Having a long and healthy life is something desired by most. But keeping fit at any age can be a challenge. Demanding jobs, marriage, children — all of these can take their toll and your health often gets pushed aside. Maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle is important at any age, particularly the older you get.
As you reach midpoint and beyond, it becomes more challenging to get fit and recover from stress and injuries.
It’s important to take stock of your current lifestyle and start listening to your body. Longer and fuller life is achievable, provided you apply a little discipline to your lifestyle. There are various strategies one can employ no matter the years or decades behind you.
The good news is, beneficial lifestyle changes can happen at any age. A few lifestyle tweaks will keep you feeling healthy, enabling you to become healthy and active as you grow older. Making gradual changes now will help offset and lower your risk of acquiring age-related diseases such as osteoporosis or Type 2 diabetes.
A better you is on the way. Here are five manageable ways to improve your chances of aging well and staying active.
1. Maintain an active lifestyle
It only takes 30 minutes a day to maintain your physical well-being no matter how old you are. Thirty minutes of exercise will do your body a lot of good. Physical activity strengthens your mind and body to enable you to maintain a natural range of motion while lowering your risk of age-associated diseases.
If you lead a sedentary and desk-bound lifestyle, consider these daily 30 minutes as your opportunity to move your body and get your blood flowing. Whether it’s resistance training, yoga, Pilates, or swimming, incorporating physical activity for 30 minutes a day will keep your mind and body sharp.
2. Drink plenty of water
One lifestyle change that cannot be overlooked as it is so easy to maintain is to drink more water. Staying hydrated provides many benefits, from increasing energy levels and relieving fatigue to promoting weight loss and flushing out toxins. Drinking more water daily will also improve your complexion, boost your immune system, and improve your mental capacity. (See also: Key Health Risks Of Unfiltered Water That Can Make You Sick)
So just how can you incorporate drinking more water into your daily routine? There are certain apps out there to aid you in keeping yourself hydrated. But one of the best ways to remember to drink a glass of water is to do so:
- Immediately after waking
- Before a meal
- Before going to bed
Keeping a water bottle with you at all times is a great habit and reminder to drink up.
3. Eat healthy food
Eating a well-balanced and varied diet is crucial to a happy and healthy lifestyle. In any age group, a well-balanced diet boosts immunity and healthy development. Eating healthy foods also contributes to the prevention of certain diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and various types of cancer.
A healthy diet also provides emotional benefits as much as it does physically. Experimenting with different natural food ingredients enriches the experience, enabling you to experience food in different ways. A varied diet contributes to positive emotional factors, thereby enhancing mood, reducing depression, and improving your learning ability.
4. Take nutritional supplements
Even the most conscientious individual may find it difficult to always maintain an optimally balanced diet. Thankfully, there are nutritional supplements for just that. It must be mentioned that nutritional supplements should not replace a healthy diet. They should only serve to augment your diet, filling nutritional gaps where necessary.
A multivitamin may provide the essential nutrients missing for most individuals. Others may benefit from individual nutrient supplements such as Niagen (nicotinamide riboside), folic acid, or glucosamine and chondroitin for specific aid in metabolism and cell generation for example.
Be sure to talk to your physician before beginning a dietary supplement plan. Your physician can advise you on the best course of action to ensure you get the most nutrients from both your diet and supplements.
5. Keep your brain active
An active mind is just as important to maintaining well-being as in keeping yourself physically challenged. A decrease in mental abilities naturally occurs as people age. This goes double for individuals with limited opportunities to stimulate their brain capacity.
The older you get, the more at risk you are to diseases such as dementia, so maintaining an active brain is paramount.
Good thing there are simple ways to keep your brain active and healthy. This includes being socially active, remaining a lifelong learner, and getting enough sleep. Eating “brain food” such as blueberries which contain pterostilbene (a nutrient that promotes cognitive function) and playing games that have mentally challenging aspects also help.
The aging process is a natural part of life. But when it comes to maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle, there are certain steps you can take to ensure you continue to feel younger and more energetic whatever your age.
About The Author:
Frank L. Jaksch Jr. is the Chief Executive Officer and a co-founder of ChromaDex. He oversees research, strategy, and operations for the Company with a focus on scientific and novel products for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical markets. Mr. Jaksch earned a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology from Valparaiso University.
