Think yourself younger
Simple ways to switch your thinking:
Rediscover
Revive something you used to love at least
10 years ago and ideally even further back. Whatever it is – ice skating,
swimming in the sea – give it another go. It will transport you back and make
you look and feel younger.
Mind your language
Every time you catch yourself about to moan
about your age, or insist you can’t do something any longer, stop yourself
before you speak.
Project
Imagine you are 10 years older, looking
back at yourself as you are now. Imagine how young your older self might think
you are. Celebrate all the things you can do right now and how young you really
are. Age is relative.
Force yourself
Do some of those things you’ve told yourself
you can’t do any longer because you are too old. Walk barefoot, go out dancing,
have a piggy back, do a cartwheel or a handstand…
Spend time chatting to younger people
Pick up on their vigour and youth. Never
moan about how old you feel with friends the same age.
Five simple ways to look younger
Smile – Max
Plank’s research at the Institute for Human Development in Berlin, published in
the journal Psychology and Aging asked 150 men and women to look at more than
1.000 photographs. Participants could more accurately guess the age of those
with neutral expressions, while photographs of people smiling were seen as
younger – older women appeared three years younger than their actual age.
Make love –
having regular sex, ideally three times a week or more, can make you look 10
years younger, according to research by consultant neuropsychologist Dr David
Weeks of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. Sex produces happy chemicals that make
you look better, and also triggers the release of anti-ageing human growth hormone.
Casual sex with somebody you don’t love doesn’t count – it can make you
anxious, which actually makes you look older. Sex also pumps oxygen around the
body, boosting the circulation and the flow of nutrients to the skin for a
youthful glow.
Take up t’ai chi – Dr David Hamilton says studies show that mindful moving exercises
such as yoga or t’ai chi can combat ageing by offsetting neural decline and
making you appear physically taller by toning core muscles and keeping your
spine straight.
Spend time with people of all ages – working and socializing with younger and older people, rather
than just sticking to people within your own age group, can make you seem
younger.
Aerobic exercise – boosts blood flow to your skin and brain, keeping you looking and
feeling better in mind and body. So not only will you lose weight, you’ll look
younger too!
