Aging is quite a contradiction. Being able to do it is the ultimate privilege, unfortunately, denied to too many, too early in their lives. However, it’s also true that aging isn’t something we’re all too happy with. Feeling as though you’re getting old, seeing your face change in the mirror while you still feel the same inside, it’s something we all have to deal with. Even having a post-2000’s young adult refer to you as being born in the “late 1900s” can feel like you’ve appeared straight out of ancient mythology.
But of course, just because we all age, it doesn’t mean you have to age poorly. Taking care of yourself can improve longevity, as evidenced by the supplements and powder solutions at Science.bio. From that point, you may be wondering how you could age more slowly and gracefully, on your own terms.
In this post, we hope to help you with that approach:
Really Nail Your Sleep Habits
Sleep is where aging either accelerates or slows down depending on your attitude to it and the habits you keep. Poor sleep literally ages your cells faster, while good sleep helps repair and regenerate them. Most people need 7-9 hours, but quality matters more than time spent in bed, so try to practice good habits like no caffeine before bedtime. Also, keep your bedroom cool and dark, stick to consistent bedtimes, and avoid screens an hour before sleep, as the common wisdom goes. Your body releases growth hormones during deep sleep phases, which help maintain muscle mass and skin elasticity as you age, so beauty sleep isn’t a myth either.
Use Sun Cream & Skin Cream
Sun damage causes most visible aging signs way before natural aging kicks in, and it can, unfortunately, cause you to suffer a higher likelihood of skin cancer thanks to that. Those “age spots” are actually sun spots, meaning that most wrinkles come from UV exposure rather than birthdays. Using SPF daily, even in winter or indoors (the sun can still harm you even in the winter time if exposed), can prevent this damage building up. Find a daily moisturizer with built-in SPF to make it easier if you’d rather just do that. For skin cream, anything with retinol is known to help help cells, aloe vera can repair, while vitamin C brightens and protects. Using all three can help. Don’t worry, you don’t need the most expensive cream to benefit here.
Limit Vices
We all know smoking ages skin and organs rapidly, but other habits matter too. Heavy drinking or even just a sustained drinking habit will dehydrate cells and disrupt sleep, linking back to our explanation above. Too much sugar causes inflammation and damages collagen, which not only makes you feel bad, but it makes you look worse. Even sitting too long reduces circulation and cellular repair, so try to walk each day if you can, getting your steps in is always worthwhile, as are other practices. This doesn’t mean living like a monk and never having fun is your prescription from now on, but it does mean being mindful of the habits you keep. They can always catch up with us!
With this advice, we hope you can more easily age slowly and gracefully, with gratitude for doing so.
Photo Credit: Pexels – CC0 License
