Aging Gracefully

Hey chicas! Happy Humpday! Today is Monday for me though, since I was off work Monday and yesterday…back to the daily grind however.

Today’s blog topic was a last minute idea; let me tell you why. I met someone the other day and we were just chatting; she asked how I was. I told her I was 28 and she was shocked—she thought I was a lot younger than that. So naturally, I asked her age also. I was super shocked when she said her age, which was much younger than mine! She looked a lot older; if I had to guess, I would have said maybe 30! It made me start thinking about the different things that cause use to age faster than normal.

The first factor that came to mind was STRESS! Sometimes as women we get so consumed with trying to juggle all of our many jobs (work, school, kids, husband, friends, budgeting the finances, cleaning house, cooking, washing, etc.), that we take no time for ourselves. It’s important to wind down and relax at the end of every day (I am guilty of not doing this so I won’t point the finger). It’s actually been proven that stress causes premature aging. When you’re stressed out all the time, the edges of your cells actually begin to wither up, which means your body is aging faster. This shows up especially in the face (premature lines and wrinkles on the forehead, around the mouth, and around the eyes).

So what’s up with the wrinkles? Well, as your cells began to wither and shrivel, your skin loses elasticity and firmness, which means wrinkles ladies (and gents, lol)!! Yes, it’s important to moisturize everyday, but that’s only good for a while and doesn’t get to the root of the problem.

Here are some ways to help fight premature aging:

1. Decrease stress – relax with a bubble bath at the end of day, have a cup of hot tea (green tea is great) to wind down, do a puzzle…whatever eases your mind and gives you peace.
2. Get more exercise – just doing 20 minutes a day can help; make it fun to do by dancing to your favorite song!
3. Drink plenty of water – we’ve all heard this before. Need I say more?
4. Eat healthier foods – there are several anti-aging foods that you can add to your diet including blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, spinach, kale, broccoli, salmon, nuts, and DARK CHOCOLATE (yum)! These foods are high in anti-oxidants, which form a protective barrier around your cells to help fight that withering process.

So, how do you know where you are on the age meter? There’s actually a test you can do to check the elasticity of your skin: grab the skin on the back of your hand and gently pull it up. Let it go and see how quickly it bounces back into place. If it goes back slowly, you’re def losing elasticity. You’ll need to get a move on combating the aging process asap.

To sum it all up, we’re all going to age one way or another. But we can age gracefully by doing some simple things. Of course I could add to that list, but I won’t overwhelm you with information. Hopefully what I’ve given you so far has been insightful. Until next time chicas, take care and take charge! :-)

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