Are you a 45-year-old guy who looks like you’re on the verge of 60? Or maybe you’re a 62-year-old woman who passes for 79? Either way, it’s important to understand which factors cause premature aging so that you can look and feel your best.
5 Aging Factors You Can Address
Aging is a natural part of life. And as you age, you can expect to experience some physical effects and symptoms. But you don’t have to accept everything that comes your way. There are certain aging factors you can address head-on to look and feel better.
Not sure where to begin? Here are some factors that are making you look older than you are:
1. Hair Loss
Hair loss is one of the telltale signs of aging. And while it tends to affect men worse than women, it’s something that most people will deal with at some point or another.
Hair loss frequently occurs around the crown, on the sides, and across the hairline. And it’s this latter type of hair loss that tends to have the most noticeable impact on a person’s age.
There are a variety of treatments for receding hairlines, including minoxidil, laser hair treatment (often called LLLT), natural/DIY methods, hair growth supplements, and changes in diet and nutrition. Your doctor can guide you to a treatment plan that’s best suited for your individual circumstances.
2. Alcohol
There’s nothing wrong with the occasional beer with friends or a bottle of wine with dinner. But regular and excessive drinking can have a decidedly negative impact on your age and appearance.
Alcohol is known to be a natural diuretic, which means it dehydrates the body. And the more you drink, the more dehydrated you become. Your body (and all of your vital organs) needs sufficient hydration to function at a high level. And without adequate hydration levels, your skin, hair, and muscle tone can be negatively impacted.
For best results, keep alcohol intake to a maximum of one drink per day. This limits the amount of work your liver must do to flush out toxins and impurities. (Better yet, nix alcohol altogether and stick to water.)
3. Stress
Stress certainly has its place in a healthy life, but chronic and prolonged stress can negatively impact your health and accelerate the aging process in some pretty profound ways.
“A wide range of studies has shown that the stress caused by things like untreated depression, social isolation, long-term unemployment, and anxiety attacks can speed-up the aging process by shortening the length of each DNA strand,” Christopher Bergland writes for Psychology Today.
By limiting stressful situations and practicing healthy responses to stress, you can lessen the physical toll it takes on the individual cells of your body and live a happier and healthier life.
4. Smoking
Smoking is one of the worst things you can do for your physical and mental health. It directly contributes to dozens of health issues and leads to a host of age-related problems and shortcomings. This includes:
- Anxiety and irritability
- Poor teeth and oral hygiene
- Persistent coughing
- Heart disease
- Poor vision
- Infertility
- Wrinkly skin
- Yellow fingers
- Dry and brittle hair
- Early menopause
Want to look healthier and more vibrant? Nix the cigarettes and spend your time retraining your brain to enjoy healthier habits.
5. Sun Exposure
As relaxing as it is to lay out in the sun, sunbathing is actually terrible for your skin and can lead to premature aging. Excessive exposure is known to weaken blood vessels and skin cells, resulting in a dry, leathery appearance.
“Tanning beds are even worse for your skin,” one expert explains. “A tanning bed exposes you to up to 15 times more dangerous radiation than sitting in the sun, leading to wrinkles, brown spots and, worst of all, skin cancer.”
For best results, avoid sunbathing and make a habit out of applying sunscreen on a daily basis (not just when you’re planning to be outside for prolonged periods of time).
Fight Back Against the Signs of Aging
Aging is a natural process. And as much as we may try to delay the onset of certain symptoms, the reality is that aging is undefeated. It will eventually impact us all. However, by proactively addressing the factors outlined in this article, you can look and feel your best for years to come. Now’s the time to step up and strike back!
Interesting related article: “What is Health?“