HABITS THAT LEAD TO PREMATURE AGING
Medically Reviewed by Dr. Rosmy Barrios - October 11, 2024
Longing to preserve youth isn’t a recent phenomenon but dates back thousands of years, which also explains why many tales like the fountain of youth and everlasting beauty were concocted. It is understood these tales were borne out of fantasy for staying youthful forever, but this whole idea has formed the foundation for delaying the onset of wrinkles and fine lines. With the help of modern products, and by eliminating habits that cause premature aging, help slow down the visible signs of aging and promote overall health.
Here are some signs of premature aging that can make you look a decade older:
Bad Posture
It may seem a bad posture is just responsible for giving you a curve in the back, but it is responsible for many other problems as well. Slouching strains the muscles in your back and causes them to become sore. The fatigued muscles also put pressure on the neck, preventing the release of stress. Likewise, when you stick your chin out and support it with your hand sitting in front of a screen, you tend to raise your head higher, which forces the neck to extend upwards. This leads to the compression of joints and creates fatigue in the muscles. Improving your posture adds numerous positive changes to your body, including the youthful energy to go out and do something.
Unhealthy Eating
A poor diet is one of the main culprits that accelerates aging. Saturated fats and trans fats act like catalysts, which speed up the aging of arteries and the immune system. This, in turn, may reflect in your outer appearance. In contrast to unhealthy eating, eating healthy can replenish your body by providing you with nutrients needed for the development, repair, and sustenance of all body tissues.
Switching Diets Based on Fad
Jumping from one type of diet to another has effects that threaten your health. Not having a consistent energy consumption can hurt your metabolism and also leave you with mood swings. Depending on the type of diet you’re on, you can lose out on nutrients that your body requires to replenish your skin with. If you’re suffering from this problem, you can consult the best skin doctor near you, or perhaps even visit a nutritionist.
Sedentary Lifestyle
Leading a lifestyle with little to no physical activity directly affects your physical state. According to a study, low physical activity in individuals accounted for them appearing biologically eight years older than their actual ages. It was also shown that cells age faster with a sedentary lifestyle creating a difference between the chronicle age and a biological of a person.
Lack of Sleep
According to studies by Oyetakin-White, P., Koo, B., Matsui, M., Yarosh, D., Fthenakis, C., Cooper, K., & Baron, E. (2013). In effects of sleep quality on skin aging and function. J. Invest. Dermatol, S126-S126 little to no sleep causes the skin to lose its elasticity and also weakens its ability to fight against the daily toxin exposure from various things. If you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re also likely to develop premature wrinkles. It is a good idea to reach out to the best skin doctor near you to help for reversing these early signs of aging.
Selective Sun Protection
The sun emits ultraviolet rays that harm the naturally radiant skin and causes premature aging. The UV rays also tend to accumulate in the skin, creating lifelong harm. It is a must that you put on sunscreen to avoid any damage from the sun. Also, adding anti-aging and regenerative medicine to your routine can be a good start towards taking care of your skin.
Stress
According to a study by Epel, E. S., Blackburn, E. H., Lin, J., Dhabhar, F. S., Adler, N. E., Morrow, J. D., & Cawthon, R. M. (2004) on accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress and proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101(49), 17312-17315, the immune system cells of stressed individuals are shown to age ten years faster. Stress results in premature aging by shortening DNA telomeres. As telomeres become shortened, their structural capacity weakens, which reduces the lifespan of cells, causing them to die prematurely.
No/Excessive Exercise
Exercising too much or exercising too little - both cause harm in their ways, but they share the kind of damage they inflict on you. According to a study by Raffin, J., de Souto Barreto, P., Le Traon, A. P., Vellas, B., Aubertin-Leheudre, M., & Rolland, Y. (2023) on sedentary behavior and the biological hallmarks of aging and Ageing Research Reviews, 83, 101807, a sedentary lifestyle causes aging. Over-exertion could lead to damaging the skin and other body parts. Over-utilization exerts too much pressure on the body, and this can end up reversing the positive effects.
Too Much Screen Time
Screen time affects your posture, which in turn puts a strain on your neck and eyes. Spending too much time on the screen causes headaches, blurred vision, and possibly disrupts your sleep pattern. Ultimately, your eyes and neck suffer the consequences heavily.
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