Anti-aging is quite a popular topic on the internet. No wonder the web is full of anti-aging products. It doesn’t concern us much when we are young, but after the age of 35 people start to worry about aging and longevity. Here, I’ll provide 15 tips to stay young.
Did you Know?
The average American life expectancy has gone down to 76.4 years in 2023 according to a Harvard Health survey. It was 79.05 in 2022. On the other hand Japanese life expectancy has gone up. In 2022, it was 84.91 years and in 2023, it has increased to 85.03.
Let’s find out what is behind this success.
Why is this Article Important?
It’s because we take a completely different view when it comes to aging. Yes, there are some medical facts here, but our discussion will take a psycho-philosophical approach, and believe me. It’s way better than any anti-aging product or longevity supplements.
Just to be clear, I’m not against using anti-aging products. It’s your body and your life. You can and should do your best to stay young.
What is Aging and How does it Happen?
“Everything that has a beginning has an end”. Therefore, aging is a natural part of life. Our body deteriorates over time due to wear and tear. It’s known as the “Biology of Senescence”.
Our body also has the ability to regenerate its cells and replenish the worn-out parts. This process is known as “Anabolism”. When we are younger, the rate of anabolism is higher than that of senescence. As a result, our body replenishes quickly, grows bigger, and keeps us young.
As we approach a certain age (around 35-40), the anabolism slows down and senescence becomes more powerful, which causes the deterioration. In time, the vital organs weaken leading to our eventual natural death.
However, that is not all there is. Our body is an organism and should be taken holistically.
The Entire Body is One Organism
In the medical world, we have lots of specialists. There are heart specialists, liver specialists, joint specialists, brain specialists, and so on. Everyone has a different point of view. It’s good to specialize in a specific part, but the entire organism (the body) can’t function with one healthy organ.
All the organs are codependent. The heart won’t function without the lungs. The lungs won’t function without the brain, and nothing will function without the stomach.
What We are Tempted to do to Stay Young
We start with the skin to look young and buy high-end skin care products. It’s fine. There are lotions for the body, creams for the face, serums for the neck, and special formulas to apply under the eyes to remove those nasty eye bags. There are also special creams to remove wrinkles. Will they help?
Skin is only one organ. How about the others? Well, there are solutions too. You can buy supplements for the liver, heart, kidney, and stomach. You also may have the romantic idea that some rare earth fruit/ herb (Goji Berry, Back Macha) tea will bring you youth.
It’s all good, but soon, you’ll run out of space in your cabinet with all these products. Is this the right solution for you? If so, you can stop reading this article right now.
Life should not be that hard.
As we mentioned before, we’re taking a holistic approach. That is- we’ll take it as an entire system and will include the most vital part- The Mind. We’ll also include our surrounding environment because that too is an organism or a combination of organisms that are codependent.
We wouldn’t survive without the trees, the trees wouldn’t survive without water, water wouldn’t be distributed without the weather, and the weather wouldn’t happen without the Sun.
So taking one single organ, say the skin, and struggling hard to keep it younger looking will absolutely not work.
15 Tips to Stay Young
Before we get into them, I’d like to clarify that these are not steps. You don’t have to do them one by one in order from numbers 1-15. You should do as many as you can in any order.
And I won’t recommend any product or anything you can’t do. Let’s start with the psycho-philosophical tips.
Tip 1- Be Young and Vibrant
You want to stay young, so be young. This is where the mind aspect comes in.
Our mind has immense power over our body. If you intend to flex your arm, the body will comply. Even involuntary muscles like the heart can be slowed down by calming the mind.
Before our body began to get old, our mind did. When we were children, we didn’t care much about the past and the future. We did impulsive things like run around the house for no reason at all. Now, as responsible adults, we jog in the morning because it’s “good for our health”.
We used to break stuff and play video games all day. Then, we started growing up and learned to take life seriously. We learned about time management and efficiency. We learned all the rules- the good and the bad. And that started the aging process for our mind so the body followed.
If you want to stay young, you have to bring that youthful mind back. Do something impulsive once a day. Run around the house, break a few unimportant things (You can keep a few cheap china at home just for this purpose), and play a video game for a while.
If you have children, play with them.
Again, it doesn’t have to be a routine, but you can find at least one childish thing to do once a day at random. The body will then follow- guaranteed.
Tip 2- Be Present in the Moment
A lot of the modern philosophers and spiritual leaders teach this thing. Being present is simply recognizing the truth, “There is no such thing as time”. There’s only the “Now”. You cannot experience anything but now.
Time doesn’t move from past to future. The past is the memory- things that you already know or have experienced. The future is the unknown- things that you do not know or haven’t experienced yet. So there is no movement of time- only experience and knowledge.
That does not mean you don’t plan for the future or set goals to achieve. The process of achievement is to set a goal, make some plans, figure out the steps, and do whatever steps you can “Now”. Don’t try to do the things you can’t do “Now”.
Being present in the”Now” will reduce a lot of stress and worry. And the body will start to feel young again.
Set aside 15 minutes 3 times a day (preferably before meals) to “Practice Presence”.
- Sit or lie comfortably
- Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths
- Stop thinking. Listen, instead, to the sounds around you
- Feel the wind caressing your skin
- Focus on the stomach. Feel how it goes up and down with your breaths.
After 15 minutes of presence, go back to your normal activities.
Tip 3- Laugh for No Reason
I understand that it may be difficult for some since we are so serious about life. So you may have to force yourself in the beginning but laugh for a while for no reason at all. It’s okay to watch a stand-up comedy to induce laughter, but laughing for no reason is childish, hence, more preferable.
Open the fridge, look at a can of soda, and laugh.
There’s a reason it’s called the best medicine. Laughter contracts and expands hundreds of muscles from the abdomen to the face. Laughter will do a lot better than any wrinkle cream. It also helps expel toxins from the lungs, and God knows we breathe in a lot of toxins on a daily basis.
Tip 4- Be Open to Life
Do you know why children are so playful and happy most of the time? They are always open to possibilities. Everything is new to them. Yes, some things don’t go their way and they cry for a while. After a few moments, they get over it and smile again.
As we grow older, we develop a rigid view of life. We plan things a certain way, and the moment things go wrong (not according to plan), we react poorly. It also causes a lot of stress and worry, which slowly deteriorates your body.
Being open to life means being flexible. Remember what I said before. There’s no time. We’re just moving from known to unknown. All successful businessmen know this. No matter how well-thought-out a plan is, chances are things won’t go according to plan so they are always ready to adapt.
When you make a certain plan, you do it based on the information (known/past) available at that time. And since we’re always moving towards the unknown, there will always be things that you hadn’t considered when you conceived the plan.
We deal with it by preparing for it. When you wake up in the morning, remind yourself of these.
- Life is full of possibilities and I’m open to them.
- There will be some things I will like, and some I won’t.
- I will accept them all the same.
- I will be happy with the things I like
- I will be sad/ annoyed with those I don’t, but I’ll get over them and move on
Children do it unconsciously, but for grownups, it has to be conscious.
Tip 5- Practice Acceptance
This coincides with [Tip 2] and [Tip 4]. Accepting your current situation totally and unconditionally is an art. It’s not as easy as it sounds. You will realize that our mind always wants to get out of the current situation.
The grass always seems greener on the other side. “If I could make that much money or have that house or that car, I’ll be happy”. If this is you, you are always in friction with the present moment.
This friction is the main cause of all the stress, worry, and deterioration.
Acceptance also doesn’t mean that you don’t do anything to get out of a bad situation. If you are having a problem at this moment, you should do everything in your power to solve it, but what you should not do is create a lot of mental noise.
“Why is this happening to me?”, “Did I do something stupid”?, “God must be punishing me for some sin”, or “It’s his fault”. These thoughts are some examples of non-acceptance.
On the other hand, acceptance looks like this, “Alright, it happened, which gives me the opportunity to do something about it”, or “I can’t do anything about it, but I have learned my lesson and won’t repeat this experience.” Either way, when you practice total acceptance, you don’t let a bad situation ruin your day or cause anxiety.
When you practice proper acceptance, the grass will start to look green on this side, and youth will return to your life.
—————————————
So far, we have discussed the psycho-philosophical aspects of staying young and increasing longevity. Now, let’s get a bit more physical.
As mentioned before, our body is an organism with codependent organs. If you want younger-looking skin, your heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and brain must also function like a younger body.
Let’s begin.
Tip 6- Adjust the Diet
You do not need some tea extracted from some rare fruit or root that grows way high up in the Alps. Those are for the animals that live in that area. Your food is located where you live.
Nature is quite smart about these things. So there’s no need to try hard. Just make sure that you have at least two eggs, one fruit, and some leafy greens in your daily diet. The rest is up to you.
Needless to say, your choice of fruits and greens should be local, seasonal, and organic as much as possible. If they aren’t or if you miss one, don’t worry about it.
We said we wouldn’t recommend any products, but we can recommend some food items.
- Lemon, lime, or any citrus fruit juice in lukewarm water in the morning has wonderful cleansing effects. You can have this drink instead of tea or coffee. It’s simple, fresh, and youthful.
- A clove of garlic in the morning on an empty stomach is extremely good for the heart and blood flow. You can take it like a pill with your lukewarm lemonade.
- Several ounces of raw peanuts soaked in water overnight and consumed in the morning is also amazing. Peanuts are rich in plant-based protein and fiber. If you are allergic to peanuts, you can substitute it with any other nuts or garbanzo beans.
- Any dried sea fish will give you all the rare earth minerals you need.
Tip 7- Sun Bathe
If you are into morning walks or jogging, that’s great, but even if you are not, you can enjoy 15-30 minutes of morning sun. It’s extremely good for your skin and produces the rare vitamin D.
The sun is the most powerful object in our solar system. It energizes the entire planet. Why not let it energize you too?
Tip 8- Have a Warm Water Scrub
Twice a week take a small towel, soak in warm water, and gently rub your whole body. Take your time and do it slowly. This is the skin tip.
This will remove the dead skin cells. You can apply any ordinary lotion or moisturizer after. It’ll get you a younger-looking skin in two to three months.
Tip 9- Get a Cucumber Salad and a Facial
Cucumber is extremely good for the skin. It rejuvenates skin both from inside and out. Take full advantage of this vegetable.
- Peel off the skin
- Make a salad with the actual fruit
- Use the peeled skin as face mask.
- Cover the entire face with the sinks
- Put special emphasis on the eye bag area
- Keep it on for 10-15 minutes
- Rinse your face with lukewarm water
- Finish with a layer of moisturizer
Tip 10- Do Some Stretching or Yoga
Nothing restores blood flow more than a good stretching. Yoga is also the same but with more controlled breathing, which makes it even more effective.
30 minutes a day practice some Hatha Yoga. You can find a beginner’s Hatha Yoga easily on YouTube. There’s no need to try the advanced techniques. The basics will do. Make sure you stretch your entire body. Leave nothing left.
Tip 11- Move with Music
If you know a certain type of dance, great. If not, still good. 20-30 minutes a day, move your body with music. There’s no need to follow a particular style of dance. Be spontaneous. Throw your arms and legs around. If you are totally healthy, do it vigorously. If you have a joint issue, do it slowly, but do move within your body’s tolerance level.
Or, you can follow [Tip-1] and run around the house for no reason. That’s fun too.
Tip 12- Sleep Like a Baby
Sleep is incomprehensibly important. It is the most rejuvenating activity (or inactivity) you can ever think of. It’s easy to say but a hard thing to do when we grow older.
Most damage repairs happen when we sleep. That’s why patients recovering from surgery are given sedatives. The brain gets to repair faster when other unnecessary processes shut down.
However, the stress of life can prevent us from falling asleep. If you are suffering from anxiety or insomnia, please refer to our anxiety articles to get a solution.
On the other hand, if you are not suffering from any of those and just can’t fall asleep due to normal worries of life, the following are a few steps you can take in order to sleep better and faster.
- Do not watch stimulating movies (action movies) before bedtime.
- Take a hot shower if you can.
- Have a glass of warm milk
- Brush your teeth
- Read a book in bed
- Do the presence practice [Tip 2]
If you are worried about something in life, just remind yourself that you’re not sleeping won’t solve the problem. You will sleep like a baby. I guarantee it.
————————————
Here are a few miscellaneous tips. That don’t fall into any category.
Tip 13- Pet a Pet
Got a dog or a cat? Spend some time with them cuddling or playing. It’s proven therapeutic scientifically. Pet’s never judge you or have an opinion on you. That’s why relationships with animals can be more rewarding and relaxing than relationships with humans.
If you don’t have a pet, get one. There are so many animals at the nearest shelter. They need a forever home, and you need an uncomplicated honest relationship with another living being.
Tip 14- Replace the Bad Habits
This is probably one of the hardest things you have to do. I said replace because it’s hard to totally get rid of bad habits. However, It’s possible to replace the bad habits with some good ones.
As we grow old we pick up some of them like smoking, drinking, and drugs. If you feel like smoking a cigarette, do 10 push-ups. If you want a drink, do fifty sit-ups.
I know that bad habits can be fulfilling. It’s because of a brain chemical called Dopamine. When a smoker smokes a cigarette, some amount of Dopamine is released making him/her feel rewarded.
So when a smoker does a good job, he/she wants to reward themselves with a cigarette. A simple thought practice can change this. “A job well done is its own reward”. It does not have to be supplemented with a cigarette or a drink.
However, remember how we began our article. The idea is to have joyful youth and reduce stress, anxiety, and worry. If the thought of quitting drinks causes you stress (it’s what happens when you are addicted), then take it easy.
You do not have to do any sudden thing. Take your time. After all, how would you have fun at parties without some alcohol? So, doing those once a week should not be a problem.
Tip 15- Stop Worrying About Aging
Here’s a joke.
(Seeing a friend after a long time)
Man 1: I see you have lost a lot of hair.
Man 2: I did indeed. I worry too much.
Man 1: What do you worry about?
Man 2: I worry about losing hair.
You stop aging when you stop worrying about aging. Let nature take its course. Fighting against nature is the root cause of premature aging. When you fight nature, the body, which is a natural entity, loses the war.
Final Thoughts
You probably could do 100 push-ups in your 20s, but now that you are 40, you can do only 25. If so, do 25 push-ups and be happy with it. Nothing lasts forever. You may not be able to do 100 push-ups now, but you are way wiser than when you were 22.
You have gained more knowledge and experience, and you can make much better contributions to the society. That has to count for something. We’ll all die one day, but our legacy will remain.
If you can do something meaningful with your life and people remember you for hundreds of years after your death, how’s that for longevity?