Aging Gracefully

The ‘successful aging’ paradigm focuses on health and active participation in life, counters traditional ideas of aging as a time of disease, and is increasingly equated with minimizing age signs on the skin¹.  While we all know aging is inevitable, we do have some control over whether age is accompanied by poor health and a quick-diminishing appearance.

There are many steps one can take to promote aging gracefully, including staying active, eating right, and protecting your skin from sun damage, and better yet, they are within your control. Incorporating the following tips into your life will help to ensure a more enjoyable and healthier ride into old-age²: 

1. Value your body. If you do, you’ll be more likely to do things to promote good health and less likely to participate in risky behavior that could harm your health.

2. Exercise regularly.  Not only will an active lifestyle increase your energy levels; it will help you maintain muscle mass, which will protect you from falling, and keep you looking and feeling young.

• A minimum of 45 minutes of aerobic exercise, along with resistance training, three to four times a week, will help keep your heart young, while improving your physical functioning, appearance, mood and brainpower. 
• Incorporate activities such as taking the dog for daily walks or leaving the car parked to do your errands. 
• Simply walking is one of the best ways of getting exercise. Get a pedometer and take 5,000 to 10,000 steps every day. If you can’t walk, work with an exercise professional who can design a wellness strategy with you. 

3. Stay hydrated.  One easy way to remain youthful is to drink plenty of water.  Water will help prevent dry skin, wrinkles, and ensure your hair, nails, and skin remain soft and supple, in addition to keeping your organs and digestive system running efficiently. Plus, those who sip water or herbal teas regularly flush their bodies of stressful, age-causing toxins².

4. Eat well. 

• Keep your weight at a healthy level by watching what you eat and eating in moderation.
• Avoid refined sugar. A diet high in refined sugars, such as processed snacks, soda, and baked goods, will greatly reduce your energy levels and your longevity. Instead, seek sweetness from natural sources, such as fresh fruits and honey, and use other spices (e.g. cinnamon) to heighten your taste sensation². 
• The World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for a healthy diet emphasize limiting the intake of saturated and trans fatty acids, free sugars, and salt, while increasing the intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains³.  The Mediterranean diet is often recommended by healthcare professionals to promote health. This diet is associated with reductions in overall mortality, cardiovascular mortality, cancer incidence and mortality, and incidence of Parkinson disease and Alzheimer disease4, which accelerate the aging process.  
• A diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables will help keep you young and healthy.  Studies show that those who consume a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables suffer less oxidative damage due to environmental toxins.  Plus, these foods contain antioxidants, which reverse the signs of aging⁴. 
• Eat good fats.  The fats you get from avocados, olive oil, nuts, coconut, and fatty fish (i.e. salmon and tuna) are good for you and your skin. Beneficial omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids will infuse your skin, hair, and nails with the necessary vitamins and nutrients to keep them glowing⁴. 
• Eat your vitamins. The best way to get vitamins and minerals is from a well-balanced diet⁴. 
• Eat with friends and family. Prepare food together.

5. Take care of your skin.

• Wear sun protection. Sunglasses, sunscreen, and a wide-brimmed hat on a sunny day will do wonders for your skin by protecting it from harmful UV rays. The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends the following: Choose a sunscreen with “broad spectrum” protection, these protect against both UVA and UVB rays; choose a sun protection factor (SPF) 30 or higher; reapply sunscreen at least every 2 hours and even more often if you are swimming or sweating (no sunscreen is water proof); choose sunglasses that block at least 99 percent of UV light; avoid tanning beds and sunlamps, both can cause serious long-term skin damage and contribute to skin cancer⁵.  While exposure to some sunlight is healthy (offering mood-enhancing Vitamin D), simultaneously protecting your skin will reduce the chances of wrinkles, age spots, skin cancer, and some eye disorders. 
• Moisturize regularly. Make a point of putting moisturizer all over my body immediately following a shower or bath. Regular moisturizing will do wonders for the smoothness and elasticity of your skin, leaving it protected against wrinkles and scaring, and keeping it soft and touchable¹.
• Make a dermatologist part of your healthcare team. This specialist will provide the most thorough skin cancer screenings and the most up to date skin care treatments to help with minimizing the visible signs of aging.

6. Get sufficient rest.  Getting less than 6.5 hours at night puts you at risk for a host of physical and mental problems. There are many benefits to getting adequate rest.  Ensure you’re sleeping well and getting at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep at night – more when you are ill and your immune system is low.

7. Quit smoking.  Smoking ages you in many ways. It causes wrinkles, which makes you look older. But more importantly, it damages your lungs, heart, blood vessels, kidneys and almost every other organ in your body.

8. Drink less alcohol.  Limit drinking to no more than one drink a day for women, two for men.

9. Take care of mental health. 

• Get rid of emotional baggage that stresses you out.
• Make your home your special place by personalizing it and making it comfortable. 
• Get a massage frequently. Touch feels good and it’s so relaxing.
• Laugh and cry. But laugh a lot more. It releases endorphins – the body’s natural feel-good chemicals.
• Take control of how you react to things. Little things can really bring you down if you let them. 
• Travel.  Little and big adventures can produce wonderful results.
• Cut down or eliminate multi-tasking. Research shows people don’t do it very well, and it often causes undue stress.
• If you’re depressed or anxious, talk to your healthcare provider. There are solutions.

10. Control blood pressure and blood sugar.

• High blood pressure today sets you up for multiple organ damage and disease processes later, including dementia.
• Uncontrolled diabetes can thin the brain’s cortex, increasing risk of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

11. Focus on the positive. 

• A recent study from Yale University found that people who had more positive beliefs about aging lived 7.5 years longer than those with negative attitudes6.  The more you smile and focus on the positive, the more you avoid stress, banish drama, and remain looking and feeling.
• Do something you enjoy every day.  When you do things you enjoy, you can’t help but elevate your mood.
• Congratulate yourself.  Everyone has accomplishments, celebrate them and use them as inspiration⁶.

12. Keep friends close. 

• People who maintain broad social networks as they age have higher scores on intelligence tests and lower rates of dementia⁶.
• Surround yourself with people who lift you up rather than bring you down. 
• Have someone you can tell anything. 
• Get a pet. Animals can be great companions².

13. Learn something new every day.

• The more you challenge your brain, the better it performs⁶. Learn varied things and participate in group activities. 
• Spend time with other generations. You can learn something new from someone of any age.
• Write. Writing helps you think, express who you are, and generate new ideas.
• Embrace technology. The internet can take you places you’d never otherwise see or experience².

14. Get a yearly medical check-up with your healthcare provider. While it’s no guarantee you’ll live longer, it can help you catch health issues early and fend off other potential health problems.

15. Prepare for old age.

• Don’t fear aging, embrace the joys of it. You’re smarter, more experienced and you have more time to do the things you enjoy.
• Practice acceptance. Know that your mobility will likely lessen as you age. Think about how you will deal with that so that when that time comes, you can still live fully.
• When you need supportive services, partner with a senior services provider who will empower you to enjoy life on your terms. Pre-plan so that you get the help you need in an environment you want.
• Prepare for your death by having a health care representative and a living will, and pre-planning your funeral. Dying is part of living. And having a plan is a gift to yourself and to your loved ones.
• Realize that although your body deteriorates, your spirit grows stronger if you allow it.

Successful aging allows you to enjoy your “bonus years” and celebrate your life to the fullest⁷. If you have questions on how to promote successful aging, contact your healthcare provider today.

©2022HealthSpot   References:  (1) Ganceviciene, R. , Liakou, A. I. , Theodoridis, A., Makrantonaki, E., and Zouboulis, C. 2012. Skin anti-aging strategies. Dermatoendocrinol. 2012 Jul 1; 4(3): 308–319. doi:  10.4161/derm.22804  (2) Ecumen®. 2018. 50 Tips for aging gracefully from Ecumen. Retrieved from https://www.ecumen.org/resources/50-tips-aging-gracefully-ecumen (3) World Health Organization. 2017. Retrieved from www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs394/en/ (Accessed on July 24, 2017)  (4)  Sofi F, Cesari F, Abbate R, Gensini GF, and Casini A. 2008. Adherence to Mediterranean diet and health status: meta-analysis. BMJ. 2008;337:a1344. Epub 2008 Sep 11  (5) American Cancer Society. 2018. Choose the right sunscreen. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.org/latest-news/choose-the-right-sunscreen.html  (6)  Greenwood, M. 2018. Positive attitudes about aging reduce risk of dementia in older adults. Yale News. February 7, 2018. Retrieved from https://news.yale.edu/2018/02/07/positive-attitudes-about-aging-reduce-risk-dementia-older-adults  (7)  Charles, S.T. and Carstensen, L.L. 2010.  Social and emotional aging. Annual Review of Psychology. Vol. 61:383-409 (Volume publication date 10 January 2010). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100448