You may have heard the phrases “old age is cruel” or “aging is akin to regretting” and it is unfortunate but also true that there are many elderly people who feel regret and are in fact living with the cruel reality that is old age. These people have reached their elder years with nothing more than physical pain or emotional sorrow and regret over a life misspent. If given a choice, we all would much rather enter and live our golden years in peaceful serenity, looking back at a life we are proud of with a feeling of accomplishment instead of disappointment.
There is no reason why we cannot grow older and actually do it gracefully and in good health. We can begin now living a happy and productive lifestyle and enjoy each year more than the last one, greeting every new year in a vigorous manner. How well you cope with aging has more to do with your mental outlook and a positive track record than it does with genetics. By doing right by yourself and others and leading a healthy lifestyle as your get older, you will be on track for a meaningful experience in your golden era.
Enhance Your Aging Experience
In order to attain not only an extended life span but also a taste of that youthful vigor that is so sought after, now famous National Geographic voyager and writer, Dan Buettner recommended some fundamental, and really no brainer lifer habits that apparently work quite well for some people. I say no brainer because they are truly common sense ideas yet so many of us neglect to maintain any kind of discipline with any of them.
Buettner researched those people around the world who were known to be living the longest and he found that each of us has the capability to better our experience with advancing age. Who you are is not important but rather how you are living the life you have been blessed with that makes the difference. What are you eating? Are you getting enough physical activity? Do you handle the stress in your life with cool composure or pull your hair out?
Buettner traveled extensively to every remote corner of the planet in order to seek out where the world’s healthiest, hardiest and happiest elderly individuals resided. What Buettner discovered should be enough to send warning flags flying in many western developed cultures. There is a good reason why America and other “Comfy” societies around the world are falling behind in terms of health, the lifestyle that many lead is a recipe for disaster. All the trendy diets and mad workouts, or worse, poor diets and no workouts, are not really necessary or should be looked at differently in an aging society. Keeping things simple and avoiding any upheaval is definitely the way to proceed.
Buettner says there are really only nine basic secrets to living a good long life filled with wellness and vitality. Following these nine suggestions should spice up your aging progress when you incorporate them into your current way of life. Often as we grow older we become set in our ways and change can be difficult. When it comes to making serious changes in our senior years, these come about only after a crisis of some sort. There is no reason why you could not build these changes into your lifestyle now so you can avoid future difficulty and improve your well being as you grow older. It is time to have a closer look at each of these nine lifestyle improvements.
• Maintain An Active Lifestyle But In Moderation
Keeping up an active lifestyle will pay dividends; however, it is better to take pleasure in those physical activities you are spending time on. When you are getting active, it is better if you do so naturally and not give much thought to it. Doing something you really enjoy but that will have some physicality to it is good, challenging yourself is always preferable as a part of your day to day activity. For instance, if you enjoy gardening, make it feel like exercise but do not overdo it. You could also do more walking or cycling instead of driving wherever you need to go.
Making this kind of thing second nature means it will become integrated into your way of life. If you feel an exercise regimen is required in your life, disciplined routines can lose their appeal and you could get bored fast. Many folks quit exercising from boredom and the repetitiveness of the exercises they must perform.
• Learn The Okinawan – 80 Percent Full Secret
People who inhabit the island of Okinawa, Japan are renowned for their longevity and youthful vitality. It is also fascinating that they follow a manner of eating they refer to as “Hara hachi bi”. This is their way of knowing when enough is enough and they quit eating when their stomach is eighty percent full.
People do not always need to be too hard on themselves when trying to manage their weight. It could be as simple as watching how much food you are ingesting. Buettner thinks that selecting a smaller dinner plate, bowl and drinking glass would be helpful. Additionally, you should always eat with your legs under a table. Only fill your plate with what you feel you will eat comfortably, then put the remaining food away prior to beginning to eat your meal. Do not eat standing up and never consume your food near the fridge. Avoid eating while you watch television and do not rush your eating; take your time to savor what you eat.
• Increase The Amount Of Fruits And Vegetables You Eat
Ever since we were children it has been driven into us that we need to eat our veggies and fruits if we want to grow into healthy adults. This mantra has not changed. You should also be sure to eat some nuts as part of your daily diet. They are very good for you and curb your hunger for junk food.
• Start Drinking “Virgin” Red Wine Each Day
Red wine contains the exceptional ingredient known as resveratrol that will give you a healthy heart and keep your body lean and vital. Red wine has abundant quantities of antioxidants that elevate your healthy cholesterol as it reduces the unhealthy cholesterol from your system. When you consume non alcoholic red wine at dinner time each day you will be assisting your body in attaining maximum health and with no adverse effects from the alcohol found in regular wine.
• Be Sure To Find A Purpose For Your Life
Find something meaningful to do with your time, have a good reason for getting up each day. Take on a new challenge, experience something unique and embrace all changes in your life. At the end of your days it would be nice to know that your life had a bigger purpose than perhaps you ever imagined and this can happen by doing good for others. Buettner thinks it is a good idea to set objectives for yourself and make it your task in life to attain these goals.
• Try To Relax More, Learn To Be Cool About Things
Stress will kill you if you allow it to so managing the stress in your life is paramount if your desire is to live as long as possible. This does not mean you must pay for a spa treatment every other day or take a vacation each month. Simply be aware of stressful situations and focus on relaxing. In fact, make relaxation techniques a part of your daily regimen.
Try not to set yourself up for stress by giving yourself more time for attending meetings and being prepared in advance. Take some time for just you each day. Turn of the television, radio or computer or anything else that will disturb you. Sit alone and quietly sip some tea or practice deep breathing.
• Become More Spiritual, Find Your Higher Power
Join a religious group that you feel comfortable with. Dedicate yourself spiritually to some significant higher power and strengthen your faith. Keep your “tank” full of the faith you will require for some future day when you are emotionally and or physically tested.
• The Family Circle
As you get older your family takes on a new significance in your life, its importance becomes far more evident than ever before. Value the time you have with family and strengthen the bonds between all members of your familial unit. Buettner agrees that forming family traditions that create enduring bonds with those closest to you makes for a happy, healthy life and personal well being.
• Your Circle Of Friends
Pick and choose those you spend time with carefully since their influence on your life will be considerable. Your friends have much to do with your healthy routine and the type of lifestyle you will lead. Choose to be around people who compliment your circumstances and do not bleed you of your emotional resources. Likeminded acquaintances and understanding friends will support you when you need them most.
• Start Taking Supplements
There is quite a bit of media promotion leveled at us to supplement our diets, particularly as we grow older. This hype targets the boomer generation who are advancing in age. There is nothing wrong with this idea; in fact it is going to assist you greatly provided you choose the right the right supplements that coordinate with your way of life and current health situation.
Find supplements that are good for you, not necessarily the one that spends the most on advertising. Do your homework and ask questions of the health care professionals. A great place to begin would be taking resveratrol, krill oil pills for omega 3 fatty acids and a measured quantity of human growth hormone based on what your physician recommends for you. Discuss this with your primary health care provider for their advice.
People are living longer in many places on earth but they are doing so in easy going societies based on old world principles and values. What is meaningful to these elders may not seem at odds with western values but the result in their longevity speaks volumes. As we age, our core values also change but far too often this change occurs too late in life to do us any good or the change is a negative one.
The time to commit to a new positive outlook and healthy lifestyle is right now, regardless of how old we are. We cannot turn back the clock but we can choose how we will live with the remaining time we have. Making that decision could be all that is required to add a few more enjoyable years to our existence, Buettner has seen the evidence.
Anti Aging Theories, Gerontology, Health And Aging, Longevity
Thu, Jul 1, 2010
Anti Aging Theories, Gerontology, Health And Aging, Longevity