What’s Truly Key to Your Health After 40?
As you enter your 40s and beyond, your approach to health becomes more crucial than it ever was. That concept of learning to be well in your life goes way beyond the physical, mental, and emotional, but about a coordinated effort between everything. It’s our 40s when the wheels start to fall off a little and we begin to notice those little niggles can certainly become something more if we don’t sit up and sort it out. So here are six essential factors to focus on upon reaching this pivotal decade.
What Is Your Musculoskeletal Health Really Like?
Strength is something that we lose every decade from our 30s, and it’s in our 40s that we do have to work that bit harder at maintaining, but if you want to build strength as well, you’ve got to prioritize mobility.
Consulting with an orthopedic surgeon is more than just about reacting to injuries, but it’s about prevention. It’s vital to get out of that mindset that cure is all we should be looking for. What is it that could happen if that little twinge in your lower back is left alone? It’s going to get worse, so look at your habits right now. For example, do you wake up really tense, in which case what is it doing to you not just for your physical health, but your mental health as well?
If you can start to understand the best practices for your musculoskeletal system, you give yourself a really good chance at thriving rather than just surviving.
Eat for Longevity
Everybody is banging the drum about nutrition these days. Everyone has their own opinions as to what truly works. We can look to the dietary secrets of the Far East and other countries, but ultimately the diet that works for you is partly a mathematical game, in other words, that whole calories in, calories out thing, but also looking at those foods that just don’t work for you.
There’s a reason why, in about a decade, almost half of us are going to have some form of allergy. It’s because the food that we do consume, particularly in the Western world, is not fit for purpose anymore. There’s a whole heap of reasons why, such as agriculture and the quality of food, which is why you’ve got to double down on those things that are very simply natural.
If you choose to be natural in the food you consume at least 80% of the time, you give yourself a better chance of survival, and that’s not to say you should completely avoid sweet treats, particularly if they’ve been key to your life up to this point! It’s about a little of what you fancy after all.
Be Smart About Your Sleep
The early bird gets the worm, and the night owls will suffer. There’s a whole heap of conversations about what works best for you. Ultimately, we need good quality sleep that matches with our chronotype, so if you are someone who is burning the candle at both ends, good quality sleep is what will offset a lot of this. Sleep is your body and brain’s way of recharging. Three days of poor sleep have very detrimental outcomes on your risk of heart disease; sleep is not one of those things that’s for the weak. If you’re tired, close your eyes!
Rather than thinking your 40s are when you get weaker, it’s just about leaning into those things that will ensure that you do thrive! This is what’s truly key to your health.
It isn’t that bad so embrace it!
