Tips to Feel Younger
As well as looking younger, we’d all like to feel younger – to recapture the energy and vitality of youth. While it is not possible to turn back the clock – despite the never-ending quests for the ‘Fountain of Youth’ – it is possible to feel younger just by following a few simple habits:
Top Tips For Feeling Younger
Tip # 1 – Nothing beats a good night’s sleep. Sleep gives your body the chance to rest and repair itself and enables you to face each day feeling rejuvenated and refreshed. The amount of sleep required varies between individuals but you’ll know you need more if you are feeling chronically fatigued, yawning a lot, unable to concentrate, irritable or listless and lethargic.One of the reasons children often seem full of vitality is because they tend to sleep more and sleep better. The quality of sleep is important too – fewer hours of sound sleep can be more beneficial than a longer period of restless sleep. To ensure that you sleep soundly, avoid over-stimulating your mind just before bedtime.
Try to find a way to put the day’s stresses out of your mind, whether this is by listening to some music, reading a good book, meditating or chatting with friends and family. Invest in a comfortable bed and arrange your bedroom to promote rest – remember, you sleep more of your lifetime asleep than doing any other activity and it is the one thing guaranteed to make you feel more energised so cherish it!
Tip # 2 – Avoid caffeine, alcohol and sugary soft drinks. Even if these drinks give you a temporary boost, they will soon leave you feeling drained and restless. The phosphoric acid in fizzy drinks is believed by scientists to contribute to calcium loss in bones.
Tip # 3 – One of the main symptoms of feeling old is slowing down – so make an effort to keep active. Not only does regular exercise protect you against stress and disease, it will also help you maintain bone density and mobility. Exercise also helps enhance your sex life, improve your mental abilities and elevate your mood. The more mobile and active you remain, the younger you will feel.
Tip # 4 – Keep and eye on your eating habits. Beware of foods full of empty calories from sugar and fat – base your diet on fresh, unprocessed foods which are rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals. For an added anti-ageing boost, choose foods rich in antioxidants, which will fight the processes of ageing at a cellular level.
Tip # 5 – Maintaining a healthy weight is crucial for health and scientific studies have shown that reducing your caloric intake can have an active anti ageing effect at a cellular level as well. Just losing a few pounds can often make a world of difference to your energy levels and help you feel ‘younger’. If you need to lose weight, do so gradually as rapid weight loss will cause skin sagging, as well as being unhealthy for your body.
Tip # 6 – Try to maintain as much flexibility as possible, by continuing to do gentle stretching exercises as you age. This will help to avoid general stiffness and back problems, as well as enhancing your mobility so that you can remain active and do all the things you used to do – the key to feeling younger.
Tip # 7 – Make an active effort to control stress. Not easy in today’s hectic world but spend some time to find what works for you. Stress depresses the immune system and may indirectly contribute to more diseases and illness than we realise. It is also a big factor in ageing someone prematurely.
Tip # 8 – Keep stimulating your mind. You are never too old to learn new skills – so continue mentally challenging yourself. The brain – and in particular, your memory – is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more powerful it becomes.
Tip # 9 – Keep a happy, positive outlook. Cheerful optimism is a key feature of the young and the young at heart. Happiness triggers the release of endorphins which relax and soothe cardiovascular and immune system.
Tip # 10 – Believe that you are young! The old adage is true – you are only as old as you think you are. Don’t mentally age yourself – keep exploring the world around you, remain interested in people and continue trying to grow and develop yourself. One study of nuns in Detroit showed that those who recorded positive thoughts in their diaries lived on average 9 years longer than their grumpier counterparts!
