“Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength” - Betty Friedan

Anti-aging is the new area of research to make people efficient even at an advanced age. The advent of anti-aging creams, treatments, medications and even lifestyle factors to decelerate aging has been widely marketed to the audience and those are something people are open to buy as well. Because who wants to age considering the downsides of aging and the possibility of losing your youthfulness would cost your happiness, hobbies, health and illness and overall well-being. Therefore, we understand everyone wants to be their best self and be able to do what they intend to do and in turn increase their longevity and well-being. 

In the subject of anti-aging, we see some exceptional examples of men and women in their late 60s or 70s looking almost 10 to 20 years younger and being able to do what a younger person would himself/herself struggle. Like hiking up a difficult mountain, weight-lifting, running and intense activities. Have you ever wondered, how do these people manage to pull it off with so much ease? Did they do something that brought about those changes? Ofcourse! You can decelerate your aging, not just in the way you look, but also decelerate your brain and body from aging. 

Let’s first discuss the brain's aging process. As you age, your brain’s gray matter starts to shrink and the changes happen at molecular, structural and functional levels. In other words, you may notice that your brain processing speed, memory ability and the overall executive functioning ability decrease. This is also due to the sedentary lifestyle that is associated with aging and the lack of physical activity and the lack of required amount of sleep. The rate of having neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s and dementia are at rise among older people. But the good news is, it’s absolutely preventable. 

Another parameter of health would be changes in your body. As you age, you lose bone density, overall muscle strength, energy levels decrease and the ability to do daily activities becomes tedious. This is another consequence of aging when your body’s cell turnover becomes slow and eventually reaches a plateau. But with growing evidence, it is also seen that these can be cultivated and practiced to prevent such loss of functions associated with aging. 

So, what is the secret mantra? ‘Sleep’

The surprising power of ‘sleep’ is so undermined and we need to remember, if you let the body do its job, you are good enough. We just stress about things, chase every possible opportunity in our youth sacrificing sleep, lead an unhealthy lifestyle and do not take care of our basic bodily needs. The result is just regret. The regret that we could have made use of our body in a much better way so we could have enjoyed our ‘older age’ as well like a youth. The more you restrict sleep and let your body store prolonged years of ‘sleep debt’, you would just end up having a lot to catch up in terms of illness, lack of energy and poor well-being. 

If you want to live a life that is filled with energy and rigor, catch that 7 hours of sleep and let your body rejuvenate to help you chase your dreams the next day. It’s always a mutually understanding relationship between you and your sleep. Why don’t we make peace with it? Isn’t it? 

Please Book a Session with sleep coach to know more about your sleep.

Sleep well, Stay young!

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