There literally is no way for you to control aging. It just happens and without warning.
But the fun thing is that aging doesn’t have to pin you down to a life of constant clinical visits, treating bone conditions and other illnesses associated with getting old.
As an expert Geriatrician, I’ll teach you 7 tips to stay young and healthy over 50. Come with me.
How to Stay Young and Healthy After 50
1. Treat your body well
Your nutrition plays a huge role in how you age. That’s why I instruct my patients to audit their nutrition and drink a lot of water. I also monitor their diet and ensure that they cook with healthy cookware.
You won’t believe the result. With the combination of a properly balanced diet and drinking enough water, they had a boost in their energy, mental acuteness, and rarely took ill.
So, what’s your nutrition like? The good news is, it is never too late to start eating healthy. And, don’t forget to swap your cookware for healthy ones.
2. Exercise
Combine eating right and drinking enough water with low-impact exercise like walking, and you’ll have the ultimate anti-aging remedy.
After a few months of walking and jogging, Brain, my 55-year-old patient, reported an improvement in his heart health and sleep habits. He also gushed how the exercise helped him build muscles and made him feel alive and connected him to his younger self again.
Related: 10 EASY HOME WORKOUTS FOR SENIORS
3. Hang out with Young People
Every time Naomi walked into my office; I could tell something was really different about her. She was over 50, but sure didn’t look like it. She smiled a little more and didn’t seem to be really carefree
When I asked her how she managed to age gracefully, she said, “Kids!”. She spends quality time with her sister’s kids- 5 and 6 years old at the park.
Somehow, this park experience with the kids made her feel like a young girl all over again. “It gave me back the wonder I lost as I grew older and reminded me to stay carefree,” she said.
4. Catch quality Zzz’s
Sleep. Get enough sleep. I cannot overemphasize this enough. One thing I noticed about my beautifully aging clients is that they never take their sleep for granted.
According to them, it restores all the energy they burnt during their long day of socializing, exercising, and doing other fun stuff. Some of them even claim that they noticed an increase in their attention span ever since they made “getting quality sleep” a priority for them.
Related: HAVING SLEEPLESS NIGHT? THINGS TO DO BEFORE BED
5. Smile
Consider this a natural type of facial surgery because you won’t need to fix facial sagging as you grow older. The more you smile, the more your face retains its elasticity because smiling requires far fewer muscles than growing does.
As a result, smiling more keeps your face in shape and reduces wrinkles and fine lines. It is no wonder Matilda, at 57, had really faint fine lines and sags. It was almost like she had no wrinkles. According to her, she hadn’t done any facial surgery or whatnot.
But, the only face surgery she ever did was to smile often. She has the brightest smile in the room. She would smile at almost everything. And boy! She had a perfect set of teeth, and they were white too. I could tell because she always flashed them through her genuine and very broad smile. She always looked lively.
6. Meditate
Another enemy of feeling younger is the stress hormone, aka cortisol. It impacts your body and brain negatively. Surprisingly, engaging in deep meditation drastically reduces this stress hormone in your body. Guess what?
I learned this vital lesson from my yoga instructor in the early days of my career. At that time, she was over 50, but her youthful glow was intact, and I had to ask. According to her, meditation is an advanced stage of Yoga, and it is a great way to combat anti-aging and age gracefully.
Meditation was her secret, and it paid off. She remained vibrant and agile as she further aged. Of course, I also have a regular meditation routine, and I feel the impacts, especially on my brains. It just feels as though there’s bliss in there and less stress. And I just felt happier.
Related: MEDITATION FOR BEGINNERS – BENEFITS, TIPS & HOW-TO
7. Eat healthy snacks
Snack time shouldn’t always be french fries, soda, coffee, and other unhealthy snacks that could speed up wrinkle development. Instead, swap all these unhealthy snacks for healthier options. For example, nuts such as walnuts are really healthier snack options.
When Emily was quizzed on the secret to her well-moisturized and healthy skin even at 60, she said she makes it really easy for her skincare routine to work because of her food intake.
She went on to state that she has spent years in consistency feeding on nuts, such as walnuts and almonds, berries, and other healthy skin foods. And you can bet that it absolutely paid off. Now, with a really cool nut chopper, you can easily incorporate nuts into your diet. Berries are also great choices too.
Although most of my clients caught on to these tips and more when they were younger and have practiced it for the longest time, it doesn’t mean game over for you.
Newsflash: you can start practicing these healthy tips now.
Then, gradually, as you stay consistent and true to these tips, you would notice an improvement in your overall health.
Most importantly, you would begin to feel and look younger and healthier than your true numbered age. And, you would be well on your way to living well in your old age.