Opt Out of Aging? Yes Please!

If you had a time machine, what age would you travel to? I’m guessing you went back in time to when you were younger, as many of us would choose to do. The majority of people fear aging and its seemingly unavoidable effects- wrinkles, hair loss, weight gain, fatigue, back pain… and other “Oh crap… I’m getting old!” stereotypes. I’m sure you have a handful of your own aches
and pains to add to that list.

While I can’t offer you a time machine, I can give you the tools you need to become one. Take a second and re-read that last sentence. I’m not lying, and you’re not dreaming, I promise. With the right actions, your body can stop its biological clock in its tracks, reverse the effects of time, and shave years off your biological age. Unfortunately, I can’t help you to reduce your number of orbits around the sun- aka chronological age. But who cares if you’re technically 80 if you feel like you’re 30 again?

Eat Real and Simple Foods
What we eat has a massive impact on how we feel. Over time, our diets can set us up for optimal health, or severely impede our functioning. I suggest eating real and simple foods to be sure you’re giving your cells what they need to operate at their best. This results in feeling more energized, reduced or improved health conditions, and more strength. That said, I should warn
you: prioritizing a healthy diet might include forfeiting refined sugar in your morning coffee.

Reduce Your Stress, Manage What Remains
Your stress will age you unless you learn how to minimize it as much as possible, and of course, healthily cope with whatever is unavoidable. Physiologically, stress causes you to lose bone density, pause digestion, skew hormone production, and more. Psychologically, stress may
cause you to cope using unhealthy behaviors like overeating, eating unhealthy foods, smoking, drinking, not exercising or avoiding socializing. There’s a reason people joke about “going grey” from their stress! It accelerates your biological clock like nothing else.

Get Adequate and High Quality Sleep
We all know that we should be getting at least 8 hours of sleep, but so few of us actually do. Even if you are a person who sleeps enough, you may still feel exhausted because you’re not getting good quality sleep. For example, if you have a noisy or bright sleeping environment, or don’t have a regular bedtime or nighttime routine, you’re likely to feel as drained as ever no
matter how much you sleep. Take time to practice sleep hygiene so that your 8 hours is time well-spent.

Here’s a bonus for any nap-lover out there: sleep relieves stress, so don’t let anyone make you feel bad about your daily nap!

Exercise Frequently
You don’t have to yell and grunt in an expensive gym with fancy equipment and a fitness coach to be active. Walking, cycling, stretching, and other low to medium impact exercises can make a big difference to your body without causing harm or being too intimidating to attempt. You’ll notice increased energy, strength, balance, and coordination. You also get a psychological
boost of happy hormones to boot!

Find What Makes You Feel Young Again
Perhaps this is the most important of all biological aging tools. I highly recommend finding an activity that makes you feel like you’re still in your prime age.
Biological aging is partially a mental game, so make sure you’re investing in activities that make you think, behave, and believe that you’re younger. For some, this could mean having a vibrant social life, for others, it
could be playing with their grandchildren or cooking a fancy dinner.
I encourage you to discover what your young soul is craving and to nourish it.

There are many ways to become younger, so there’s bound to be an action that appeals to you.
The more actions you adopt, the faster time will fly (backwards, of course!). These behaviors are not expensive, outrageous, or difficult. They merely require you to invest in your health so that you can reap the benefits. Think about it- you can feel like a 30 year old but still take advantage of a senior’s discount at the store. That’s the life if you ask me!