Signs of aging cannot be totally prevented, but there are many ways to stay healthy and minimize some of the downsides of advancing age.
Eating a balanced diet, exercising, and managing stress are always a good start. According to
This article will discuss these and other ways of healthy aging, and take a look at the possibilities the future may hold.
According to
A recent study showed that eating an optimized diet similar to the Mediterranean diet can add a decade or more to a person’s life, depending on when a person adopts the diet. Even someone who started at the age of 80 can add more than 3 years to their lifespan.
Benefits
- can reduce the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and cancer in human studies
Challenges
- requires self-discipline and nutritional education
Regular exercise can help stave off 40 chronic conditions and diseases and may help with healthy aging by keeping cells younger for longer, according to research published in 2018.
Exercise can vary, including:
- stretching
- endurance
- strength building
- interval training
- brisk walking
- a strenuous hobby such as gardening
On the other hand,
Benefits
- protects against chronic disease and helps extend lifespan
- easy to do
- free
Challenges
- potential for injury if overdone
- some individuals may need help to find the right exercise and practice it safely
Stress management techniques that may help develop this resilience include meditation, taking time for yourself, socializing, and getting professional help if you need it.
Benefits
- lessens the risk of many chronic diseases
- can improve enjoyment and quality of life
Challenges
- requires self-discipline and regular practice
- can take some time to have an effect
Learn more about the importance of managing chronic stress here.
The skin is the largest organ in the human body and is extremely complex. The skin is also one of the first areas of the body to show signs of aging. It becomes thinner, veins and bones may become more visibly prominent, injuries take longer to heal, and wrinkles and age spots begin to appear.
Moderating sun exposure is the best thing you can do for your skin. Moisturizing creams, facials, massage, and stretching exercises may also help. Chemical peels, dermabrasion, botox injections, and surgery are further options, though they have more potential side effects.
Benefits
- improves texture and tone of skin
- boosts self-confidence
Challenges
- can be expensive
- difficult to maintain a routine for some
- difficult to not feed into idealizations of beauty, such as needing smoother skin
When you sleep, the body repairs and regenerates itself. A
Researchers found that even 1 night of insufficient sleep is enough to speed up the aging of an older adult’s cells.
Benefits
- promotes mental health and positive mood
- may help avoid chronic diseases of aging
Challenges
- may take some time to change sleep habits and see the effects
- may require professional help to treat sleep disorders
Aging can lead to social and physical changes that make older adults more vulnerable to alcohol misuse and more sensitive to its effects.
Research showed that deaths from alcohol misuse took an average of
Benefits
- can lessen disease development and premature death
- can promote happier and less problematic lives
Challenges
- may require professional help or institutional programs to quit alcohol
According to the , tobacco use is the most common preventable cause of death in the United States.
The average smoker in the U.S. lives
Benefits
- reduces the risk of developing age-related diseases
- extends a person’s expected lifespan
Challenges
- can be difficult to quit smoking, but smoking cessation programs and medications can help
Modern aging research began in 1988 when Tom Johnson and David Friedman published research in the journal Genetics showing that mutating one gene in a worm’s life extended its average lifespan by 40% and its maximum lifespan by 110%.
Since then, science has introduced a variety of measures that may increase human longevity in the future. Some of the current research subjects of geroscience, or the study of the biology of aging, include:
- manipulation of gut microbiota in the microbiome
- development of drugs to selectively kill senescent cells or older cells that no longer divide
- emerging aging support medication, such as rapamycin
gene therapy - using stem cells to rejuvenate and heal the body
Though aging is currently inescapable, there are many ways to live with good health and sustainable energy. A healthy lifestyle involving diet, exercise, and stress management is the best way to start.
Science is looking at other measures that may help in the future, including medications, gene therapy, and potential cell rejuvenation.