There are lots of things you can do to improve your health. You can run a marathon, become a vegan, or vow to never spend time in the sun again. Luckily, you don’t have to go to such drastic measures to feel your best.
Putting your health first also does not require you to jump on the latest fad diet or beauty treatment bandwagon. Quick fixes or treatments that sound too good to be true usually fail to deliver.
Making massive changes to your lifestyle as you age can be more challenging to stick to the plan. There are numerous small lifestyle changes you can make that deliver significant benefits for your emotional and physical health.
For example, never underestimate the benefits of a good night’s rest or eating a well-balanced diet. In fact, making small changes that you will be able to keep up long term are often the best things you can do to feel better. Here are seven quick changes you can make today that will have you feeling better in no time.
Increase Your H20
If you don’t drink enough water each day, you could end up dehydrated and not feeling your best. Without enough water, your body can’t digest foods, keep your body temperature within a healthy range, or get rid of wastes that build up throughout the day. As you age, you lose some of the water that naturally occurs in your body, making it even more critical that you drink enough each day.
Be sure to drink about nine glasses of water daily. While that may seem like a lot of water to drink, try breaking it up into smaller amounts to make it more doable. You can also look for a water bottle that has time markings on it so that you can see your progress during the day.
If plain water isn’t your favorite, you can add in fruits or herbs to boost the flavor. Try combinations like strawberry cucumber, lemon-lime, or blackberry mint.
Find Your Tribe
Life isn’t meant to be lived alone. Engaging in regular group activities can boost your mood and minimize feelings of isolation and loneliness as you age. If you don’t have a hobby, ask your friends what sorts of activities they enjoy and give them a try.
If you’re not quite sure where to begin, pick up a bowling ball and join a league or grab a set of clubs to give golf a chance. If you aren’t interested in sports, look for a class on painting, pottery, or sculpting to get the creative juices flowing with your friends.
Schedule a Checkup
When you were younger, seeing your doctor every few months was probably normal, especially if you have children or any chronic health conditions. As your age, your health changes, making the need for regular, preventative checkups necessary. You might be thinking about physical exams, but you need to get full-body care to feel your best.
Make an appointment with your primary care doctor, dentist, and eye doctor to ward off common conditions. You may also want to consider finding a massage therapist or holistic practitioner to help you create healthy habits that will keep you well for years to come.
Balanced Diet and Enough Rest
From the time you were a child, your parents probably told you that you need to eat a healthy meal and be in bed by 9pm. While parents don’t always know best, there is a lot of truth in this strategy if you want to feel your best. You might even be able to combine the two and eat a well-balanced diet that can boost your sleep.
Add in a healthy serving of pumpkin seeds or spinach to increase your magnesium intake and ward off insomnia, or try a warm cup of chamomile tea to get a good night’s sleep and lessen the symptoms of depression.
Control Your Weight
Many people gain a few extra pounds as they age, but being overweight or obese isn’t only bad for your waistline. Obesity can cause back pain and even increase your risk of long-term conditions like diabetes and heart disease. If you’ve put on more weight than you would like or worry about chronic conditions, it might be time to consider losing a few pounds.
Getting in shape after 50 can be challenging, so join an exercise class or find a friend who is looking to shed a few extra pounds and invite them to walk with you a few times each week. If you are considering making some major changes to your diet, be sure to talk to a dietician to ensure that you are getting enough nutrients to stay healthy while losing excess body fat.
Consider tossing out any candy or processed snacks you have at home and bypass fast food restaurants even when you are short on time. These few simple changes can go a long way for weight and how you feel.
Practice Mindfulness
Your mental wellbeing is essential to your overall health. People over the age of 50 often experience emotional side effects of menopause or decreasing testosterone levels including feeling irritable, sad, or struggling to concentrate. Taking time to focus on your mental health offers significant whole-body benefits.
To combat these feelings, here are a few things you can try:
- Practice mindfulness: Go for a walk with the sole purpose of taking in the world around you. Walk at a slow pace and try to pick out 20 things you have never noticed before.
- Find a yoga class: You may be thinking that you aren’t flexible enough for yoga. Many yoga classes focus more on the connection of your breath and movement than they do your flexibility. You can also look for a class that specializes in people over the age of 50.
- Journal gratitude: Break out your journal each morning or just before bedtime. Write down three things you are grateful for and the reasons. Gratitude helps remind us of all the things we have in life and takes the focus off of the things we lack.
Feeling Your Best
Whether you’re looking for ways to get the skin of your youth or wanna wake up feeling refreshed, you don’t need to make significant changes or rely on a quick-fix solution. Making a few small changes can give you big benefits over time. Pick two of these ways to feel better and start putting them into practice.
What are you doing to improve the way you feel these days? Please leave a comment below.
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