Celebrities aren’t the only people with the ability to age beautifully — with the right lifestyle, anyone can age with grace.
No human can escape the aging process, but there’s no reason to run away from it. The key to aging gracefully is to avoid the things that cause premature aging and engage in the things that prolong youthfulness. For example, ultraviolet rays from the sun account for 80% of the extrinsic aging process. Meanwhile, remembering to apply sunscreen every day helps stave off this cause of aging.
For more tips on how to age beautifully, check out the guide below.
Limit Alcohol Consumption
Drinking excessively also causes extrinsic aging, the process of the skin aging faster than it should. It does this in a variety of ways, by causing the following:
- Wrinkles
- Poor sleep
- Oxidative stress
- Broken blood vessels
- Other skin conditions
Drinking leads to many negative health effects, such as dehydration, the disruption of the body’s microbiome, and the reduction of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. All of these things contribute to premature aging.
Quit Smoking
It’s no secret that smoking is terrible for human health. It makes sense that it also contributes to premature aging. The toxins in cigarettes can reduce skin elasticity, damage skin fiber, and decrease skin collagen.
Invest in Retinol
Retinol is a relatively new product created from vitamin A, part of the retinoid family. It puts the skin in hyperspeed mode, making new skin cell turnover faster. It is a miracle worker for skin regeneration.
Retinol should be applied every night, followed by moisturizer. Those with sensitive skin types may need to start with weekly application and slowly build up to daily use.
Eat Healthfully
Fitness experts know that diet is the most important component of physical wellness. It’s also the key to aging gracefully. The best anti-aging foods fight free radicals. These molecules are unstable atoms that cause chaos and damage in the body, contributing to aging. Foods with omega-3 fatty acids are also especially good for the skin.
Key foods to avoid are anything with processed sugar and unhealthy fats.
Get Enough Rest
Sleeping well is crucial to human health. During sleep, the body dedicates time to repair itself from the stresses of the day. It also gives the skin time to recover from its sun exposure.
As humans sleep, skin cells turn over and regenerate. They need much more than 5 hours to do this well.
Remember to Exercise
Exercise that increases heart rate gets the blood flowing, and this includes more blood flowing to the skin cells, nourishing them.
Exercise is also important to keep your strength at a solid baseline as muscles and bones age and weaken over time. This Aging in Place blog has some creative ideas for keeping everything accessible in your home.
Age Beautifully Through Health and Fitness
There is no quick fix to age beautifully. It requires a full lifestyle change, and that doesn’t happen overnight. For this lifestyle to work, make sure to take small steps over time. Huge transformations that take place spontaneously tend to not be sustainable and usually don’t last long.
For more useful health and fitness guides to help your age gracefully, take a second to browse our page.