areas of your day that are difficult and you’re stuck with. However, if you can cut the unnecessary stresses, you’re more likely to live longer and feel better.

2. Eat Strategically

This is one of the simplest, yet hardest, parts of taking care of our bodies. 

Since your body uses what you feed it as fuel, you really are what you eat. If you want to look and feel better, you need to provide your system with better fuel.

But junk food is so yummy!

If you can shift your perspective to, “Yes, it tastes good, but it doesn’t make me feel or look good,” you may find some much-needed willpower.

What you don’t eat is just as important as what you do eat. Avoid sugary foods and drinks, processed foods, and simple carbohydrates. 

Load your diet up with foods jam-packed with vitamins, proteins, and antioxidants. Berries, nuts, leafy greens, and whole grains are the perfect go-to snacks and mealtime necessities.  

Add collagen supplements into your routine for extra-firm and radiant skin cells.

3. Take Care of Your Skin

As your body’s largest organ, your skin is the first line of defense against the forces that will cause you to age faster. Environmental damage from the sun and pollution are invisible dangers that we often ignore until it’s too late.

You’ve heard the saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

When it comes to taking care of your skin, this is possibly one of the most important adages you can listen to, along with choosing the right makeup for women over 50.

Some simple yet crucial skincare tips include:

• Moisturizing daily, preferably with an SPF moisturizer
• Washing your face morning and night to get rid of bacteria and dirt build-up
• Covering your skin when you go outside (long sleeves, a hat, SPF lip balm)
• Using sunblock when you’re exposed to the direct sun

These essential best practices should become regular habits in your lifestyle. They slow down the aging processes. Even more importantly, they can defend you from skin cancer.

4. Change Your Habits

When your daily habits are toxic to your health, you’re going to age faster. They compound in little ways that add up, until one day you wake up and don’t recognize yourself!

If you want to delay this from happening to you, you need to change your bad habits. Engaging in any of these activities regularly is causing you to age, whether you notice it yet or not:

• Regular unhealthy eating. Since you’re not getting the right vitamins and minerals and you’re clogging your body with junk.
• Drinking alcohol regularly. As a natural diuretic, it dehydrates you and slowly degrades your liver, preventing toxin flushing.
• Lack of sleep. This limits your body’s ability to recover from the stresses it faces during the day.
• Stress itself. As mentioned earlier, stress shortens your DNA telomeres and damages your chromosomes.
• Smoking. This is a bad habit that impacts your health in significant ways, such as putting you more at risk of lung cancer and heart disease.

It’s not enough to just avoid bad habits. You also need good habits in your life!

If they’re not there already, gradually work on drinking more water, sleeping well, and exercising daily. These three major changes will help you look and feel younger!

5. Exercise Your Body and Your Brain

Physical exercise is crucial to keeping your muscles toned and your body looking and feeling its best. But mental exercise is also important.

When you exercise your body, it helps you keep your muscles toned and in shape. It prevents obesity and helps circulate oxygen throughout your body.

Exercising your brain, though, comes with significant benefits as well. Physical exercise slows down your body’s aging process. If you want to slow cognitive decline, you need to keep your brain active.

Mental stimulation can be anything from reading a book to doing crossword puzzles. Pick up a hobby that involves arts and crafts, including music! Learning the steps to a dance, the strings on a guitar, and other repetitive tasks keep your brain active.

Conclusion

Age is just a number, right? 

Looking and feeling like your best self is a mix of physical and mental self-care. With these tips, you’ll slow down the aging process and find a zest for life you didn’t know you had in you!

Author Bio

Dominique Daniels has five years of Property Management experience working primarily in high-end apartment community living. Her ability to consistently deliver white-glove service to her residents and prospects has propelled her in a successful career that now finds her leading the team at Tobin Estate Apartments.