Honestly, who does not want to look younger once you reach 40's and above?
Well, I do not have a magic pill or magic wand but I sure have a formula for it?
Really wish to hear it?
Well you asked for it ;)
Get the hell out of your comfort zone and start exercising. Stop making excuses and postone every time you get a chance to do some physical exercise. Life is full of shit already so put your shit together and do it. Or stop judging people around that try and fail, but they try again - over and over again. And you? You know the answer, I don't. I mind my own business and you should too. The change will start with you and you only. And exercise is the key to all the aging issues, and is in deep correlation with your physical and mental health!!
1. Life after 40 start to change massively
As many of us know from woeful experience, our skin changes as the years advance, resulting in wrinkles, crow’s feet and sagging. This occurs because of changes within our layers of skin. After age 40, most of us begin to experience a thickening of our stratum corneum, the final, protective, outer layer of the epidermis, itself the top layer of your skin. The stratum corneum is the portion of the skin that you see and feel. Composed mostly of dead skin cells and some collagen, it gets drier, flakier and denser with age.
At the same time, the layer of skin beneath the epidermis, the dermis, begins to thin. It loses cells and elasticity, giving the skin a more translucent and often saggier appearance.
These changes are independent of any skin damage from the sun. They are solely the result of the passage of time. Ok? Just to give you a little insights of what is happening really.
2. Little reminder first
Exercise is recommended to everyone because of its general health benefits. Obviously, it helps in weight loss and in building muscles. But these aren’t the only benefits you’ll get. Exercise can make you look younger. Yes, I said that. From my own experience. That’s right, the fountain of youth is in your local (home) gym!! No any other way around. Put shit together, remember?!
And what I found out when exercising daily?
- you will have more silky, smooth and glowing skin (it's all down to sweating. If you exercise regularly, your skin will be cleared from impurities more often, leaving it glowing and healthy).
- you can slow your cells (we age at the cellular level. At the chromosomal level, actually. At the tips of each chromosome is something called telomeres. Telomeres control a cell’s aging process, and as we age these telomeres get shorter and shorter. So longer telomeres are connected to living longer lives, or so the research suggests. Studies from the University of California San Francisco have found a link between regular exercise and the rate at which telomeres slow. And the more you exercise on a regular basis, the longer it takes for telomeres to slow, and the longer your cells will live. You’ll not only feel younger, you’ll be physically younger – literally! No magic wand remember ;)).
- you can feel less stressed (exercise is a wonderful distraction from our stressful lives. Hiking, running, playing sports and other engaging activities are a great break from our day-to-day grinds. But the reason we actually feel great after exercising – and even better when we exercise on a regular schedule – is chemical. When we exercise, endorphins are released in our brains that reduce stress and make us more even-keeled. And we all know how stress and anxiety play a part in how we feel, both physically and mentally. Extended periods of high stress can have dramatic effects on our bodies’ functionality, including putting physical stress on our bodies that increases the negative effects of aging. So, exercise more, stress less, look and feel younger. Simple).
- keep the calories burning (exercise is always connected to calorie burn and transitively, metabolism. The more you run, lift, swim, stretch, etc. – the easier it is to keep your metabolism at a higher rate, even when you’re resting. This is the main reason why a lot of people engage in different kinds of exercises. If you keep your body guessing, it’s harder for your muscles, stamina, and metabolism to plateau (plateauing is when your fitness progress levels and you don’t see further improvements). When you age, your metabolism also gets a bit slower than the normal. This is why you need to schedule regular workouts and try to vary those workouts every two-to-three weeks. It helps you maintain a healthier body and keeps your metabolism at a steady, high rate, which helps keep weight off and our bodies looking younger).
- good posture is all (in my opinion, majority of people age 40+ complain of posture problems, and it’s something that is inevitable as we age. Right! Muscle loss and bone density are to blame, but there isn’t much to be done about either. What we can do is work on our posture in our younger/mid-life years and, of course, exercise. Strength training helps build our muscles to support our skeletons, particularly our spines, which keeps us taller for longer. There are also some interesting correlations between our psychological state and posture, and since we know exercise makes us mentally and emotionally feel better, it stands to reason that it helps our posture on the psychological level as well).
Now, again - exercise really can help you stay young both physically and mentally. But if you really want to make it work for you, a change in diet is essential too. Drinking more water. Watch what you put into your body. Be mindful of how you go about your day in relation to how your body functions.
The bottom line is - change you lifestyle habits for better and watch your body make changes.
Your body is a machine that can either work for you or you become your own body's prisoner.
Decide what you wish. Life isn't just about fairy tails and butterflies. It will kick back quite hard if you do not appreciate it.
Be grateful. Be kind. Just do not stay in your comfort zone (instead of a comfort zone, I call it 'deadly zone'. Be cautious.
Until next time, S.
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