You may be worried about your health and want to take charge of it. However, you may have heard so many news reports and guidance being given that you don’t know what to do or what to believe. The best thing you can do for yourself and your health is go back to basics. They are strategies that have worked for hundreds of years and will continue to do so, take a look at the article below for some useful ideas. 

Staying Healthy As You Get Older

Sleep well

The best thing you can do for your health is get enough sleep each night. As an adult you should be aiming for around eight hours of solid sleep each night. We say solid sleep because if you are in bed for eight hours but constantly waking up then you aren’t going to feel the benefits. Disturbed sleep or not getting enough sleep can lead to feeling irritable and exhausted over the coming days. If you are not getting solid sleep then you need to find out why this is. You might have children that are waking you up throughout the night or it could be something else. 

If you can’t get to the bottom of the reason then it might be something to do with the natural melatonin in your system, make an appointment with your doctor to discuss this. 

Avoid Stress

Stress is known as the silent killer for a reason, it can be deadly to both your mental and your physical health. If you are suffering from high levels of stress then everything else can take a downward spiral. Try and manage this the best way you can, be it taking time off work or finding something you enjoy doing in your spare time. 

There are always ways to manage your stress levels, it is all about finding which method works for you and your lifestyle. If you have a stressful home life with trying to look after the house and the kids then it might be worthwhile asking for a bit of extra help. A lot of people have their spouse at home who could help but they don’t want to burden them. The last thing you want to do is have burnout as this won’t be good for anyone, speak to someone before it escalates. 

Watch What You Eat

Something else you can do for your health and in order to maintain your wellness is check what you are eating. Some people don’t realize that certain foods are junk food and can be very high in fats and sugars. If these sugars aren’t utilized then they will turn into body fat, leading to weight gain. As you age, your metabolism naturally slows down and this is what leads to middle aged spread. Watching what you eat and enjoying smaller meals will avoid this having too much of an impact on your life.

You should aim to have each of the food groups in your daily meals, this includes carbohydrates, proteins, fats, dairy, fruits, and vegetables. Ideally, you should eat around five portions of fruit and veg a day. This isn’t just something the government thought up to get you to buy more fruit! Fruit and veg contain all the vitamins and nutrients your body needs to function so eating them is very good for you. 

Move More

So you are watching what you are eating, now ask yourself how much exercise do you do? If the answer is not very much then you could change this. A simple ten minute workout each day can give you a huge sense of achievement. When you exercise, your body releases happy hormones and that gives you a natural high for a little while. It also encourages you to carry on and do it again, so you get the same feelings. The key to moving more is finding an exercise that you enjoy doing. This could be absolutely anything from swimming to yoga, as long as you are moving then you are doing good for your body. 

If you are worried about falling while you exercise then there is help out there for this. You could look at signing up to a medical alert system technology. This is a device you wear around your neck usually and it has a button that you press if you get into difficulty or you fall over. 

Socialize

When was the last time you went out and saw your friends? If this was a while ago then you might want to arrange something with them. Socializing has been known to cut your risk of developing cognitive conditions like dementia in half. Ideally, this needs to happen around three times a week but life is busy so one is more than enough. Speak to your friends and arrange a regular thing where you all meet up and have a great time. You can do something different each week, maybe take it in turns to recommend something to do. This could be anything from grabbing drinks at a local bar to starting a regular book club. Over time this could grow and so could your friendships. 

Mental Health Is Important Too

Don’t forget that you should be looking after your mental health as well as your physical health. Keeping your mind active means you are less likely to struggle with issues such as memory loss as you age. You can do daily brain puzzles such as crosswords or sudoku to keep it active. If you like playing video games then there are even brain games on these, so that is another option for you. 

If you are having issues with your mental health, such as anxiety or depression then it might be worth speaking to someone about this. Deeper rooted issues can affect you your whole life so the sooner you nip this in the bud, the better your life will become. 

Stay Hydrated

Water is so important for your overall health, it not only keeps you hydrated but also your mind and other organs as well. You never know what goes on underneath the surface when you drink that bottle of water. You may have already experienced the effects of dehydration, but these can include feeling lightheaded, tired, and having a headache that won’t go away. Of course, this will go away once your body feels it is hydrated enough. As an adult you should be drinking at least two litres of water a day, this is to keep you hydrated but to also replace water that you are losing. Your body is made up of a high percentage of water that is often lost through daily activities such as breathing, peeing, and sweating. Replacing this will mean you are happy, healthy, and hydrated. 

Adopt Daily Routines

Lastly, there is something you can do to look physically healthy and radiant each day. Adopting daily skincare routines means you are fighting the effects of aging while keeping your skin healthy and oil free. If you wear makeup during the day then a nightly routine is especially important for you. This will be where you take your makeup off and apply a good quality moisturizer that can soak in overnight. 

Make sure you only use gentle products to remove your makeup and don’t scrub your face too hard as this can cause damage. If you aren’t sure which products to use then you could speak to an expert at your local store or pharmacy. 

We hope you found this article helpful and it gave you some useful ideas and inspiration on how you can go back to basics with your health and wellbeing.