As we get older, our bodies age and as a result, things don’t work the same as they used to or feel the same. Taking care of your body is an important part of life, and there are certainly ways that you can practice looking after yourself more. As a result, you’ll likely feel a lot better in your health, mind, and body, so here are some tips to take care of your body as you get older.
Be Wary Of What You Eat & Drink
What you eat and drink definitely has an impact on your body. If you’re eating the wrong food on a daily basis, then eventually it’s going to catch up on your body. Moderation is something that’s worth learning about when it comes to your health, and the more you focus on reducing your food consumption, the better. That’s not to say that you’re not already eating the right amount now, but it’s worth considering what your daily calorie intake is. The same goes for what you drink, and this isn’t just in relation to alcohol. Too much caffeine in the form of coffee and energy drinks can often wreak havoc on your body over time if you’re consuming too much, too often. Look at what is a healthy amount and try to find healthier alternatives that perhaps provide you with energy but in the right way.
Get Vitamins That You Need Into Your Body
Everyone needs vitamins and minerals for their body to function at their best. Some of our bodies will produce these nutrients naturally, whereas others might need a little extra boost to theirs now and then. With that being said, it’s worth looking at what vitamins you would benefit from taking either in the form of food or tablets. It’s always worth visiting your doctor or health physician first in order to find out what it is you are deficient or lacking in.
Some of you might know that I was iron deficient during my pregnancy and that’s when I started taking an iron supplement. I still take one though I’ve made sure that the supplement I take now doesn’t upset my stomach (as the one before did). Unfortunately, many people with iron deficiency find themselves choosing between symptoms, such as: stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation and/or nausea. Ferritin+ from Flora, which you can find out more about here, is gentle, non-irritating and non-constipating. While taking one capsule a day, I feel great and my energy levels are high. I also know that this supplement helps replenish both my blood iron levels and my serum ferritin reserves. That being said, it is not a “bandaid”, but a long term fix, which I love!
Take Care In The Workplace
Within your workplace, your employer should put everything in place to ensure that you’re well protected and looked after. That can be easy enough to do when it comes to your workstation and ensuring you have all the necessary equipment and accessories to ensure you’re working safely. You also want to make sure that they’ve got all the safety procedures in place and that they’ve given you training when working with equipment or within an environment that has very real dangers to yourself and others. If you feel like these aren’t in place, it’s important to speak to your HR manager and to highlight your concerns so that these can get sorted as soon as possible. You shouldn’t be risking your life or that of others just because your employer has neglected to put the proper health and safety processes in place.
Get Plenty Of Sleep
Plenty of sleep is a must when it comes to looking after your body. If you’re not getting enough sleep, then there’s definitely going to be health problems that you experience as you get older. A lack of sleep can really hinder your body’s efforts to recover from anything that has perhaps injured it or from daily life in general. You should ideally be getting around 7-9 hours of sleep per night, and if you’re not hitting that benchmark, then it’s going to mess with your health severely. As you get older, you should be relying on getting more rest and sleep in general because your body is aging, and it will always take a lot longer to recover as a result.
Stay Active
Keeping yourself active is easier said than done. However, for any of us, getting a daily amount of exercise is essential for our bodies. In order for the body to thrive and support itself, it’s good to feel strong. You can achieve this by doing regular exercise and also by doing a variety of specific types of exercises. Consider things like cardio and also weighted workouts that are going to push your body to build more muscle but also to help improve your stamina. You’ll certainly notice a big difference in the way you feel and look when it comes to exercising. Staying active is important, and so a good tip would be to actually find something you love doing rather than doing it simply because it was suggested to you.
Use trial and error with your activities, whether that’s going to the gym or joining a local sports team.
Practice Self-Care
We can all benefit from self-care and spending time on ourselves. That doesn’t just mean face masks and a long, hot bath. But to be honest, both of those sound good! Self-care is the practice of looking after oneself by doing things for yourself, rather than for others. Do you like going for long walks? Then treat yourself to more long walks during your weekly routine. You might get your nails done regularly or enjoy going to your local cafe for tea and cake. Whatever you really enjoy doing is something you should do more of. By treating ourselves in life, we can certainly feel a lot healthier and at peace with ourselves as a result. Try to find ways to keep yourself as a priority at all times!
Get Regular Health Checks
Regular health checks are a must, and often enough, people will neglect to do this because they’re too busy and they have more pressing matters to deal with in life. However, when it comes to your health, your number one concern in life should be the state of your own body both in mind and the physical aspects. Health checks like getting your teeth checked, your eyes and ears, etc. are all something you should be having done on an annual basis. If you aren’t, then that’s going to cause you problems and underlying health conditions that you might not even be aware of. It’s true that spotting or catching a problem early is going to give you the best chance of removing that threat to your life. The longer you leave it, the more chance it’s going to cause you more harm, so get a health check regularly.
Quit Any Bad Habits
We all have the odd bad habit in our lives and for some those bad habits can be relatively harmless, like biting your nails as an example. However, things like smoking, doing drugs, or drinking alcohol excessively are all going to impact your body if you’re not careful. The more you can help reduce or quit these bad habits, the better. Finding a solution or alternative to quitting can be difficult, and it can be something you fall off the wagon with. However, it’s important to remember that removing these bad habits can give you a greater quality of life in the future.
Keep Up A Social Life
We all need human attention in a physical form. The internet provides us with an opportunity to speak to our loved ones from afar, but there comes a time where a connection in the physical world is needed. It’s important to keep up a social life when you can because we all need to have someone to talk to and to enjoy life with. You may have just a handful of friends, or you could have groups of friends that are from different areas of your life, whether that’s work colleagues, friends who do a hobby or exercise with you and friends from school or university. Make time for others so that you can have a social life as well as your work and personal life too.
Look Out For Signs
There can often be telling signs that something is not right in our body, whether that’s physical or mental. It’s important to be in touch with your body’s emotions and feelings so that you can identify when something is wrong. You might find signs in how you feel in the mornings, or perhaps it’s a pain or discomfort that you’re feeling more frequently than rarely. It’s worth looking out for these signs as much as possible so that you can focus on getting yourself the help you need as soon as it’s possible. These signs are something you shouldn’t ignore, no matter what other events life throws your way. You should always refocus your attention on you!
Taking care of our bodies as we get older is crucial, so use these tips to make it so. Follow your instincts with how you feel, get checked regularly, and keep up a healthy lifestyle.
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