4 Things You’re Doing That Are Aging You By 10 Years
You might think using that special new retinol serum, drinking lemon water every morning, and not over-exfoliating is going to stop father-time from making your age.
While these things may help, there are some other crucial components that lead to premature aging.
As important as it seems to combat aging directly, it’s also important to note the causes so that you can avoid the things you may be doing that are causing you to look older without you even knowing.
Here are the 4 things that are aging you by 10 years.
1. Denying the symptoms
As we get older, it becomes increasingly important to have regular check-ups with your doctor.
Especially if we have symptoms of any sort.
Even when we are young, we are very accustomed to brushing off any minor symptoms in assumption that it’s nothing serious.
However, these are the times where it’s more crucial that ever to get checked by a doctor in case it is something serious. Not visiting the doctor could be the difference between stopping an illness in it’s tracks and letting an illness get the best of you.
Even though it might be a hassle, it’s always better to be safe than sorry!
In a study published in 2014, patients were surveyed about visiting the doctor and why they avoid it when they do.
The results showed that majority (33%) of the patients reported “unfavorable evaluations of seeking medical care, such as factors related to physicians, health care organizations, and affective concerns.”
From these results, it’s safe to assume that many of these absent visits could be from a fear of the truth of where the status of their health is.
At the end of the day, health is wealth. There is never a price too high to save your own life.
2. Retiring wrong
We all have heard the saying that when you retire, your brain declines and your quality of life begins to wither.
However, it’s also important that you’re able to retire at some point in your life to avoid the consequences of prolonged periods of stressful circumstances.
In fact, there was a study conducted that women who worked in full-time stressful jobs reported higher levels of adrenaline in their bodies which is a hormone that can be detrimental to your body if not managed in small doses.
So what’s the answer?
When you retire, it’s very important to continue to pursue your passions and the things that interest you. Rather than lounging around on the couch all day watching TV, do things that stimulate you physically and mentally.
Go on a hike, play a sport, or spend time with loved ones to promote intellectually stimulating conversations.
This will keep you sharp as you age and will help to avoid dramatic drops in cognitive ability.
It’s also important to stay socially active to avoid any sort of depression as your get older.
3. Having an unstable mentality
As you age, it’s extremely important to put in work on your attitude and inner mentality.
In fact, a study was conducted that found men with a higher rate of hostility were linked to a 30% chance increase of disease.
Living with an abundance of anger, depression, anxiety, paranoia, or any of these negative attitudes can wreak havoc on ones overall health.
The added up stress on your mind is one to pay close attention to in order to achieve longevity and live a happy life.
The men in this study, showed a physically unhealthy response to stress.
When one is stressed, typically there is a spike in cortisol and blood pressure which returns to normal after a short period of time.
However these men reported no spike in cortisol and diastolic blood pressure, while their systolic blood pressure stayed elevated for a long period of time.
This shows how their prolonged stressed state caused their body to essentially become numb to the stimuli and not function properly anymore which poses health threats over time.
Practicing mental care is essential to longevity. Look to learn how to be optimistic in times of trouble and practice meditation to keep your mind relaxed.
It’s also important to surround yourself with positive people to create an environment that promotes joy rather than stress.
4. Diet
At the end of the day, one of the most powerful ways to either age or anti-age is through diet.
Consuming diets that are high in saturated fats, cholesterol, and harmful chemicals are a sure way to age yourself extremely fast.
Organs such as your skin and hair are typical signs of how you’re aging.
When you consume lots of processed fatty foods, they typically don’t contain the nutrients that are important to optimize the function of your physical organs.
On the contrary, eating healthy foods with plenty of greens and fruits, will have a profound effect on your overall appearance.
In a study conducted on how foods can help you anti-age, they found:
“The functional anti-aging ingredients in food mainly relieve skin aging in three ways.
First, anti-aging ingredients (such as protein peptides and essential fatty acids) enter the skin as a precursor after digestion and absorption and participate in the synthesis and metabolism of skin components.
Second, anti-aging ingredients relieve skin oxidative damage by removing cellular ROS and enhancing antioxidant enzyme activity.
Third, the anti-aging component acts as an enzymatic factor, and regulates the expression of enzymes such as MMPs and AP–1, inhibiting the degradation of skin components and maintaining the integrity of the skin structure.”
