Getting old is inevitable, but it can be a very hard thing for people to embrace. Advertising bombards us with images of young people in their prime, then offers products that promise to keep us young or slow down the aging process. In our culture, aging has become something we are supposed to be afraid of. Older people are often seen as less capable than their younger counterparts, which can cause them to feel less of a sense of purpose and to experience depression. However, aging can be a positive experience and an exciting aspect of life. Check out the list of tips below to see how you can embrace positive aging, whether you’re going on thirty–or eighty!
Stay Active
Keeping your body moving is an essential part of positive aging. Research shows that staying active with regular exercise has multiple befits. Externally, people keep a lower BMI and report feeling more positive about how they look. Internally, regular exercise keeps cholesterol levels lower and overall immune system function higher. There are many different ways to incorporate exercise into your life, from joining the gym to just committing to walking outside every day.
Stay Connected to Others
Isolation is a leading cause of depression in older people. Staying positive or being around other positive people can prolong life. Joining card games, volunteering, or being around family can help maintain one’s sense of purpose and make life seem meaningful. Our connections to others as we age can also help with memory and cognition because our minds are more active when we are with other people than they are when we are alone.
Stimulate Your Mind
Keeping active with others is important but it is also good to have your mind stimulated when you are alone. Television can be a trap that can suck people in and not challenge the mind. Do puzzles daily or download an app that challenges different parts of your brain. Read books from a genre you’ve never read. Take up meditation or a mindfulness practice.
Read more: The Everyday Benefits of Mindfulness
Let the Small Things Go
Living a long life can mean living with regrets. An important part of positive aging is to let those regrets go. Made a bad investment? Got in a fight with a loved one? Ended a relationship on a bad note? Let it go. Dwelling on the past inhibits people from focusing on the future. We can’t change the past, but we can learn from it and move forward in positivity.
Regular Medical Check-Ups
Going to the doctor can be an anxiety-inducing experience, but that does not mean you should skip your regular checkups. You need to know what is going on with your body in order to keep it working properly. Failure to go to the doctor regularly could result in missing issues in their early stages, which could result in a worse overall prognosis. If you do have anxiety about going to the doctor, have a trusted friend or family member go with you and pick a doctor you feel like you can trust.
These are just a few tips to help with positive aging. These tips aren’t just for people who are getting older; anyone can apply them to achieve a more healthy life balance. Staying positive and living for you is the key to aging well and getting the most out of life. Avoid negativity and the influences of advertising and social media in order to stay focused on what really matters to you as you go through life.
Can you think of any other tips that you would incorporate to your life as you age? Comment Below.
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9 comments
I love these tips for aging well and how they give an idea of how aging well should be approached holistically. Being social, active, and engaged all help to make aging a gentler process. I especially like the idea of volunteering and joining groups, as I know several happy older people who stay engaged in this way. I also hope people don’t forget that you’re never too old to have romance and sexuality in your life. Thanks again for these tips, Ryan!
Ryan, you mention a number of great tips. I really liked your tip on staying connected with others, and I think it’s a very important aspect of growing old. I also think getting enough sleep and maintaining a healthy food diet would also be helpful.
What a great blog! In addition to your advice, I would personally try to work on reducing stress as well. Although we can’t avoid stressful situations altogether, as we age, we can learn to manage the stress in our lives.
Great thoughtful blog! Thanks Ryan. It’s important to maintain connections and to seek out those in any generation that look past our cultural biases.
Such a great topic and blog post, Ryan! I especially loved your point about stimulating your mind. One of my favorite sayings is “To be interesting, be interested” and I think it’s a great motto for aging as well. Maintaining curiosity throughout the lifespan can certainly help keep the mind sharp and engaged, and it’s important to start this practice as early as possible.
Thanks Ryan. This is an important topic that I think doesn’t get enough attention. All great tips. The earlier in our lives we can establish healthful practices the more likely we are to sustain them as we grow older and stay healthy in the process.
Thanks Ryan. These tips are so helpful, aging is inevitable. Ideally we all want to experience aging. If not… well that would be a different conversation. Thanks for offering these great tips so that the process can be enjoyable and fulfilling.
I need to add to the list a massage. I have had Swedish massage it was fantastic. It stimulates the nervous system and improves blood circulation.
It’s interesting to know that staying active is an essential part of positive aging. My mother is looking for advice about how to keep good health while aging, and we are looking for information. I will let her read this article to help her understand the benefits of staying active during that stage of her life. https://susanneeden.com/blog/