Science has made stunning discoveries in this area of human interest, it’s something we all want to know – can we slow down the process of ageing, can we live longer, if so, how? It’s a highly technical subject, too detailed to look at in-depth within this article. But, we can give you some powerful pointers to help slow down the ageing process and increase your chances of a healthier old age.
What determines your biological ‘age’?
Our parents precondition us from a young age to believe that we’ll live to a certain age. We walk around with a particular notion in our subconscious that we have a pre-defined lifespan of between 60-90 years. But there is no definitive speed at which a person should gracefully age because we are all so different. Some people seem to look and act eternally young – ageless, wrinkleless! Others, less fortunate, look old beyond their years. Our body’s biological age is a reflection of our physical, mental and spiritual journey through life. In perfect conditions, our bodies can survive to an age of 125 years! Look at the two very different lists below, the potential for ageing becomes quite obvious when you compare such a stark difference in lifestyle.
The first person has all the attributes to significantly slow down the ageing process and live to a ripe old age with good health.
Lifestyle characteristics that promote longevity:
. Regularly partakes in enjoyable exercise
. Enjoyable career and tolerates ‘healthy’ stress
. Generally happy relationships with spouse and children
. Active member of the community, enjoying many friendships
. Seeks to learn new things and enjoys personal development
. Eats a balanced, healthy diet
. Supplements diet with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants
. Has a sense of worth and purpose in life
If your life reflects these characteristics then you have adopted the attributes which significantly slow down the ageing process and increase your chances of living to a ripe old age with good health.
Lifestyle characteristics that do not promote longevity:
. A sedentary lifestyle
. Overweight or obese
. Inability to cope with pressure
. Isolation – working and living alone, few friendships
. Poor or limited career opportunities
. Constant diet of nutritionally deficient food (junk food)
. Eating too much food (comfort eating)
. Drinks excess alcohol
. Smokes cigarettes
. Regularly visits the doctor for various illnesses
. Harbors resentment, anger, fear
. Lack of purpose and self worth
. Lack of stability and routine
If this list is more like you then you may be ageing fast! Time to take action and make some changes if you want to improve the quality of your latter years. It may be a daunting task to make lifestyle changes, however, by taking things one step at a time and being consistent in developing new lifestyle habits – you will notice the difference in time, and your body, friends and family will thank you.