These Lifestyle Factors Could Be Aging You
Living a happy, healthy lifestyle is the key to longevity and looking and feeling your best. It’s not rocket science if you eat a poor diet, smoke, drink, and are constantly under stress this can impact your physical and mental health and also trigger premature aging. There are however other lifestyle factors you aren’t aware of that could be aging you fast.
1. Bad Food Choices
If your diet is heavy in processed foods, excess sugar, and unhealthy fats from fried foods this can negatively impact your health and speed up aging according to Healthline. Not eating a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables especially leafy greens, lean proteins and healthy fats causes inflammation and oxidative stress in the body breaking down collagen and elastin, which are the building blocks for firm, youthful skin.
2. Skipping Health Check-Ups
It’s important to have your annual physical and not to neglect regular medical check-ups as this can lead to undiagnosed, untreated health issues that could accelerate the aging process. Regular screenings and check-ups can help detect and manage conditions early for better long-term health.
3. Taking Hot Showers
Taking hot showers or spending time in saunas strips your skin of natural oils, leading to dryness, dehydration, and irritation. Over time, this ages the skin, causing dryness, chaffing, and wrinkles. It’s better to have lukewarm showers, or alternate warm and cold to boost circulation, and always use a gentle hydrating body wash and apply moisturizer to your body after to keep it hydrated and healthy.
4. No Exercise Routine
Exercising regularly, even getting enough steps a day, improves circulation and muscle tone, combats oxidative stress, and boosts endorphins the feel-good chemical essential for your overall well-being and healthy skin. A sedentary lifestyle, when you don’t get enough physical activity can lead to obesity, heart disease, loss of muscle mass, and also mess with your mental health.
5. Poor Posture
Maintaining a good posture supports your spine and improves circulation which has a positive effect on the appearance of the skin. “Having good posture also helps your clothes hang better, “says personal stylist Sarah Meikle. When you slouch or have poor posture it causes aches, pains, and a compressed appearance that makes you look older. To strengthen your core muscles and improve your posture try yoga or pilates.
6. Not Using Sunscreen
Sun damage is the biggest cause of premature aging. Exposing your skin to harmful UV rays can damage the DNA of your skin cells, causing redness, wrinkles, age spots, and even skin cancer. “My ultimate skincare tip is to wear an SPF 50 every day, regardless of the weather and even on cloudy days,” says skincare founder Trinny Woodall of Trinny London. Use an SPF moisturizer as the final step in your skincare routine and reapply throughout the day.
7. Serious Sleep Deprivation
Your body and skin repair and regenerate overnight so it’s crucial to get a good night’s sleep. Chronic sleep deprivation or poor-quality sleep can result in dark circles, puffiness, dull skin, and oxidative stress speeding up aging. A lack of sleep can also impact your mental health and increase your risk of cognitive decline and chronic diseases which can make you look way older than you are.
8. Chronic Acute Stress
When you are stressed or under emotional distress your body releases cortisol, a hormone that breaks down collagen causing dull, sagging skin and premature wrinkles. Prolonged stress can also negatively impact your physical and mental health causing anxiety, and depression and putting you at risk of high blood pressure and heart disease all of which age you fast.
9. Dehydration and Dryness
It’s important to drink 2.7 liters of water a day to maintain the health and appearance of your skin and help the body flush out toxins. Chronic dehydration causes dry, flaky skin, and accentuates the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Drink water and eat foods rich in water to keep the skin firm, radiant, and youthful.
10. Smoking and Drinking
Toxic lifestyle habits like partying, smoking, and drinking age you fast. Smoking is one of the biggest causes of premature aging as it restricts blood flow causing a breakdown of collagen and elastin and leading to dull, dry, gray skin. It can also lead to heart and lung disease. Alcohol dehydrates the body and skin resulting in a dry lackluster completion and speeding up signs of aging. Drinking alcohol also dilates blood vessels, which can cause broken capillaries and redness on the skin and over time can impact the overall condition of your health, and skin and cause liver damage.
11. Not Wearing Sunglasses
In addition to wearing SPF every day, it’s important to protect your delicate eye area from the sun. Wearing sunglasses protects your eyes from the sun’s damaging UV rays and prevents squinting. When you squint in bright sunlight or burn the eye area it can lead to crow’s feet and fine lines around your eyes. Invest in sunglasses with 100 percent UV protection to keep the fragile skin around your eyes smooth and wrinkle-free.
12. Pollution and Oxidative Stress
Our skin is subjected to daily environmental assault which increases free radical production, accelerating the aging process and causing inflammation. Exposure to sun, pollution (especially if you live in a big city), irritants, and toxic ingredients can clog the pores, increase skin sensitivity and irritation, and lead to premature aging. Cleanse morning and night with antioxidant-rich skincare to combat oxidative stress.
13. Lax Skincare Routine
Regardless of age, it’s important to have a regular daily skincare routine to prevent free radical damage, combat aging and maintain the skin’s health, texture, and appearance. At the minimum, you need a cleanser, moisturizer, and SPF ideally infused with natural skin-enhancing ingredients like antioxidants, peptides, hydrating hyaluronic acid and age-defying retinoids, and vitamin C.
14. Excessive Screen Time
In our digital-obsessed age remember to take regular breaks from the computer or doom scrolling on your phone. Prolonged exposure to blue light can penetrate the skin and cause oxidative stress which triggers premature aging. Excess screen time also strains the eyes, causing the eyelids to droop and can disturb sleep patterns speeding up the aging process and negatively impacting your mental health.
15. Overdoing The Exercise
Regular exercise is important for optimum health and wellness and to maintain the strength and vitality of your skin. When you over-exercise however it can have the opposite effect. If you don’t balance intense workouts with adequate rest and recovery it can lead to joint problems, chronic fatigue, increased risk of injury, and free radical damage which kickstarts the aging process.
16. Toxic Negative Relationships
Healthy, supportive, positive relationships are key to our mental health and wellness according to the experts at Forbes. Let’s face it when we feel great we look great. If you’re surrounded by negative people, in a toxic relationship, or experiencing social isolation this can lead to chronic stress, anxiety, and depression which all accelerate the rate at which we age.