We all age. And as we do, the signs of aging become more and more apparent. Gray hairs start to take root. We may squint when perusing a menu, notice more defined wrinkles when we look in the mirror, and feel the effects of a slower metabolism. The good news is that although aging is inevitable, it’s possible to slow the signs of premature aging so we can look and feel our best—regardless of how old we are. From skincare to beauty sleep, let’s dive into the top six things you can do each day to help you look, feel, and live better.

1. Do It with Diet

While maintaining a healthy, balanced diet is always important, it becomes even more essential as we age. In fact, poor eating habits can actually increase the signs of aging in and on our bodies. Cue the sad face. Diets that can impact the aging process and lead to signs of aging include foods with high added sugars, high trans fats, refined carbohydrates, and processed meats(1).

But a diet that contains high levels of anti-inflammatory foods can help slow the signs of aging. Foods like leafy green vegetables, salmon, and nuts, which are high in omega 3s, have anti-inflammatory properties. Overall, balance within a diet is the most important thing. So to help you look and feel younger longer, go easy on the donuts and cupcakes and opt for a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods.

2. Elect to Protect

Long gone are the days when we thought it was okay to use baby oil while sun-bathing at the beach. Why? Because sun damage is a ferocious foe in our fight to maintain the look of youth. Essentially, sun exposure can weaken the elasticity of the skin and can lead to more prominent lines and wrinkles. Luckily, when it comes to sun exposure, there’s an ally you can trust for proper protection—sunscreen. Opt for one that has a minimum SPF 15, or higher, for more extended lengths of time in the sun (dermatologists recommend using a minimum of 30). Make sure to apply sunscreen to your face, down your neck, and on your chest as well, because these areas are affected by sun exposure and are prone to show signs of aging, too(2). Protect yourself and help prevent visible wrinkles at the same time by incorporating sunscreen, and other sunscreen measures, into your daily skincare routine.

How to Look and Feel Your Best at Any Age

3. Show Your Skin Some Love

We all want soft, visibly vibrant, smooth skin, right? Well, moisturizing your skin morning and night is a very easy way to help your skin appear more youthful and vibrant. Though applying moisturizer every night before bed won’t wipe out pre-existing wrinkles, it can help lock in the moisture our skin loses every day due to environmental factors(3). Moisturizers can also work as barriers to protect against these factors in the first place. Some moisturizers, like ageLOC® Tru Face® Essence Ultra Uplifting Cream, are designed to help your facial skin look and feel firmer. Applying a moisturizer morning and night after your cleansing step is an easy way to help give your face an ageless, youthful look that we all want.

4. Get Moving

Exercise is a great—and often overlooked—way to help us look and feel our best. Did you know that after you exercise, the blood flow to your skin increases? Long-term, a consistent workout routine can help support healthy cellular function(4). And the great thing is that when it comes to being active, you can choose what you like and what works for you. Running, weightlifting, cycling, yoga, Pilates, dancing, swimming, and even gardening are great ways to get your heart rate up. Even simply walking or stretching each day can help slow the signs of aging(4). Exercise is also one of the best ways to relieve stress, which can thwart your efforts to look and feel younger. And that brings us to our next point.

5. Say Yes to Rest

Stress. It’s something that we all have to deal with at various points in our lives. And high levels of consistent stress, due to sleep deprivation or other factors, can lead to premature aging, like fine lines and reduced elasticity(5). So as simple as it sounds, mitigating stress is crucial, and a great way to help with this is to get your beauty rest every night(6). Adults should get between 7 and 9 hours of restful sleep each night, but many of us don’t.

6. Select Superior Supplements

Since what seems like the dawn of time, our parents have been telling us to take our vitamins every day, right? Well, turns out mom and dad knew what they were talking about. Taking supplements is a great way to help us feel our best as we age. Look for supplements that are formulated with unique antioxidants, carotenoid blends, and important vitamins and minerals specific for anti-aging support, like LifePak® Anti-Aging Formula supplements or ageLOC® Youth Anti-aging Supplements.  Also, as we mentioned, collagen is a protein found throughout our bodies, specifically in our skin, that helps our skin appear more youthful. But as we age, the production of collagen in our bodies slows down—1.5% less every year to be specific(7). Luckily, taking supplements can help replenish this depleting protein. And taking a product containing powerful collagen peptides, like Beauty Focus™ Collagen+, is a great solution because it is easy for the body to digest and absorb.

And there you have it! Now you can look, feel, and live your best throughout your life with these six simple, super important steps. For more products that can help you in this pursuit.

Sources:

(1) La Forge, Tiffany. “11 Foods That Speed Up Your Body’s Aging Process — Plus Potential Swaps.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 9 Mar. 2019, https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/food-cause-wrinkles.

(2) Hoffman, Matthew. “Aging Skin: 4 Healthy Habits to Prevent Aging Skin.” WebMD, WebMD, 31 Jan. 2008, https://www.webmd.com/beauty/features/its-not-your-mothers-skin-or-is-it.

(3) Vinall, Marnie. “How to Moisturize Face: Expert Tips, When to Do It, and Ingredients to Look For.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 31 Mar. 2021, https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/how-to-moisturize-face.

(4) Jaret, Peter. “Skin Benefits from Exercise: Tone Skin, Collagen, and More.” WebMD, WebMD, 15 Apr. 2011, https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/acne/features/exercise.

(5) Yetman, Daniel. “10 Effects of Stress on Your Face, and How to Lower Anxiety.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 25 June 2020, https://www.healthline.com/health/stress-on-face#effects.

(6) “Stress and Sleep.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2013/sleep.

(7) Sibilla S, et al. An Overview of the Beneficial Effects of Hydrolysed Collagen as a Nutraceutical on Skin Properties: Scientific Background and Clinical Studies. The Open Nutraceuticals Journal. 2015;8:29-42. https://benthamopen.com/contents/pdf/TONUTRAJ/TONUTRAJ-8-29.pdf