7 habits of women who age slowly aka women who age well! I know, I see these titles everywhere and I simply couldn’t resist but add to the noise. And I thought, instead of pulling the habits of women who always look and seem to stay young out of my nostrils, why not do some research on pubmed and couple it with what I’ve observed over the many years of living life and watching people? So I did that. It took me forever, but I think it’s helpful.
Now, let me say this. This post will not teach you how to have a wrinkle-free face when you’re 40 50 60 or 70 or however old you are. It will also not be a “biohacking” tutorial. My goal is not to live for 400 years by taking pills, jumping into cold water and using red light as if you’re in Amsterdam. Rooooosss caaaan. (I hope you know where this came from). Out of all the people who walked this Earth, why would I think I’m so special that I should live forever? I want to do the best I can while I’m here. That’s it. We’re only here for a moment. All we need to do is use that moment when it’s here.
Also, while I’m on my little rant, I am very much scared of how normalized procedures like getting fillers or botox or whatever it is are getting today. Like if you’re not getting botox, how do you even get out of the house, you freak? I’m not gonna lie, I hate it. People start doing these things in their 20-ies to prevent wrinkles in the future. Have you seen any studies or any proof that it actually works and how it works? I haven’t.
I think it’s beautiful that we all look different naturally, and that we have flaws. Because those imperfections make each and every one of us unique. I believe we’re perfect the way we were created. When everyone’s got the same tiny nose, big lips and smooth forehead we all start to look the same. Not necessarily better and definitely not special – just the same. As if you came out of a factory.
Beyond beauty and the perfect face and body, I believe we need to focus overall on things bigger than ourselves to truly feel accomplished and happy and to age well. Those are the things that will help us remain youthful in the long run.
Wrinkle-Free Doesn’t Mean Healthy
As for the physical part, what we need to do is take good care of the bodies we were gifted with. Then all the youthfulness and beauty will flow from the inside out. We need to be thankful for our bodies, for everything they do for us and not pick at them for every little “imperfection”, trying to fix it. Because what’s perfect anyway?
Being youthful is not about a wrinkle-free face. It’s about something else. It’s that spark in your eyes that no cream or filler can provide. That special glow of a truly healthy, nourished body. Being youthful is about living while you’re still alive. It’s about creating, having fun, being spontaneous, helping others, challenging yourself, facing your fears, and doing the things that make you feel truly alive.
And this can encompass many things. It can be as simple as drinking more water or eating raw foods that fuel you with real energy. While we’re still here, why not stay excited about life? There are many habits that women who age slowly practice, that can help us all mortals stay young, energetic and like the Bee Gees said – alive. We’re going to see some below!
So that was my motivational mini-book.
A Simple Way To Slow Down Aging
According to one of the papers I read when researching for this post:
“Aging is the progressive accumulation of damage to an organism over time leading to disease and death.”
Yay!
Considering this, let me ask you a question.
How do you stay young and slow down aging?
Well, it’s easy. Just stop accumulating damage. Duh. You’re not a squirrel and damage isn’t a bunch of acorns.
That means stop accumulating damage from your environment, from stress, from the food you eat. Do the best you can to stay away from things that damage your physical and mental health as much as possible.
Now it’s true, the pace of aging partially depends on your genetics. Key word here: partially. If you decide to give up, because you’re not genetically blessed, you’ll never know what you’re missing out on. Because even if you didn’t win the genetic lottery, you can still extend your lifespan, and more importantly, health span by adopting certain habits. The habits of healthy women who age slowly!
Instead of giving up, look on the bright side! You can do many things that will rejuvenate you. And you can start undoing the damage you’ve already collected by adopting some of the anti-aging habits below.
Habit #1. Eat fewer, better calories.
When it comes to anti-aging habits and habits of women who age slowly, this seems to be one of the most important ones according to science. Whether you’re doing it through intermittent fasting or portion control, enjoying a diet that provides all essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals at about 20-30% calorie restriction seems to affect how fast we age.
Remember how we need to stop accumulating damage in order to stay young and healthy? Well, every time we eat, our body produces free radicals. When we eat too much of the wrong things, this can lead to oxidative stress and inflammation and thus damage to molecules like our DNA (source). Thus – us aging faster. On the other hand, modest calorie restriction leads to lower oxidative stress. This has been shown in obese and overweight women. (source)
Now this is not to say – don’t eat. Right, I’m not saying that. I’m saying exactly what I already said – eat fewer, yet better calories. This will actually nourish your body and won’t lead to oxidative stress. Keep in mind, both overnutrition and malnutrition lead to damage.
Eating less, but better is the basic principle that most studies on longevity have observed. This was true for the Centenarians from Okinawa, Japan where the number of centenarians is about 4-5 times higher compared to other industrialized countries. These people ate around 20% less than people living in mainland Japan and had a diet rich in green leafy vegetables, soy and fish. (source)
What To Eat To Slow Down Aging
The important thing when it comes to nutrition in general is to eat a diet that doesn’t lead to malnutrition and is yet, lower in calories.
This means, eating foods that are worth it for your body to digest. These foods are lower in calories and packed with nourishment. We’re talking fish, legumes, nuts, seeds, and of course – lots of leafy greens and non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, red cabbage, arugula, peppers and so on. Plus some fruit as well. I mean, we’ve all heard about the benefits of the Mediterranean diet and it’s been actually shown to slow down aging.
Now, these foods are very rich in nutrients that are also essential for the prevention of aging in general, but also skin aging. Think vitamin C, E, provitamin A and other carotenoids as well as omega-3’s – all proven to be critical for skin health. (source)
This type of diet is also low in sugar and foods rich in advanced glycation products aka AGE. These AGE’s are in butter, certain cheeses, processed meats and baked products and they age your skin and all your tissues like no other food. (source)
Habit #2: Stay active
I don’t think it’s any news by now that it’s important to stay active and avoid living a sedentary lifestyle. In fact, sitting for long periods of time is proven to be a health hazard, similar to smoking. It’s linked to worse health outcomes, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and overall premature mortality. (source)
Now, regular exercise, on the other hand, is pretty awesome. It has the exact opposite effects of sitting. It helps to prevent and manage diabetes, it reduces inflammatory markers and is associated with improved gut health, as well as better cognitive and mental health, even as we get older.
Regular aerobic exercise specifically was linked to increased hippocampal volume, thus better memory function in older people.
But resistance training is also not to be underestimated. It promotes healthy bones and increases muscle mass that we need as we get older.
More than that both aerobic and resistance training are shown to affect skin aging. One study linked both types of exercise to improved skin elasticity and increased extracellular matrix gene expression (that’s the genes for collagen which holds your skin together).
So, if you want to stay forever young, one of the habits of women who age slowly is to keep moving!
Habit #3: Live In the light
It’s getting a bit woo woo, can you tell? Not really, because by living in the light I mean, live according to your body’s natural circadian rhythm. This is the intrinsic clock that almost all existing organisms have, it’s a natural 24-hour rhythm that our body follows. Like everyone knows how roosters work, right? Those paranoid birds have no alarm clocks, yet wake up super early in the morning and start screaming as if it’s the end of the world.
Well, it’s because of what we have in common – the circadian clock. All tissues and cells in your body have specific clock proteins and clock genes coding for them, with one master clock in your brain. Together they build this intrinsic biological clock. Tic toc, tic toc.
In general, this clock operates best when we follow the natural rhythm of our environment – i.e. live in the light and sleep when it’s dark. And surprise – that’s what roosters do as well. This rhythm controls your sleep, hormones, appetite and digestion as well as temperature. (source)
Now, disruptions in the circadian rhythm are linked to aging, worse metabolic health, cancer, obesity and mood disorders. (source) Things that can throw off the circadian rhythm include late-night eating, jetlag or shift work and screens. Like are we surprised?
This is such an important habit if you want to stay young and healthy and it’s often overlooked. You can drink all the green smoothies in the world, but if you can’t fall asleep until 2 am because you work or go to the gym at 10 pm, it’s not really worth it. So whenever you feel like scrolling at 12 am, remember this one of the habits of women who age slowly and put your phone away.
How To Reset
If your body’s clock is off, you can reset it by utilizing different zeitgebers or time givers. The most important zeitgeber is light, but exercise and food are also significant. For example, we can:
- spend as much time as possible outside when it’s still light
- eat while it’s light and fast when it’s dark (finishing dinner at 6-7 pm is a great way to do this!)
- work when it’s light, sleep when it’s dark
- avoid screens during the later part of the day
- exercise early in the day
- avoid coffee and other stimulants
- go to bed early
4. Have Goals And Purpose Beyond Yourself
So this is something I’ve observed in my personal life and looking at the people around me. There is a good amount of research too. I believe that dreams, goals and even little projects beyond ourselves keep us alive, happy and optimistic. Why? Because they give us something to live for. We need to feel useful in this world.
When you have a goal that goes beyond you, you have purpose and you have clarity. Studies and history again and again show that having a sense of higher purpose can, basically, save your life. (source) And that is at any age. Therefore setting goals and having purpose is among the best habits of women who age slowly.
Having a sense of direction and meaning in life has been linked to lower risk of cardiovascular diseases (source), improved cognitive and mental health as well as lower levels of chronic inflammation. (source)
A sense of purpose actually changes the levels of salivary cortisol, HDL and inflammatory markers in your blood. (source)
So, if you’re still alive – it’s never too late to have dreams, goals and little projects. Even if it’s growing tomatoes or basil for your grandkids. Or wanting to meet with your friends. As long as we have something to do and to live for we feel alive and can stay young at heart. Because there’s always something pulling us forward and into action.
5. Always Learn New Things
You can be a beginner at anything and start something from scratch no matter what age you are. In fact, if you want to age slower, you should be doing that. Learning new real-world skills will keep you motivated and engaged in life. It will help to improve and preserve your cognitive abilities too. We usually do the most learning when we’re still kids, but there’s no reason to stop learning, ever! We need to do the exact opposite and keep learning as we get older and older and older. That’s why learning is also on the list of habits of women who age slowly!
And you don’t need to focus on one skill at a time. Don’t do your very least. Learning multiple skills at once (just like you would do at school) might be even better for your brain. Two different studies investigated over a period of three months whether adults aged 66 years on average can learn at least three new skills and whether it will affect their cognitive abilities. Some of these new skills included learning Spanish, using an iPad and painting. And guess what? This intense learning program paid off! Both studies showed improvement in the participants’ cognitive abilities including working memory, episodic memory and cognitive control (these are the first to decline the older we get). And that at over 60!
Personal Growth
Also, developing skills and talents might benefit your overall health as well. Just like having a life purpose, personal growth aka developing your personal talents over time, is linked to higher HDL levels (the good cholesterol) and lower salivary cortisol levels in older women. (source)
We all know cortisol is the stress hormone. We need it in cases when we have to make a choice – fight or flight? Well, in the stressful world we live in now, cortisol levels stay high, even when we’re not chased by a tiger or a cat. And these constantly elevated cortisol levels lead to worse cognitive function, cardiovascular health, weight gain and several other diseases. So keep that cortisol lower by working on your skills!
6. Fill Up Nutritional Gaps
I am not a big fan of supplements and I think they should only be used in cases where you have a true nutritional deficiency. However, in the environment we live in today where most of us spend most of our time indoors, in front of screens and eating foods that aren’t exactly picked right before consumption, it can be very hard to get all the nutrients we need.
Naturally, having some type of nutrient deficiency is more common these days in a world where we have more food than ever before. And we’re more overweight than ever before. On top of that, as we get older, our ability to absorb nutrients declines. If you read about the symptoms of the most prominent nutrient deficiencies – vitamin D, B12, iron, magnesium – you find out they’re pretty similar to most common chronic diseases. And they’re also associated with aging, that’s why this one’s also on the list of habits of women who age slowly.
For example, years ago my mom started almost limping out of nowhere and getting this nerve pain. She thought she had something bad and we were really worried, because no doctor could help. Well, we paid for a blood test and it turned out it’s actually that her B12 was under 100. It needs to be over 300. So she got B12 injections and within a few weeks she was back to normal.
Learn To Prioritize
When it comes to diet, we’re constantly thinking about what to exclude. And this can be correct if you’re allergic to certain foods like wheat, but it’s more important to prioritize and add the things that will feed your body. And your immune system – the essential nutrients are all critical for immune function! The state of your immune system is an indicator of your biological age and a predictor of longevity and healthspan. (source)
So, if you want to age slowly – eat better, leaving no room for junk food – it’s not good for you. Don’t be fooled by moderation experts. Here, have some cyanide with a sprinkle of uranium. People used to advertise radioactive toothpaste. Don’t start with moderation. Prioritize what your body actually needs to sustain you – mostly it’s vegetables, fruit, seeds and nuts. Then legumes, herbs, spices, fish…Reserve moderation for things like meat, dairy, pasta or bread. Junk food, no, it’s not on the list.
Vitamin D
Take your vitamin D if you’re not spending a lot of time outdoors, this is a common deficiency affecting around one billion people worldwide. (source)
Vitamin D is critical in the human body, which is obvious when you look at the fact that between 200 and 600 genes need it for their expression. (source) Vitamin D deficiencies are very common in people with autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases as well as certain cancers (source).
Overweight and Malnourished
I wanted to mention something real quick, because it actually fascinates me how ironic it is. And it’s the fact that obesity and malnutrition go hand in hand. Most people who are obese are also nutrient-deficient.
So it’s not like you eat more and you’re all covered! It’s the exact opposite. And it’s pretty logical actually, because eating calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods full of sugar and unhealthy fats leads to weight gain without the nutrients. Common nutrient deficiencies here are vitamin C, Bs, A, D and folate. These then lead to chronic inflammation, oxidative stress and problems with absorption causing further mineral and vitamin deficiencies. And that’s likely one of the reasons why obesity is linked to most chronic diseases. (source)
7. Have Faith And Enjoy Life
And the last one of the habits of women who age slowly is that they live with faith and enjoy life, because they know it’s a gift. Instead of shrinking your life by fear and constantly worrying about what might happen, and what others may think, live by faith. Imagine how exciting life can be, if you stop hiding.
This will actually also make you a better person because you won’t be trying to compete with others, you will not fear them and you will be more likely to want to help and serve others. And this is where it gets really good, because being good is great for you.
We know from research and often our own observations, that people who are kind and caring live longer and are much healthier than those who keep things for themselves. That is as long as they’re not overwhelmed…you don’t want to turn into a people pleaser and lose yourself. You can use moderation here.
It’s a balance of living, enjoying and being thankful for your life and then making it better for others too.
When it comes to faith, research again and again has shown that being religious or believing in God can actually benefit your health, enhance longevity and thus health span. (source, source, source) Realizing that there’s something bigger than you, that’s working for you and that you don’t need to control everything can help you be at peace and maintain hope, even and especially when your circumstances aren’t great presently. (source)
Finally
I don’t know who made it this far and if anyone will read everything, but I’m done. You know what, when I had the idea for this article about the 7 habits of women who age slowly I thought, “I’m going to make it short and sweet and won’t go down rabbit holes”. Well, I’ve been back and forth for a week now and I still think some people will hate me for hating on fillers and ignore everything else, but I had to say what I had to say.
Masking a problem doesn’t make it go away. Solving it does. So, the solution to stay young and healthy and energetic – eat well, rest, move, learn and be a good person!
