5 Anti-Aging Habits Your Routine Needs

There’s no be-all, end-all answer to combat the effects of aging. The good news, though, is that there are ways to slow it down and age gracefully in the process. You can do that by cultivating these five anti-aging habits:

Use sunblock

If you’ve been following a skin regimen, you would know that the sun’s ultraviolet rays are a major contributor to skin aging. This is why we can’t stress enough how important sunscreens are for your skin’s health. In fact, Oprah.com even goes so far as to say that it’s the most important anti-aging product in your arsenal.

For better coverage, experts recommend an SPF of at least 50, and broad-spectrum protection from both UV-A rays, which cause skin aging, and UV-B rays, which cause sunburns and skin cancer.

Exercise

Can you run away from aging and the effects of time? It turns out, you literally can — sort of.
A Jama Network study on elderly athletes found that though physical ability inevitably fades over time, it's not until the age of 70 when endurance and mobility rapidly diminish. Even then, evidence suggests that the more active you are in your youth, the slower this decline happens.

Of course, exercise doesn’t happen in a vacuum. You’ll need to supplement it with other healthy habits to fully reap its anti-aging benefits.

Eat a balanced diet

It’s age-old advice that bears repeating: Watch what you eat! To start, incorporate more greens and fruits in your diet. Avoid sodium-rich food, which can cause your blood pressure to spike and make you look bloated.

Sugar, in particular, is a giant red flag that needs to be avoided as much as possible. Aside from causing unwanted skin issues like acne, sugar accelerates aging when it combines with protein and fat in the body to form advanced glycation end products, or AGEs. These AGEs destroy the vital lipids we need to avoid wrinkles and keep skin firm. If you have a sweet tooth and can’t totally avoid sweet things, make a healthier switch to fruits or even sugar-free snacks like Max Sweets.

Take supplements

Taking supplements is a great way to obtain beneficial nutrients, minerals, and compounds you wouldn’t get from your diet otherwise. For instance, Epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG, a plant compound commonly found in tea supplements, helps prevent cancer and heart disease. It also promotes autophagy, or the disposal of dead cellular material, which explains its rejuvenating properties.

Another widely used anti-aging supplement is collagen. We've explained in our blog post on The Benefits of Collagen that this protein is essential in maintaining our skin’s firmness and elasticity. If you’re looking for tighter, more supple skin, Frozen Collagen supplements on Pretty Me can help by eliminating harmful free radicals in your body through detoxification. This refers to the removal of toxic by-products produced by your body's everyday biological processes. Doing so results in rosier cheeks, finer wrinkles, and an overall better complexion.

Meditate

We know it's been a tough year for everyone given the global pandemic. But this is exactly why it's important to take a step back to decompress and find your center.

Excess production of stress hormones has been linked to premature aging, shortening your telomeres or the caps of your DNA strands. To combat this, take a few minutes out of your day to clear your mind, meditate, and relax. Your mind and body will thank you for it.