Seeking a fountain of youth to look younger is not anything new. While millions of current day boomers are investing in assorted modern day elixirs to cure the “disease” of aging, our ancestors were also interested in seeking eternal youth. While we have the option of surgery to reverse the signs of aging that generations before didn’t, many seek to look younger without having to go under the knife. These people strive for a more natural way to enhance their youth.
Luckily there has been more scientific research conducted about what aging really is and what the cause may be.
There is exciting news being discovered about the decreased levels of hormones that we experience as the birthdays accumulate. It’s believed that the decreases can be reversed to encourage new growth. We can look younger and feel younger when our body is creating hormones at levels similar to when we were in our teens. Ongoing research in this arena is something to keep in an eye on.
As that research continues, an area of our lifestyle that we can control right now is in the amount of exercise we get. There are many benefits to your body when you exercise that go beyond your physical appearance, although that is important. When you exercise with cardiovascular training such as walking, running, bicycling or swimming you increase the flow of blood, and oxygen, throughout your body. This movement provides benefits that make you look younger.
Another benefit to exercise is that it strengthens your muscles to make you look younger. Typically, your metabolism slows down as you age. It’s unclear whether this is simply because of age, or if we tend to decrease the amount of exercise we do as we get older. Either way, this slowing of the metabolism can allow those nasty extra pounds to creep on year after year until before we know it, we are carrying an extra 20 pound tire around our waistline.
When you continue to exercise, no matter what your age is, you maintain muscle. This muscle allows you to burn your calories more efficiently, even at rest. It also allows your body to stay in alignment and have the ability to stand straight. Building and maintaining muscle, as well as including stretching exercises everyday, will help you feel and look younger. When you are able to move freely you will tend to be more active which keeps your muscles strong.
Maintaining lean muscle mass also give your skin something firm to hang on. Your overall appearance can improve because your skin just “fits” better on that solid frame.
The type of exercise you choose to look younger is your personal choice. It is best to rotate several different activities so you use different muscle groups, maintain a balance, and keep boredom from setting in. There are many activities you can do with a friend to make exercise more enjoyable. A brisk walk, session of yoga, or morning at the pool will seem to fly by effortlessly when you share it with a companion. Balance an active lifestyle with the proper food choices and you have the best ingredients to look younger and feel better every day you get out of bed.
