How setting goals can help you live longer and look younger!
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Introduction
If you are over forty, approaching your fifties, going into your sixties or beyond, we recommend watching the video below from JJ Virgin because she is living proof of what consistently healthy habits can do for you in terms of looking and feeling younger.
Creating daily and weekly practices based on nutrition, exercise and general wellbeing can make a huge difference to your longevity and to holding back time in terms of how we age. In this article, we will look at the scientific proof that your attitude towards aging has a big impact and we’ll look at the various areas you can work on to put a plan in place to have healthy, happy and beautiful older years.
So let’s explore these ideas together and see if we can find what might work for you!
Anti-aging advice from JJ Virgin aged 60!
Scientific Evidence
In the 2001 study, ‘Longevity Increased by Positive Self-Perceptions of Aging’, they found that older people with more positive self-perceptions of aging, measured up to 23 years earlier, lived 7.5 years longer on average than those with less positive perceptions, and that this advantage was independent of gender, socioeconomic status and other health conditions. When they talk about perceptions what they mean is the idea or stereotypes we have in our minds, which may have formed in childhood, about how we will experience old age – feelings of benefit or of hardship – which affect our will to live.
Goals that Impact Longevity
Relationship Goals
Studies have shown that strong ties to family and friends have a significant impact on longevity. More and more in recent years we are seeing that it is not just purely physical factors that affect our health, and this is supported by data from studies looking at the lifestyles of people who live long lives, based in the ‘blue zones’.
It is very important to have strong relationships with your friends and family – so you should review your key relationships to see if they are getting enough attention. Do you spend enough time with your family or do you get caught up in work? Have you let some friendships slide or do you make an effort to see the friends you care about on a regular basis?
Casual social connections are also important – such as having a chat with a delivery person or a shop assistant or your work colleagues. All these interactions can bring us joy and a feeling of connectedness.
So spend some time thinking about your relationships and what you can do to strengthen them – as those connections create a feeling of wellbeing that impacts you at a cellular level.
Career Goals
It is important to feel excited about life and ideally you should feel excited about your work – but as we know, not everyone enjoys work. For many, work is a means to an end – a way to pay the bills. If you don’t like work, there are some things we would suggest:
- Culture – if you don’t like work because you work in a cold or toxic environment, consider changing your employer.
- Retrain – consider doing some add-on or completely new course. You might think you are too old but these days career is much more fluid than it once was and many people are opting to train in completely new fields later in life.
- Outside work – if you can’t change your work or your work environment, make sure you have plenty of things that you do enjoy outside work.
- Planning for retirement – when you do think about retiring, make sure you still have some meaningful work in your life. Ideas could include becoming part of a community group or working part-time for a charity.
Experience Goals
Getting older can open up new opportunities as kids grow up and become less dependent on us, or we can work less or we have more financial stability than we did when we were a bit younger. These things give us the opportunity to set experience goals which can help us stay excited about life.
This can be anything from going on safari in Africa, to taking a dance class, to doing a yoga retreat, to learning pottery – literally anything – but it must be something that makes you feel excited!
Fitness Goals
It is important to create fitness routines that incorporate flexibility, cardio, balance and resistance. A way to achieve this is to rotate different workouts or create workouts with mixed elements such as mixing cardio with strength training and finishing it off with some yoga poses that focus on flexibility and balance.
This is a weight that can be used when doing exercises like squats.
It can also be put inside a backpack which can be worn to add extra weight to the body when walking, running or hiking.
Self-care Goals
Self-care and wellbeing fall into things not to do and things to do. We’ll briefly mention what not to do – try not to smoke or consume too much alcohol as these will affect your health, wellbeing and longevity negatively. Below is a list of areas to consider when planning for good self-care.
#1 Sleep – good sleep is absolutely essential in your anti-aging strategy. Lots of us have trouble sleeping so we have written another article with lots of tips to help you improve your sleep. Check it out here Sleep Soundly, Age Gracefully: The Role of Melatonin in Healthy Aging
#2 Meditation – according to Healthline.com, meditation has been shown to offer many benefits, including reducing stress and anxiety, enhancing your mood, promoting healthy sleep patterns, and boosting cognitive skills.
#3 Epsom salts baths – this is one of our favourites! Not everyone has a bath in their home but, if you do, this is such a lovely treat and can really help you wind down after a hard day. If you don’t have a bath, you can also get the relaxing benefit from Epsom salts by soaking your feet in a basin of warm water with an added cup of Epsom salts.
#4 Cold showers – cold exposure is something we have already written about. The idea is that exposing your body to any kind of hardship like fasting, hot saunas or cold can activate processes that promote rejuvenation. Check out our article The Surprising Anti-Aging Benefits of Cold Exposure
#5 Going for a walk – there are so many benefits of walking, especially in nature. It is exercise and an opportunity to de-stress.
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Diet & Supplement Goals
We’ve written a lot of articles on food so we won’t go into too much detail here. Everybody has there own idea about what a healthy diet is but I think we can all agree that we should be eating reasonably high volumes of protein every day, along with good amounts of fibre, particularly from fruit and veg.
Check out our article The Ultimate Guide to Adding More Protein into Your Diet Without Relying on Chicken
There are so many supplements that you could take that would be beneficial but, in this article, we will focus on three that are mentioned in the video above.
- Geranylgeraniol is a natural compound belonging to the family of terpenes, which are organic compounds derived from plants. It has gained attention in recent years for its potential role in promoting longevity and overall health. While research on geranylgeraniol’s specific effects on longevity is still ongoing, several studies have provided promising results and shed light on its potential mechanisms of action. It is said to have strong antioxidant properties, anti-Inflammatory effects and can improve cellular energy production.
- Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a naturally occurring compound found in almost every cell of the human body. It plays a crucial role in cellular energy production and is also known for its antioxidant properties. CoQ10 has gained significant attention in the field of anti-aging due to its potential benefits in promoting overall health and slowing down the aging process. The skin is particularly susceptible to the effects of aging, including wrinkles, sagging, and loss of elasticity. CoQ10 has shown promise in supporting skin health and reducing the signs of aging. It can help protect against oxidative damage, promote collagen production, and improve skin hydration It’s worth mentioning that while CoQ10 has demonstrated several potential anti-aging benefits, further research is needed to fully understand its mechanisms and effectiveness.
- Creatine Monohydrate – we’ve already written about this so check out our article Harnessing the Power of Creatine for Youthful Skin, Cognitive Power and Vitality
As with any natural compound or supplement, it’s advisable to consult with a healthcare professional before considering its use, especially if you have any underlying medical conditions or are taking medications.
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Conclusion
In the video above she talks about older women in the music business who are fabulous role models as they are still working, are highly respected and who look amazing, including Dolly Parton and Jennifer Lopez.
Now is our time to rethink and reframe how we are choosing to age. Maybe we have way more control over the journey than we think.
The key is good habits which do require a bit of effort – but most of the hard work with habits is their formation. Once you have the habit in place for more than a month, it becomes second nature and doesn’t seem like a chore anymore.
So let’s get excited about our next few decades and put goals and plans in place to make sure we are not only living to 90 and beyond but that we look and feel amazing along the way.