8 Easy Ways to Stay Young & Healthy
Stress causes nasty changes in our bodies. When my stress levels are high, I can’t sleep, my muscles tense up and I get sick frequently. Apparently stress is also proven to accelerate AGING, yikes!
It affects cortisol, adrenaline, blood pressure, yada, yada…it is bad, trust me, and we must do whatever we can to reduce it’s hold on us! Stress not only leads to all sorts of physical problems and accelerated aging but depression as well, so… TAKE – A – BREAK!
Take 20 min a day, make the time, you are worth it, and go somewhere quiet. Close your eyes, focus on your breathing and slowly tighten and release each of your muscle groups (10 seconds on and 10 seconds off).
I honestly do this multiple times a day, I don’t always have the ability to go somewhere quiet, so I just sit right where I am and start rolling my neck or doing crazy face stretches, but hey it works!
Exercise is good for all the obvious reasons (although I am the worst at being motivated to partake), but did you know you could have a super brain from just 10 minutes of walking a day??
“Walking for just 10 minutes a day lowers your risk of Alzheimer’s by 40 percent,” says Gary Small, MD, director of the UCLA Center on Aging and coauthor of The Healthy Brain Kit. “Physical conditioning reduces stress and anxiety, which wipe out your memory bank.”
Ok, so maybe not a super brain but still cool right?
3) Love is all you needLove brings out the beauty in things so embrace life, be happy, smile and be passionate in bed but remember love above all else.
“Loving touches release hormones, including oxytocin, that reduce stress and anxiety,” says Mehmet Oz, MD, professor of surgery and vice chairman of cardiovascular services at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University, as well as the coauthor of You on a Diet. “If sex is a purely hedonistic process, it won’t have the same results.”
4) Drink UpEnjoy a glass of Red wine, maybe while enjoying number 3 on the list!
Studies show that wine can diminish brain damage caused by stroke and reduce clogged arteries. Whoohoo! Get me a glass!
5) Green TeaStrange one isn’t it? But it has recently been all the rage and it lives up to the hype.
It reduces the risk of breast cancer, prevents remissions and is currently being tested as a way to prevent bladder, colorectal and lung cancer recurrence.
Ol’Tea of Green is also an effective weight management tool, as it is believed to rev up the metabolism. On top of all this it is also thought to help prevent Alzheimer’s!
Green tea baby, to heck with the rest of them! *2 or 3 cups a day*
6) Skin Care RoutineAfter turning 30, a daily skin care routine is essential. I think a lot of women get scared off because they get bogged down with all the products on the market.
The only essentials really needed are a fairly good rejuvenating eye cream, facial moisturizer, cleanser and most importantly a facial cream with SPF for the daytime.
7) Make sure to get your Regular Tune-Up’sI know we often let those annoying “well check-ups” slip by because we don’t “feel” sick. Please trust me when I say this, those regular, pesky appointments are the extremely important ones.
Keeping ourselves healthy and young means that we absolutely must visit the doctor, dentist, obgyn, etc. on a regular basis.
8) Mindfulness – Find your Inner PeaceFor some, this means staying forever surrendered to our God or Higher Power, to others its running, praying, yoga, or whatever makes your boat float.
No matter the method, mindfulness is the act of staying in the Now, focused on the moment, aware of what is happening but able to navigate it without much stress or anxiety. I urge you to look deeper into this concept, it has changed my life.
