Many of us want to stay youthful, and while we can't turn back the clock, we can battle the
1. Make use of your intellect.
Despite the fact that the brain is not a muscle, the old saying "use it or lose it" nevertheless holds true. When people utilize their brains in unusual ways, more blood rushes into diverse areas of the brain, and new neural pathways arise, according to brain scans. Young individuals were taught how to juggle in a study published in the journal Nature in 2004. MRI scans revealed enlargement of the grey matter in their brains — the area responsible for higher mental functions — after three months.
The individuals' brains shriveled when they stopped juggling, implying that we need to keep our brains occupied to retain mental agility and function. So, whether it's a crossword puzzle, Sudoku, or a college degree, give your brain a workout.
2. Be gregarious
Social isolation is a predictor of worsening brain function in elderly people, according to US government studies. Experts say this is due to a lack of diversity in communication abilities. People who are part of a group — whether it's a church or a book club — are healthier as they become older than lonely people, according to research, and the wider a person's range of relationships (family, friends, employment, and so on) is, the less cognitive decline they will experience as they age.
So, in addition to doing the crossword puzzle by yourself, schedule time in your day for shared activities — and make an effort to spend time with as many people as possible.
3. Increase your physical activity.
Many of the unpleasant changes traditionally thought to be caused by chronological aging, such as fat gain, muscle loss, and bad posture, are now thought to be caused by plain old inactivity. Women who engage in intensive physical exercises such as jogging, cycling, or swimming several times a week weigh up to 11.8kg (26lb) less than sedentary women and have much less body fat, according to the Fels Longitudinal Study, which looked at aging, body composition, and lifestyle.
If your heart health is more important to you than your dress size, however, adopting less strenuous activities like walking will help to safeguard your crucial organ. Maintaining as active a lifestyle as possible is sound advice for anyone hoping to slow down the passage of time.
4. Consume Oily Fish
Omega-3 essential fatty acids are present in oily fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, and tuna, and have been shown to protect against cardiovascular disease (especially when combined with statins), type II diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis. Also, Omega-3 is thought to help the skin stay supple and hydrated, reducing the likelihood of wrinkles forming – which is why salmon is the foundation of the famous anti-aging Perricone Plan. But omega-3's benefits aren't limited to the skin!
In 2005, Rush University in Chicago discovered that eating oily fish can help to halt the mental loss that comes with age. The findings revealed that eating oily fish at least once a week can decrease cognitive decline by 10 to 13 percent.
5. Antioxidant intake should be increased.
The body's generation of antioxidants — molecules that can mop up' free radicals — drops as we age, while hazardous free radical levels rise. Antioxidant-rich meals may decrease aging processes in the body and brain, according to research from Tufts University's Human Nutrition Research Centre on Aging. Researchers discovered that fruits like blueberries and spinach can boost the antioxidant capacity of human blood by 10 to 25%, so consume more of these.
Antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E play a big part in protecting the body from free radicals, so make sure you eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, especially ones with a lot of antioxidants.
6. Get More Sex
It's official: being active while sleeping can help you stay younger. Sex improves emotional intimacy, calms us, reduces tension, and makes us feel fantastic. According to a study published in Psychology Today, the more active and pleasurable a person's sex life is, the fitter and healthier they are. For example, sportsmen in their sixties who were still competing in sports had sex lives equivalent to those 20 years younger. The researchers didn't simply talk about it; they also interviewed their wives for confirmation!
Also, according to Michael Roizen's book Real Age, women who are dissatisfied with the quality or quantity of their sexual relationships have a life expectancy half a year lower than the average for their age, whereas women who are satisfied with the quality or quantity of their sexual relationships have a life expectancy half a year higher than the average for their age.
7. Consume fewer calories.
You definitely won't be happy to hear this, but a new study has discovered that lowering calorie intake reduces the likelihood of acquiring diseases and ailments related to aging, such as diabetes, clogged arteries, heart attacks, and strokes, and can even extend your life! For six years, 25 volunteers aged 41 to 65 were given a daily calorie intake of between 1400 and 2000 calories at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Heart function, blood pressure, and inflammatory markers were compared to those of 25 control patients who ate between 2000 and 3000 calories per day, which is indicative of a typical Western diet.
The suppleness of heart muscle, blood pressure, and inflammatory indicators (including cancer-related markers) were all significantly better in the participants.
8. Have Faith in Yourself
People who achieve old age are physically, cognitively, and socially active, as well as having a high-level of'self efficacy.' Self efficacy is a combination of self-confidence and self-belief, and studies reveal that it is a key distinguishing characteristic among centenarians. According to researchers, the older centenarians get, the more they make judgments based on what they believe rather than what others expect. They hold themselves responsible for their health rather than their doctors. Problems are seen as challenges to be met by people with high self efficacy, setbacks as a motivation to double down on their efforts, and failure as a learning experience for the next time.
According to Albert Bandura, the psychologist who coined the term "self efficacy,"
9. Strengthen and stretch
Everyone is familiar with osteoporosis, which is the loss of bone density that occurs as our skeletons age and become less active. Sarcopenia, a similar illness, affects your muscles as you get older. Between the ages of 30 and 80, 15% of muscle mass is lost (and with it go strength and tone). Is the loss, however, related to the passage of time or a drop in activity levels? In one study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine, 70-year-olds who had been lifting weights for more than ten years had the same amount of muscle as 28-year-olds!
If you want to keep your muscular mass, adding a few strength training sessions to your weekly routine is a good idea. As connective tissue deteriorates with age, flexibility tends to degenerate as well.
10. Take Care of Your Skin
Extrinsic (external or environmental) variables, such as exposure to the sun's rays and cigarette smoking, affect the way we age. Intrinsic factors are caused by the genes we inherit. This is an area where you can make a difference. Stop smoking and start using a sun protection factor on your skin if you don't already. Daily exposure to the sun's rays without protection can lead to visible changes and damage to the skin, such as freckles, age spots, spider veins, and fine wrinkles.
In addition, a 2002 study found that facial creases not discernible to the human eye in smokers as young as 20 may be observed under a microscope. Our bodies undergo metabolic alterations as a result of cigarette smoking.
