Healthy Living

Overcoming Aging: Knowledge For Now And The Future

There are many reasons that people tend to fear the aging process, but arguably the biggest factor is the deterioration of health. When you’re young and vigorous, the idea of slowing down and feeling the weight of time pressing upon you doesn’t make aging sound like a process you want much to do with.

 

Nevertheless – whatever you do – it will happen. Perhaps rather than pretending that your golden years are too far in the future to be concerned with, a more proactive approach would be to focus on prevention and treatment options. If you have a mind as to how you want your later years to be, you can begin to take action now. Protecting your health is the key to good later years of life, so what’s the best way to go about it?

 

Hear, Hear: Consider Your Ears

 

There’s something of a stereotype about older people and hearing loss. It’s one of those stereotypes that exists primarily because… it’s true. As we get older, our ears can begin to fail. Statistics show that by the age of 65, one in three people will have experienced some degree of hearing loss.

 

Dealing with this is all about protecting your ears in the medium term and ensuring you go about choosing the right hearing aid if you fall into the third of people who will struggle with this issue. Protecting your ears is relatively simple:

 

  • Don’t listen to music at a high volume, especially if wearing headphones.
  • Don’t clean your ears with Q-Tips or insert any other foreign objects into them.
  • Avoid “ototoxic” medications; medications which could cause ear damage.

 

If you do suffer from hearing loss or suspect you are, then see someone as soon as possible. There are so many great devices to choose from that can give you your hearing back, allowing you to enjoy life for longer without constantly having to shout: “sorry? What?”

 

Bend and Flex: Your Body Movement Prioritized

 

The loss of flexibility and resultant pain as you age can be the biggest telltale sign of the aging process – and it’s never a welcome one.

 

To combat this, you need a two-pronged approach. On the first prong, there is exercise such as yoga, pilates, and other activities that focus on toning and strengthening tendons and muscles. People who practice yoga can retain their flexibility well into their old age, so get started now so you’re in the habit.

 

Secondly, a supplemental approach can be beneficial. For example, supplementing gelatin or collagen has a myriad of benefits that can keep you feeling spry even when your hair is laced with grey.

 

It’s also important to try and think of your joints, the deterioration of which can lead to a lot of distress in later years. Try and limit activities that place a lot of stress on your joints; for example, you could opt to swim rather than jogging. If you do want to do high-impact exercise, then it’s a good idea to wear some kind of support or kinesiology tape over the area. Your knees are particularly vulnerable, so prioritize their protection at all times.

 

So while you can’t prevent aging, you can enjoy a happier time later in life by taking steps today, and in the future, to make it as good as possible.

 

 

Karla Urwitz
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