Making Plans to Improve Sleep as You Age
You’ve probably heard stories about how sleep patterns deteriorate as you grow older. That’s the number one problem most seniors complain about and it’s now been proven to have an impact on your overall health and well-being.
The physical changes that occur as you age are normal, including changes in your sleep patterns. You may have a more difficult time falling asleep and staying asleep than when you were younger. Medical scientists call it “sleep architecture,” and circadian rhythms – which time the functions of the body.
Before you get to the point where lack of sleep affects your quality of life, take some steps to ensure that you’re doing everything you can to improve or maintain healthy sleep habits.
One way you can ensure a good night’s sleep is to keep your bed and bedroom a place of solitude. Televisions, pets and an uncomfortable bed or room temperature can disrupt your sleep and make it difficult to function the next day.
Another way to prepare for sleeping is to stop eating a couple of hours before bedtime. Many seniors suffer from GERD, a chronic disease which affects digestion. Pain and sleeplessness occurs after a heavy or spicy meal when you go to bed too soon.
RLS (restless legs syndrome) produces a chronic need to move your limbs and occur mostly at night when you’re trying to sleep. Seek help from your health provider if you begin to notice this pattern. There are many methods available to help this condition.
Stress can keep you wide awake when you most need to sleep. Use your best means of de-stressing before you go to bed to rid your mind of the day’s stress and relax your body and mind to receive a good night’s sleep.
Snoring and sleep apnea (a sudden awakening from halted breathing) can also wreak havoc with your sleep patterns. Obesity and nasal obstructions can cause serious problems with sleep. Losing weight and seeking help from your doctor can relieve these problems.
If your chronic sleep problems go untreated, you run the risk of headaches, depression, memory loss and possible cardiovascular disease. Plan now to maintain or improve your sleep patterns in a natural manner.
Healthy sleep patterns become even more important as you grow older. Take steps now to develop sleep patterns that will keep you healthy far into your later years.
Making Plans to Nourish Your Skin
Your outer skin is an organ which reflects the status of your inner health. When you see a person with a glowing, healthy and vibrant outer layer, you can assume that person is eating and exercising properly to take care of his or her health.
Nutrients and hydration are essential to keep your skin looking as if you bathe in the Fountain of Youth. When your diet plan isn’t what you need for health, your skin becomes dry and scaly – or oily. Neither is a good sign.
Exercise is an extension of your diet plan, keeping muscles taut and joints lubricated and moving properly. It helps your skin breathe and release toxins and other harmful effects from living in a polluted world.
Nutrients which act as tonics to the skin include Vitamin C, which helps build collagen (the elastic which holds our skin together). If you don’t get enough Vitamin C from fruits such as oranges and strawberries, you probably bruise easily and will age more rapidly.
B Vitamins are also essential nutrients for the skin. They can be found in whole grains and milk and helps prevent conditions of the skin such as dryness or oiliness. Vitamin A, found in green veggies, fruits, eggs and some meats are also helpful in preventing premature aging of the skin.
Psoriasis and other skin problems may be alleviated with the introduction of Vitamin D in your diet plan and zinc found in seafood and legumes can help your skin to heal after an injury.
But perhaps the most important part of your plan to nourish the skin is drinking lots of water. There’s nothing like water to keep your skin hydrated and moist and help the oil glands function properly.
Many of these nutrients are supplied through the blood. When your blood is properly supplied with nutrients, it helps circulation and the promotion of healthy red blood cells. It also has a significant job to remove waste products from your body, helping your skin maintain its healthy glow.
Diseases which come from not taking proper care of your body can also affect your skin and make you look pale and drawn. If you don’t eat the proper diet and get the right amount of exercise, your skin will suffer and you’ll notice the effects when you look in the mirror.
Plan now to nourish your skin by taking proper care of your physical body. If you have a particular problem which is affecting your skin, gain information about how to combat the problem by searching online and talking to your healthcare provider.
Making Plans to Reduce Stress and Increase Personal Satisfaction
You’ve likely heard that stress in your life is a number one cause for the development of age related disease including heart disease, depression, high blood pressure, diabetes and so much more. But another reason to reduce stress is that it greatly interferes with your own personal satisfaction.
Work stress can keep you from enjoying your job or career path. Financial stress can paralyze you and keep you from enjoying relationships and life, in general. Coping with personal issues such as taking care of an aging parent can keep you from enjoying life.
It’s imperative that you make plans now to reduce future stress. That may mean a number of things, such as changing jobs, seeking help for a caretaker situation or consulting a financial planner.
No matter what the nature of your stress is, you can find ways to reduce the impact. First, you should sit down, put pencil to paper and assess the situation. Write down problems as they relate to stress in your life and then, possible solutions.
It may be to your benefit to consult with a planner or counselor in some cases. This is true especially if a certain stressful situation is foreign to you. Someone with a fresh and neutral aspect about the situation can shed light and help you reduce stress.
Personal satisfaction is defined as “the individual’s experience of a sense of fulfillment of a need or want and the quality or state of being…satisfied.” If your needs and wants aren’t being met, a solution must be sought and found so you can enjoy your life.
When you reduce stress in your life, it can feel like a huge burden being lifted from your shoulders. You’ve likely experienced this type of stress or may be experiencing it now. Take steps to learn all you can about how stress affects your body and your personal satisfaction and act on that knowledge.
Help is available from a number of sources that you can depend on to help you reduce stress and start your journey of personal satisfaction. Online help offers amazing and professional ideas and guidance, counseling is another way to achieve help and reading books related to reducing stress is another. Choose what’s best for you.
Your quality of life can be improved now by making plans and taking action to reduce the stress level in your life – especially where it’s making the most impact – and living your life the best it can be.
Making Plans to Take Care of Your Physical Body
Taking care of your physical body is the best thing you can do for yourself to ensure a long life and strong mind as you age. If you’re not taking action to improve or maintain your physical fitness, it’s time to begin.
Your physical body reflects what you put inside it and also how much and how effectively you move it. If you’re not eating well, what can you do to change your diet plan and make it your lifestyle for health and wellness?
If you’re not exercising your body, what types of exercise do you enjoy and can you stick to for the rest of your life? You see, taking care of your physical body isn’t adopting a diet plan on New Year’s Day or joining a trendy gym that you hate going to.
Taking care of your physical body requires lifestyle changes. Otherwise you’ll never succeed at having the body and level of wellness that you desire and need to live a full and healthy life.
Making plans to take care of yourself, physically, has never been easier. You have all the benefits that technology can bring to your doorstep – videos, television shows, computer and more – that will show you exactly how to plan your diet and exercise for the life you live.
When you make plans to take care of your physical body, be sure to analyze and think about how it will adapt into the way you live. If you’re a morning person, exercising in the morning can get it out of the way while you’re fresh and more energetic.
If you’re a person with a sweet tooth, don’t choose a diet plan that excludes all sweets. Choose a more flexible one that allows for that satisfying dip into sweets sometimes rather than eliminating it completely from a diet. You won’t stick to the diet if it takes away many of your pleasures.
Making plans to take care of your physical body is just the beginning to enjoying the health and happiness you desire and deserve. The next step is taking action to make it happen.
Use all the help at your disposal to choose a plan for its long-term effects. You may not look forward to implementing the plan at first, but when you begin to see the results, you’ll want to keep going and perhaps even move ahead with your physical goals.
Making Plans to Take Care of Your State of Mind
Nurturing your state of mind can be the crowning effect of developing a healthy lifestyle that fights the aging process. “Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think.” – Benjamin Disraeli.
Thoughts can make the difference in living a happy and successful life and living one of despair. Negative thoughts produce a negative life, filled with stress, low self-esteem and possible health problems.
Positive thoughts produce a positive lifestyle. Your state of mind will be more enthusiastic, energetic and you’ll be more able to do everything you’ve always wanted to accomplish.
Controlling your thoughts so your mindset is positive can mean the difference in you living a long and happy life or becoming mired forever in thoughts that can bring you down – both mentally and physically.
Unless you control your mindset, your energy levels will wane, your appearance will suffer and your health will eventually take a nosedive. Of course, your physical well-being is important for you to nurture the mind with positive thoughts.
Nurturing your mind could mean several things – one would be to take time for yourself. Treat yourself to something just for you once in awhile. It could be something as simple as reading a book in the garden and listening to music you love – or a trip of a lifetime that you’ve been saving for and thinking of.
Deep breathing also affects your mindset by delivering important oxygen to your brain. Yoga deep-breathing exercises are the best way to change your mind and body for the better.
Getting enough proper nutrients your body needs is another way to nurture your mind. If you’re obese or in bad health because of dietary needs, your mindset can’t be healthy and you may never be able to change negative thoughts to positive ones.
Your state of mind greatly affects your health and longevity. It changes your mood while you’re working or engaged in another activity and can affect your relationships with others and your work relationships.
Plan to take care of your state of mind and it will serve you well in life and as you age. Your mind is important to your health and your future successes. Unless you take care of it as you would your body to maintain health, it won’t work properly.