Is time seem to be running fast that your years are adding up non stop and you feel like you just want to pause for a while? Worried about how you’re looking lately in front of the mirror? Are your joints, muscles, eyes, ears, and a whole lot more body parts of yours constantly failing you? If your answer to all of these questions is a repeating “yes”, then welcome to the reality of aging.
For many, aging is a taboo. It has been used as a joke for the young that act as if they’re in their 60’s. While for some that are really going there already, the term is sometimes used as a warning, worser, a threat. Why is that so? Doesn’t everyone eventually get old sooner or later? Well that’s true, but since aging has been attributed to a lot of negative changes to a person such as weaker bodies, diseases, wrinkles, loneliness, depression and inevitable death, it hasn’t been then a crowd favorite. As much as possible, it’s something that almost everybody wants to delay.
One time, I watched this movie about a witch (a group of witches actually) that wanted to kill a fallen human star in order to gain a youthful beauty and yes, immortality. I say witches are the most vain fictional antagonists in any story I’ve ever known. All they ever wanted is to be young and never get old. It must be so frustrating for them with all the stresses they face just to abduct their sacrifice and then eventually getting killed anyway by the protagonist.
A lot of old people and “getting old” people in our society are acting like witches. Forgive me for the use of terminology, but we may not be practicing sacrificial killing as means to our ends of delaying the signs of our years like how real witches do, but look at how the demand for anti aging cosmetic products, supplements and plastic surgery are constantly shooting up. We try to cover it as much as possible so that without us lying, these products would lie about our ages for us themselves. I’m not saying that these methods are wrong, but if we don’t deal with the truth as it is, we’ll end up still unhappy about this inevitable truth especially if we can’t just cover it anymore.
Aging is inevitable. That’s the truth that all of us need to face. And how you would look at it would determine how it will affect you. If you just have the right perspective about aging, you might surprisingly find out that it isn’t as bad as you think it is. And this truth might just indeed set you free to live a life of growing old happy. Just as how the famous Jules Renard said it, “It’s not how old you are. It’s how you are old.”. Since growing old will happen eventually, might as well live it well, right? And to help you with that, here are 10 tips that will help you age gracefully through the years.
Accept the Truth
As the old and proven adage goes, “Acceptance is the first step to freedom”, so it is with aging. Accepting wholeheartedly that you are getting old is not waving your white flag and surrendering to a lonely defeat, but an open door to more meaningful years that are waiting for you to be discovered. In a study published by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology entitled Getting Better With Age: The Relationship Between Age, Acceptance and Negative Affect, acceptance was defined as an active and non judgmental engagement with emotions that are both positive and negative. Non judgmental engagement was found out to diffuse emotions quickly and aid in an increase of emotional intelligence and overall mental well being. So rather than continuously stressing yourself out with the truth about aging, accept it once and for all, and save yourself from all that stress. You might just find more meaning to your remaining years than just the frustrating goal of trying to delay it.
Get Rid of Those Stereotypes
Grey hair on top of a wrinkled forehead. Eyes with thick glasses and a frowning face. A bent back leaning against a rocking chair at a dull-sixties-and-nurses-crowded home for the elderly. Is that how you picture yourself when you grow old? Well you are who you think you are. In this case, you’ll be who you think you’ll be. I hope this comes hard enough to wake you up and lead you to some right sense. Aging doesn’t have to be that way! It is true that society has had aging stereotypes since forever, but that is how others would think about the elderly. You becoming the person they are thinking is an entirely different thing. How about rather than stereotyping yourself, think about this. Who among all the ages in the world have had the plentiful and greatest experiences about politics, economy, work and life? Of course those who have lived longer. Rather than framing yourself into a senile and helpless elderly, build yourself up to a figure of knowledge, respect, value and wisdom for the younger generation. You might just end up being looked upon rather than joked on.
Have a Healthy Diet
It is true that a number of diseases have been related to aging, but not entirely. Did you know that the growing number of patients having cancers and congenital diseases are coming from the youth recently? It is not a matter of age anymore, but a matter of what you eat. Bodily functions as time passes will eventually slow down but acquiring diseases is something that can be diminished or even avoided. Live a life that is healthy as you age. Eat a lot of vegetables and fruits of different colors; make sure that half of your grains are whole grains; limit your intake of solid fats and added sugar; and stay away from eating food that have “empty calories”. Eat well and you’ll surely age well.
Exercise Regularly
It is very usual to see a lot of men and women in their 20s and 30s jogging and crowding up the gym everyday. But it would be nicer to see aging men and women do that. Exercise is not only for the sake of building up lean muscles and shaping those curves up. It is not primarily for us to have a good physique, but for maintaining a healthy body to keep our internal functions working properly as they should. That is the reason why aging shouldn’t be thought of just sitting on the couch or outside the front porch all day. Since it is when people age that bones and muscles start to weaken, the brain starts forgetting and the internal organs start to act up, it is the best time to even be more disciplined in exercising. In a research study at Texas Southwestern Medical School, it was found out that slow but steady endurance exercises decrease blood pressure, blood viscosity, resting heart rate, heart muscle stiffness, body fat, blood sugar, insulin levels, bad cholesterol, memory lapses and risk of depression. Furthermore, it increases intestinal activity, calcium content and strength, muscle mass and strength, metabolic rate, good cholesterol and quality of sleep. The key to all these positive effects is regular exercise.
Stop Smoking and Drinking Alcohol
It’s good to put it that way as plain as possible. Since aging requires us to take better care of our health, putting off some smokes and emptying the fridge from some booze would help a whole lot. No matter how good commercials for cigarettes and alcohol are, vices such as smoking and drinking have always been undoubtedly bad for physical health. They cause a depletion of cells that would subsequently affect bodily functions negatively. They also lower the immune system and make those who are aging even more susceptible to diseases. If you want to age gracefully, then stop smoking and drinking alcohol. Plain and simple.
Get a Good Night Sleep
As we age, we may experience changes in our usual sleep patterns. Becoming sleepy earlier, having lesser deep sleep at night and waking up early in the morning are very common among those who are growing old. However, disturbed sleep, insomnia and waking up tired are not. Sleep is very important to everyone, young and old. It helps in repairing cells that might have been damaged during our day’s activities and thus aiding to a more stronger immune system and healthy bodily functions. For older adults, sleep helps them improve concentration and memory formation. Having a good night’s sleep is essential in having a healthy physical and emotional well-being. In order to have a good night’s sleep try having less nap time in the day, exercise regularly each day, be careful what you eat, avoid vices, create a comfortable and safe place to sleep, develop a bedtime routine and follow a regular sleeping schedule.
Think Right
O
ur minds affect our bodies with great impact. Stresses and negative thinking are very much common to older adults. Aging brings about a deterioration in the brain’s capacity for certain activities, and negative thinking doesn’t help in making it better. A lot of old people suffer depression because of unrealistic thoughts about aging, which in turn affects their body’s health negatively. That is why it is important to think right if you want to age gracefully. Being positive doesn’t mean being unrealistic. Rather it helps you to accept the truth with a happy and ready heart to enjoy life. As George Bernard Shaw said, “You don’t stop laughing when you grow old. You grow old when you stop laughing.”To help prevent brain problems related to aging, constantly exercise your mental faculties by engaging in brain stimulating activities such as puzzles and always learning something new.
Look Great and Feel Great
G
ood news for those who are packing up and getting ready for the aging process, you can pack up your sense of style with you. Looking great is not something that you should do away with just because you are growing old. Take it from frenchwomen who, as a lot of people say, may forget everything else as they age but not their sense of style. It is true that taking care of our health in everything internal is important. But taking care of the external has it’s own benefits as well. Looking good has a very strong connection to feeling good about one’s self. A lot of old people suffer from depression not only because of social reasons but because of a low self concept too. Taking care of how they look will increase confidence and self concept among those who would like to age gracefully.
Find Meaningful Activities
Retirement is something that people in their sixties will always face. For many, they think that life starts to end as they sign up their retirement contract. What if I say, it’s just the beginning? Finding meaningful activities after retirement are very helpful in maintaining a healthy mind and body for those who are aging. Work is not the only activity a person can do in his/her lifetime. Aging might just be a wonderful time to get back to the old passions and things you desired to do but never did because of all the busyness in work. Vacations, the arts, and volunteer work are very good activities to try out to make aging more meaningful. As long as you breath, there would always be a lot of things you can do in order to continue enjoying life. You just have to find it out and try it.
Be Socially Connected
Being connected with others and having a support group has been long proven to aid well in a person’s well being. We were not created to be alone. And for those who are aging, since depression poses a high risk, it is all the more important to be socially connected. Being involved in church groups, volunteer organizations, art classes and the like are very good avenues for social connection for those who are aging. Remember, it is always good to have friends.