Have you ever met someone that wishes of being able to live forever? As you get older you begin to realize that not only does that concept have many flaws attached to it, but in general, you probably wouldn’t want to. Perhaps, the wish of living eternally is more so connected to the concept of aging. Our bodies might be strong and versatile when we’re young and full of energy, but as we are growing older we tend to slow down and feel aches and pains.
There’s no stopping the aging process because it’s a natural part of life. One hopes that you will have a dignified decline, however, being old comes with its own set of problems. One thing we don’t realize is that our diets have a direct impact on aging as well. Growing older is one thing, but degenerating is another. You have a lot of control over the aging process and you should not see yourself as one of its victims. Behave like a time machine, and you will slow down the effects of growing old.
The consistency of weight
Everyone has the stereotypical image of “old people bodies” in their mind. Since you can’t work out as you usually would and lose weight, we tend to get a bit plump and fat in old age. However, this brings its own set of problems. The first thing you will notice is the general lack of movement you will have. You’ll begin to feel heavy, slow and sluggish. Equally as bad, you could begin to have joint pains because of the amount of weight your tired body is having to carry around. You don’t want to accelerate any kind of arthritis issues or perhaps respiratory system concerns either.
When you are consistently keeping with your age and weight recommendations, each year you age, you will slow down the deterioration that comes with aging. Rather than gain weight, you do an organized retreat from this and actually keep your weight the same as much as possible. This way, your body doesn’t age quicker and gives you more time to enjoy life the way you want to. Since our bodies are already in that process of decline once you hit 50 or 60, we have to give our muscles, nerves, and joints the best help possible. That can simply be done by not overloading them and being mindful of how much we eat and workout.
Avoiding disk degeneration
Our backs are one of the strongest parts of our body. It’s what allows us to stand upright and be separate from the animal kingdom. We should be more appreciative of how adaptive our spinal column is. We owe a lot of gratitude to our disks as they are essentially the suspension in our back, that allows our vertebrae to bend and curve. Back pain is one of the most discomforting feelings anyone can have. No matter what age you are, any kind of muscle spasms, bone injury and or nerve damage can be incredibly painful. Unfortunately, not all back pain can be avoided as you age because the disks are much like car brakes. Eventually, they will get worn out no matter how well you take care of them.
However, to keep disk degeneration at bay and avoiding serious discomfort as you age, keep it simple and stay active. Put simply a bike ride or even just a gentle walk will be very good for your spine. Sitting down all day long does not do your back any favors. In fact, because the vertebrae don’t move around a whole lot, the disks get compressed in one spot over and over, for a long time. This means that uneven wear can occur to our disks and then when they let go and can no longer function properly, there is bone on bone contact.
This is incredibly painful as our nerves also get trapped and this just amplifies the pain further. As you get older, you should stop lifting heavy things. Don’t bend down so often. Make sure you are eating a nutritious diet full of vitamins and minerals. It should go without saying but some people need reminding to stop bad habits such as smoking. Try to relax throughout your day and don’t get too stressed out. Depression also affects our backs so, try to do things that make you more jovial.
Start to value your bed
As we get older, more and more knowledge about how much sleep helps us is coming to the surface. When we’re young we don’t mind staying up late, even when we know we need to be up early in the morning. We might not like feeling groggy in the morning when we get up for work, but our bodies can cope with it. That’s why we feel so comfortable not going to be until it’s midnight or even later. A good movie might be on television, or perhaps in the modern day and age, we just want to binge on a particular Netflix series. Whatever the case may be, you need to start valuing your bed more. Sleeping should be something to look forward to and not avoid, especially when your body needs more rest as you age.
Never underestimate the importance of sleep as you age because our cells need time to heal and be replaced. Your sleeping habits have to change to accommodate your body and mind as growing older you will begin to slow down in both. Experts in the health industry that look at aging, agree that for those that are around the ages of 65 and up, need to have at least 7 hours of sleep.
Our circadian rhythms change and this is why sometimes in our old age we begin to feel sleepy during the daytime. To help yourself get better and more consistent sleep, you should focus on your bed. Buy a very comfortable mattress, a high-quality pillow and don’t be afraid to splash out on some soft and smooth bed sheets. Value your bed more and it will make sure you get the sleep you need to remain healthy and slow down the aging process.
A quick and slow-burning diet
When we’re young we just want food that will fuel is right now. We know we have the energy to go into the night if we’re working anyway. Youth itself is a powerful and consistent engine that helps us work longer and harder. However, slowly but surely that engine does get tired and worn out. As we age, we start to rely on food that will give us an even burn of energy throughout the day. On the other hand, we tend to rely too much on slow-burning food. You don’t want to go completely without carbs in your diet, but you don’t want to overload yourself either. Younger bodies tend to burn off even complex carbs while aging bodies tend to be slower to burn off. Hence why sometimes older people have pot bellies even though the rest of their body is slim.
You should swap out your heavy carb dishes with something more healthy and quicker burning for energy. Rather than a pasta bake, how about your swap that for a vegetable bake instead? A mixture of vegetables can be roasted in the oven, and then added to a casserole dish. Lay some cheese on top and you have a healthy fatty but ultimately nutrient rich dish. Instead of something that is heavy in the morning such as a fried breakfast, focus on something that will be a healthy fat but with natural sugars too. A half bowl of greek yogurt and mixed chopped fruits would do the trick nicely. Balance out your diet more often, don’t rely on your body to somehow quickly access and burn off complex carbs that are for slow releasing energy.
Be more conscious
Having an attitude of ‘age is just a number’ is great. However, you shouldn’t be fooled by this phrase because our bodies do react to how we treat them. If we don’t accommodate our bodies as we grow old, we will end up decreasing the amount of time we have left. So be more conscious of the fact that your body needs to be treated differently by you. The more you are aware of your health, the more you can do to help yourself slow down the process of aging.
Maybe one day there will be a time machine that allows us to live further on into the future! For now, though, your aging body needs you to behave like one. Slow down the aging process by getting the right amount of sleep you need every night. Invest in your bed so you can achieve this regularly. Get proper exercise for your back, such as biking and jogging. Don’t stay inactive at home for too long, as disk compression can make our spines feel rigid and uncomfortable.
