By Dr Attia Anwar
September is Healthy Aging Month, a time to raise awareness about the physical and mental health of older adults. Everyone wants to look young. It is a big compliment for people “Oh you look younger”. This is because youth is identified with beauty, rigor, and energy. However, you can be energetic, healthy, and radiant in your old age too, by taking care of yourself and embracing your age.
Experience and wisdom that come with old age have no match provided we are ready to learn and have a growth mindset. Being in my fifties I can very well relate to this notion. People are having the best years of their lives at a later age. Today’s article is about the scientific view on healthy aging and accepting it with dignity and grace.
Society’s glorification of youthful appearance and beauty can make older people feel inadequate or invisible
Aging is a natural process so there is nothing like anti-aging. Anti-aging is like we can do something against natural things like anti-menopause. A healthy lifestyle helps you to be healthy at every age. A positive view of old age and planning for that benefits longevity and good health. Being future-minded and evolving and changing keeps our organs young. Throughout history, people have been searching for some elixir that preserves youth. And this desire for a magical pill or tonic has sired a lot of scientific research in this field. Staying healthy and feeling your best is important at any age. Growing older brings a lot of changes in your life. Examples are retirement from work or moving children away from home. Coping with these changes is sometimes difficult and that will bring a toll on the body too, as mind and body are connected. But if we focus more on the positive aspects of aging like having more time, freedom, experience, and wisdom we will feel more energetic. We will stay healthy and reinvent ourselves through landmarks of sixty, seventy, eighty, and beyond. You have to find new things you enjoy or revisit your life and find hobbies or things you wish you could do. These are the things that you were passionate about but were unable to do due to other responsibilities.
If you focus on healthy eating and be physically active, you can enjoy vigorous health better than many young people
Inevitable aging is associated with changes in physical appearance, like sagging skin, wrinkles, and grey hair. Society’s obsession with youth and beauty often leads to negative perceptions of these changes. It has a significant effect on social relationships, self-confidence, and self-esteem. Society’s glorification of youthful appearance and beauty can make older people feel inadequate or invisible. If we take the pressure of unrealistic expectations of society or obsessed with youthful physical appearance, it results in low self-esteem and an inferiority complex. That can lead to depression, anxiety, and diminished life satisfaction. Raising awareness about aging and its impact on older individuals is crucial. We must shift our perspective from youthful appearance towards healthy aging with healthy activities
There is also an element of fear attached to old age, like how will be I able to take care of myself in later life? What will happen if I will lose my spouse? However, these fears are mostly based on popular misconceptions or myths. The first myth is aging means health decline and disability. Although a few diseases are more common in old age, getting older automatically does not mean poor health. If you focus on healthy eating and be physically active, you can enjoy vigorous health better than many young people. Being physically active and connected to nature like plants is a very important aspect of healthy aging. The second thing is memory loss is an inevitable part of aging. That is also not an absolute truth. You may not remember things as easily as when you were young. But if you do brain training or learn new skills you can easily deal with that. The third and one of the most damaging myths is you cannot learn new things after a certain age. However, learning new skills is possible and very good for your health and brain in old age. So, you should find something new to learn. It can be a new language, dance, yoga, painting, or anything. Or you can find things which you have always wanted to do like you can pick up some old neglected hobby. It will boost your brain and body.
Looking young is not very important for your health. But if you feel young, it will radiate on your appearance also. You feel young when you are healthy and fit. A healthy diet that is fresh and plant-based helps you in your outward and inward appearance. Having good sleep also has a good effect. Staying active physically like walking, playing sports, swimming, dancing, and yoga will prevent the aging of muscles and keep you independent. Keeping mental stress low, will prevent memory loss and keep better cognition. That can be done by meditation, social connections, traveling, and full retreats to cleanse your body and mind. You can live a much-fulfilled life in old age by adopting a healthy lifestyle and staying connected to people in a meaningful and positive way.
Having said that, I clearly understand that this is a reality also, that there comes a time in life if we are lucky enough to reach very old age. When we become fragile and dependent on our loved ones. We cannot make our own decisions and depend on others, how they help us in living and then journey to the other side in a dignified manner. When that time comes either we or people around us must say this is the person who lived fully as much as he or she could. Let us start this month with a proactive approach to aging, staying active and independent along the way.
The author Dr. Attia Anwar is a consultant family physician with a postgraduate degree from the Royal College of GP UK. She is a strong advocate of health and well-being and wants patient participation in decision-making regarding health.
