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This can prevent disease or find it early, when treatment is more effective. Share your family health history with your doctor, who can help you take steps to prevent chronic diseases or catch them early.

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But wearing sunscreen can help prevent your skin's aging. And while the sun's UV rays do trigger vitamin D production, which is essential for bone health, that's hardly a good reason to expose yourself. Benabio says. Wear sunscreen every day—even on days when you'll be indoors or traveling—making a habit of incorporating an SPF into your regular skincare routine.

Buy a sun hat you love and a pair of sunglasses with legit UVA and UVB protection. You probably know that you need seven to nine hours of sleep each night and that a solid power nap can help make up for lost night of Zs. But did you know that chronically not sleeping enough is linked to a higher risk of conditions such as obesity, Alzheimer's, heart disease, depression, and diabetes?

And it turns out that "beauty sleep" isn't a myth. During sleep, your body releases a growth hormone that helps restore collagen and elastin, the essential building blocks of young, healthy skin, says Dr. Recent research has also shown a connection between insomnia and accelerated aging of the brain, Dr.

Benabio points out. In other words, chronic lack of sleep adversely affects your brain structure and function and can speed up the aging process. Levy BR, Slade MD, Murphy TE, Gill TM. Association between positive age stereotypes and recovery from disability in older persons.

Ni C, Jia Q, Ding G, Wu X, Yang M. Low-glycemic index diets as an intervention in metabolic diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Balić A, Vlašić D, Žužul K, Marinović B, Bukvić Mokos Z. Omega-3 versus omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory skin diseases.

Int J Mol Sci. Leung C, Laraia BA, Needham BL, et al. Soda and cell aging: associations between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and leukocyte telomere length in healthy adults from the national health and nutrition examination survey. Am J Public Health.

Cercato C, Fonseca FA. Cardiovascular risk and obesity. Diabetol Metab Syndr. Yu F, Vock DM, Zhang L, et al. J Alzheimers Dis. Wang S, Liu HY, Cheng YC, Su CH. Exercise dosage in reducing the risk of dementia development: mode, duration, and intensity-a narrative review. Int J Environ Res Public Health.

WHO, Dementia. Date Accessed May 12, Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB. Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. PLoS Med. Hughes MCB, Williams GM, Baker P, Green AC. Sunscreen and prevention of skin aging: a randomized trial.

Because flowers eventually become fruit, it would have made sense for our ancestors to take an interest in them and remember their location. Monitoring the locations of flowers would allow them to save time and energy when it came to finding fruiting plants later, and potentially reach the fruit before other hungry animals.

Taking it a step further, research has also shown that gardening can have mental and physical health benefits for older adults. There were vintage radios and black-and-white TVs instead of cassette players and VHS. The books that lined the shelves were ones that were popular at the time.

The magazines, TV shows, clothes and music were all throwbacks to that exact period. They also had to participate. They were treated like they were in their 50s, rather than their 70s.

They had to carry their own bags. They discussed the news and sports of 22 years earlier in the present tense. And to preserve the illusion, there were no mirrors and no photos, except of their younger selves. At the end of five days, the men stood taller, had greater manual dexterity, and even better vision.

Independent judges said they looked younger. A touch football game broke out among the group some of whom had previously walked with a cane as they waited for the bus home. Langer was hesitant to publish her findings, concerned that the unusual method and small sample size might be hard for the academic community to accept.

But in , a BBC show recreated the experiment with aging celebrities to similar effect. Exercise is often touted as a way to stay healthy and vibrant at any age , but one finding that makes it particularly relevant as we get older is that movement has been shown in studies to increase the size of the hippocampus, a part of the brain that plays a vital role in learning and memory.

This is important because the hippocampus shrinks as we age, which can lead to memory deficits and increased risk of dementia. In one study of older adults, exercise increased hippocampus size by 2 percent , which is equivalent to reversing one to two years of age-related decline.

In addition to its cognitive effects, movement itself can be a source of joy. The ability to swim, hike, dance and play can be conduits to joy well into our older years.

When I struggle to get motivated to exercise , I often think about my future self and how investing in my mobility now can help preserve range of motion and minimize repetitive stress injuries later.

Simply put: you have one body, and it has to last your whole life. As we age, we have a choice: We can either cling to the world as we shaped it and refuse to engage in the new world that kids are creating, or we can adapt to their world and remain curious, active participants.

Once you start looking at negative tropes around aging, you start seeing more and more of them. One of my readers, Lee-Anne Ragan, offers up as a joyful process in the wake of children going off to start their own independent lives.

A refeathered nest is a place of possibility, creativity and delight. While technology is often blamed for feelings of isolation, some studies show that for older adults, being technologically facile can offer a boost to well-being.

One reason is that internet use may serve a predictor of social connection more broadly, and social connection is one of the most important contributors toward mental health and well-being throughout life, but especially in old age. Other studies suggest that when older adults lack the skills to be able to use technology effectively, it leads to a greater sense of disconnection and disempowerment and that offering training to older adults on technology can promote cognitive function, interpersonal connection and a sense of control and independence.

With free time so scarce, exploring new tech feels less appealing than digging into one of the books piled up on my nightstand. And anyway, unplugging is supposed to be good for us, right? But technology shapes the world we live in, and those technologies that seem new and fringy in the moment often end up in the mainstream, influencing the ways we communicate, work and access even basic services.

I remember trying to teach my grandmother how to use email. She tried, but she struggled to learn it. She had stopped caring about technology long before that, and the leap to figure out how to use a computer was too great. It might simply mean saying yes when a niece or nephew invites you play Minecraft or opening a TikTok account just to check it out.

I think a lot about something psychologist Alison Gopnik said when I interviewed her for the Joy Makeover a couple of years ago. She said that each new generation breaks paradigms and overturns old ways of doing things as a matter of course.

This to me is at the heart of aging joyfully. In doing so, we balance wisdom with wonder, confidence with curiosity and depth with delight. Ingrid Fetell Lee is the founder of the blog The Aesthetics of Joy and was formerly design director at the global innovation firm IDEO. We humans Aging is inevitable, so why not do it joyfully?

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Angus Greig. Some options to stay active are going on walks and hikes, taking vacations, and participating in group exercise classes. The effects of stress on your body are vast, ranging from premature aging and wrinkles to a higher risk of heart disease. There are a number of proven ways to relieve stress , including:.

Smoking and alcohol have both been shown to cause premature aging and increase the risk of disease. Speak to a doctor about how to quit. As for alcohol, limit your intake to the recommended amount to avoid health risks.

Good sleep is important for your physical and mental health. How much sleep you need depends on your age. Adults over 18 should aim for seven to eight hours of sleep every night. Finding new and meaningful hobbies can help you maintain a sense of purpose and keep you engaged throughout the course of your life.

Evidence shows that people who engage in hobbies and leisure and social activities are happier, experience less depression, and live longer. Mindfulness is about acceptance and living in the moment by focusing on the present. Practicing mindfulness has many proven health benefits that can help you age better, including:.

Drinking enough water helps keep you regular and improves your energy levels and brain function. How much water you should drink depends on:. Not taking care of your teeth not only ages your smile, but also puts you at risk for gum disease , which has been linked to heart disease, stroke, and bacterial pneumonia.

According to the American Dental Association , a dentist can spot signs of nutritional deficiencies , infection, cancer, and other illnesses, such as diabetes. They recommend brushing twice a day, flossing once a day, and using a mouth rinse.

Seeing a doctor regularly can help the doctor find problems early or even before they start. How often you see a doctor depends on your age, lifestyle, family history, and existing conditions. Ask your doctor how often you should go in for checkups and screening tests as you age.

Also, see a doctor anytime you experience concerning symptoms. Though aging is inevitable, some people find it difficult to deal with the changes that come with getting older. Talk to someone you trust, such as a family member or close friend.

Professional help is also available through a doctor or a counselor. Maintain a healthy lifestyle, surround yourself with people you love, and do things that bring you joy. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

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