During 2016, the BBC aired a programme in the UK about how to stay young. The litmus test was to see how quickly you could stand up from a sitting position on the floor. Those that could get up quickly and easily without using their hands would live the longest. Those of us who are still sitting down there on a picnic blanket, well, we need to do some work!
With that in mind, we’ve put together some tips to help you stay young. Which of these will work for you?
Hopefully you’ll have a long and happy retirement, and after years of giving your all, now is the time to kick back and relax. You’ll have ample opportunity to read all the books on your ‘to-be-read’ pile, swim, attend yoga and Pilates classes, perhaps pop into Tai Chi, and try meditation or mindfulness. Get out your easel and learn to paint, or invest in a hot tub. Take short breaks or long holidays. Give yourself permission to take time out and enjoy life. You’ve earned it after all.
All your life you’ve been told how vital a good diet is, but as we age it becomes even more important. Being overweight is bad – you know that, but what about the invisible fat in your body? As we age, fat is stored around our organs, more so in women than in men. If you eat a high fat, high sugar diet you are running the risk of fatty liver disease, or storing fat around your heart or kidneys. It’s not ideal. Try eating high resistance starch, found in lentils and chickpeas, and see if that helps. A vegan diet is the healthiest of all as it reduces the risk of cancer, stroke and heart attacks. Too much animal protein will speed up ageing.
Artificial cosmetics play havoc with the skin. Pay attention to the ingredients in the cosmetics you use in everything from soap and shampoos, to mascara and face cream. Many brands (even those household names we trust) contain toxins and your body has to work hard to remove them from your system – easier to do when we’re young. Now is the time to use natural cosmetics. A simple google search will help you learn more about natural remedies you can make in your own kitchen, costing next to nothing, and what’s more you will be amazed at the results.
Nuts can protect us from the risk of a heart attack. Research suggests that people who eat one handful of nuts just five times a week, have half the risk of heart attack compared to those who don’t. Walnuts are the best, so tuck in!
Again, you’ve been told this since you were a tot, but it becomes ever more important. If we want to avoid muscle shrinkage and weakening of our bones and muscles, exercise is the answer. Dancing is the best option of all because it improves balance, flexibility, stamina and muscle strength. Exercise boosts serotonin (the happy hormone) which means you’ll feel better, the more you do. It will help you battle anger and depression, and give you a fitness boost, meaning you’ll have more energy to do what you like in the evenings, and you’ll sleep better!
Animals have been found to significantly reduce stress among owners. It gives us a real boost to have someone who loves us, so there’s no better companion than a dog or a cat. Dogs are especially useful as we age, because they have to be exercised and that ensures we go out and about, keeping fit and active.
Now more than ever, a positive mental attitude is key to keeping you young. Optimism adds years to your life. If you’re happy and you know it, you can live up to seven years longer than a pessimist. If you embrace old age gracefully, some research suggests you’re at less risk of heart attack (presumably because you’re less stressed and your blood pressure remains stable!).
In addition to this, you can make a difference to your life by using positive affirmation. You need to be your own best friend and make certain you feel good about yourself. Use positive self-talk to boost yourself up. Tell yourself you’re looking good, and that you can do what you want. You can boost your own self-esteem and ensure your remaining years are full of joyous activities and experiences. You still have potential and you deserve to be happy.
By keeping your brain engaged you’ll ensure your concentration and memory are in top shape. It’s never been easier to do this. You have unlimited access to crossword puzzles, Sudoku, jigsaws, word search and the like, but in this computer savvy age, you may enjoy computer games too – and there’s nothing wrong with that. If you want to be social you can get out to a pub quiz, or something similar, and remember you’re never too old to start learning a new skill, subject or language. Ask at your local library for access to classes or courses in your area.
As we age, and the people we have known and loved are lost to us, it can be tempting to retreat from the world. While it is perfectly alright to have time away, be wary of becoming lonely. Loneliness is the feeling of being alone and feeling sad about it. Taking up a new hobby or joining a class, or engaging in social activities can introduce you to people with similar interests to yours and it’s a good excuse for a cup of coffee and a chinwag.
Nothing makes us look older than a poor night’s sleep. If you maintain a schedule so that you always sleep at the same time every day, your body will respond. You’ll sleep better, and while you do so, the body will discard all your old cells and create new ones. It’s fine to have a short nap during the day. If you are sleeping badly, take a look at your bedroom and see if you can freshen it up and remove anything that prevents you sleeping well.
A good night’s sleep will help you fight the fatigue and leave you ready and willing to take on another healthy and active day. Use this energy in conjunction with our other tips, and you’ll be fighting fit into very old age!
Created by Tom Vermeersch
Tom Vermeersch is a certified Psychologist and Bach flower expert with more than 30 years of experience.
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During 2016, the BBC aired a programme in the UK about how to stay young. The litmus test was to see how quickly you could stand up from a sitting position on the floor. Those that could get up quickly and easily without using their hands would live the longest. Those of us who are still sitting down there on a picnic blanket, well, we need to do some work!
With that in mind, we’ve put together some tips to help you stay young. Which of these will work for you?
Hopefully you’ll have a long and happy retirement, and after years of giving your all, now is the time to kick back and relax. You’ll have ample opportunity to read all the books on your ‘to-be-read’ pile, swim, attend yoga and Pilates classes, perhaps pop into Tai Chi, and try meditation or mindfulness. Get out your easel and learn to paint, or invest in a hot tub. Take short breaks or long holidays. Give yourself permission to take time out and enjoy life. You’ve earned it after all.
All your life you’ve been told how vital a good diet is, but as we age it becomes even more important. Being overweight is bad – you know that, but what about the invisible fat in your body? As we age, fat is stored around our organs, more so in women than in men. If you eat a high fat, high sugar diet you are running the risk of fatty liver disease, or storing fat around your heart or kidneys. It’s not ideal. Try eating high resistance starch, found in lentils and chickpeas, and see if that helps. A vegan diet is the healthiest of all as it reduces the risk of cancer, stroke and heart attacks. Too much animal protein will speed up ageing.
Artificial cosmetics play havoc with the skin. Pay attention to the ingredients in the cosmetics you use in everything from soap and shampoos, to mascara and face cream. Many brands (even those household names we trust) contain toxins and your body has to work hard to remove them from your system – easier to do when we’re young. Now is the time to use natural cosmetics. A simple google search will help you learn more about natural remedies you can make in your own kitchen, costing next to nothing, and what’s more you will be amazed at the results.
Nuts can protect us from the risk of a heart attack. Research suggests that people who eat one handful of nuts just five times a week, have half the risk of heart attack compared to those who don’t. Walnuts are the best, so tuck in!
Again, you’ve been told this since you were a tot, but it becomes ever more important. If we want to avoid muscle shrinkage and weakening of our bones and muscles, exercise is the answer. Dancing is the best option of all because it improves balance, flexibility, stamina and muscle strength. Exercise boosts serotonin (the happy hormone) which means you’ll feel better, the more you do. It will help you battle anger and depression, and give you a fitness boost, meaning you’ll have more energy to do what you like in the evenings, and you’ll sleep better!
Animals have been found to significantly reduce stress among owners. It gives us a real boost to have someone who loves us, so there’s no better companion than a dog or a cat. Dogs are especially useful as we age, because they have to be exercised and that ensures we go out and about, keeping fit and active.
Now more than ever, a positive mental attitude is key to keeping you young. Optimism adds years to your life. If you’re happy and you know it, you can live up to seven years longer than a pessimist. If you embrace old age gracefully, some research suggests you’re at less risk of heart attack (presumably because you’re less stressed and your blood pressure remains stable!).
In addition to this, you can make a difference to your life by using positive affirmation. You need to be your own best friend and make certain you feel good about yourself. Use positive self-talk to boost yourself up. Tell yourself you’re looking good, and that you can do what you want. You can boost your own self-esteem and ensure your remaining years are full of joyous activities and experiences. You still have potential and you deserve to be happy.
By keeping your brain engaged you’ll ensure your concentration and memory are in top shape. It’s never been easier to do this. You have unlimited access to crossword puzzles, Sudoku, jigsaws, word search and the like, but in this computer savvy age, you may enjoy computer games too – and there’s nothing wrong with that. If you want to be social you can get out to a pub quiz, or something similar, and remember you’re never too old to start learning a new skill, subject or language. Ask at your local library for access to classes or courses in your area.
As we age, and the people we have known and loved are lost to us, it can be tempting to retreat from the world. While it is perfectly alright to have time away, be wary of becoming lonely. Loneliness is the feeling of being alone and feeling sad about it. Taking up a new hobby or joining a class, or engaging in social activities can introduce you to people with similar interests to yours and it’s a good excuse for a cup of coffee and a chinwag.
Nothing makes us look older than a poor night’s sleep. If you maintain a schedule so that you always sleep at the same time every day, your body will respond. You’ll sleep better, and while you do so, the body will discard all your old cells and create new ones. It’s fine to have a short nap during the day. If you are sleeping badly, take a look at your bedroom and see if you can freshen it up and remove anything that prevents you sleeping well.
A good night’s sleep will help you fight the fatigue and leave you ready and willing to take on another healthy and active day. Use this energy in conjunction with our other tips, and you’ll be fighting fit into very old age!
While you often hear people joking that they have OCD because they like to keep their house clean and tidy, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can be a distressing and debilitating mental health condition with a wide range of symptoms.
Do you always feel that everything’s always going wrong? Find out how to stop this cycle of bad thoughts in its tracks. When you think positively, things will start to appear positive and you will eventually feel more positive and optimistic.
It’s such a positive thing to do and hope springs eternal, so why not commit yourself to a change this year? Here’s our tips on how to stick to your new year’s resolutions.
Can we learn from our mistakes and develop a stronger, healthier emotional bondwith our kids? To help you identify your weak spots, we’ve rounded up some of the most common mistakes parents make.
Facing the loss of a family member or close friend is probably one of the most difficult challenges that life throws at us. When we've lost a partner, parent, brother or sister, we're likely to experience intense grief.
Do you have enough resilience to face the world out there? Take our quiz to find out how resilient you are and find tips on how to build your mental resilience.
There's so much contradictory health advice out there, it gets confusing. One year, butter is said to be bad for you, and margarine is better. The following year, it's the other way around. One article says running causes strain on your joints; another says it's good for you because it increases bone strength.
We all want to be successful but many of us find the path to achieving our dreams is blocked by our fear of failure. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, go backpacking around the world or start up a new business, you need to accept that you might fail many times over before you achieve success.
It's natural to compare our own lives with those of others - weighing up the pros and cons of situations helps us make decisions. But there can be a downside when you find you're constantly comparing yourself with others, envying their seemingly perfect lives and wondering why they are luckier, more prosperous, and better looking than you.
Children's imaginations know no limits and their dreams are a mix of hopes and fantasies, the real and the magical, the impossible and the achievable.
Bach Flowers are not medicinal but harmless plant extracts which are used to support health.
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Are you unsure which Bach flowers can help you? Contact Tom for free advice.
