Tag Archives: aging

5 Ways to Improve Your Sleep, Tips for Men

Research shows that poor sleep habits can have immediate and long term effects on your well-being. It can affect your hormonal balance, exercise performance, and brain function. Besides, poor sleep habits can have a severe toll on your daytime energy, productivity, emotional stability, and even weight.

The problem is that you may find yourself tossing and turning, struggling to get the sleep you need. Well, if you have been struggling to get a good night sleep, then we have a few tips that can help.

Tips to better your sleep habits

Exercise during the day

If you exercise regularly, you will have a better sleep and will feel less sleepy during the day. Regular exercise improves the symptoms of insomnia and sleep apnoea. It also increases the amount of time you spend in the deep, restorative stages of sleep. While exercising, try to finish moderate to vigorous workouts at least three hours before bedtime.

Also, consider relaxing, low-impact exercises such as yoga or gentle stretching in the evening as they can help promote your sleep.

Be smart about your diet

Your daytime eating habits play a role in how well you sleep at night. Consider the following simple eating hacks to improve your night sleep:

Limit caffeine and nicotine– caffeine can cause sleep problems up to ten to twelve hours after drinking it. So is smoking. To have a better sleep, consider avoiding stimulants that can disrupt your sleep close to bedtime.  

Avoid alcohol before bed. This may interfere with your sleep cycle.

Avoid heavy meals at night. Eating heavy might cause you stomach discomfort, therefore, interfering with your sleep.

Avoid waking up to pee

If you get your sleep interrupted because you have to wake up at night to pee, then you need to find a solution for this. For starters, try as much as possible to avoid taking drinks shortly before bed. Depending on your age, your bladder might struggle to hold urine during the night. In this case, you can use authentic prostate supplements to help avoid waking up to pee. A good example is ProstaGenix which can help improve your prostate health. It can help you achieve more control over your sleep habits as you can minimize the number of times you get to visit the washrooms.

Improve your sleep environment

A peaceful bedtime routine sends a powerful signal to your brain. It informs your brain that it is time to wind down. You can make your room ready to support your sleep by observing the following simple steps:

– Keeping noise down

– Lowering the temperature of your room to keep it cool

– Make sure that you have a comfortable bed and mattress. This will prevent sore back and neck aches.

Stick to a sleep schedule

The recommended amount of sleep for a healthy lifestyle is 7 to 8 hours. Make sure that you go to bed and wake up at around a set time each night. Being consistent with your sleep schedule reinforces your body’s sleep-wake cycle. It will take you a short time before your body adapts to the schedule, and you will be able to enjoy sound sleep that will keep you healthy!

Final remarks

Sleep plays a crucial role in your overall health and well-being. If you are struggling with sleep hygiene, then you ought to find the root cause of the problem. You should also seek help from a doctor if the sleep problems persist.

Health Issues To Consider As You Get Older

Getting older sucks. Ok, that might be a little exaggerated as there are many aspects to love. Nonetheless, there’s no escaping the fact that the body starts to suffer from age. As such, you must do all that you can to stay on top of the task.

Incorporating a few simple lifestyle improvements will help. Likewise, you should always stay vigilant to the symptoms of serious health problems and diseases. Nonetheless, it’s equally important to think about the age-related changes your body may encounter. Follow these tips and you won’t go far wrong.

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1| Keep An Eye On Your Sight

The eyes very rarely reach retirement age with 20-20 vision intact. The likelihood o damage is greater than ever thanks to our extended exposure to screens. Therefore, when you find yourself squinting, it’s vital to get them checked.

A lot of people worry about how they will look in spectacles. Honestly, even a bad pair of glasses will look more attractive than the faces you’ll pull trying to see things without the support you need. Besides, you can test specs out virtually. Alternatively, the experts will happily guide you through the process. So, don’t be afraid to ask.

However, deteriorating eyesight is not just about getting glasses, but there are conditions like glaucoma that you need to be careful of. While there are ways to help reduce this problem, such as this list of products, the moral of the story is to keep going to your appointments! An eye appointment is only every couple of years depending on your age, so you may as well check if everything is okay. 

2| Pay Attention To Hearing Changes

As well as your sight, it’s very likely that age will take a toll on your hearing. Hearing loss is usually gradual, and the brain does a very good job at compensating. Therefore, you may not even notice the changes until the damage is severe or profound.

Therefore, it’s vital that you pay attention to the subtle changes. Have you started turning the TV up? Or struggle to follow group conversations? Maybe you need to concentrate extra hard to interact with the grandkids. Any of these signs could be linked to mild-to-moderate hearing loss. As such, you should book an appointment with an audiologist ASAP.

3| Postural Problems

A poor posture in your 40s or younger can impact your appearance greatly. However, when it continues into older age, the damage can become irreversible. Sadly, it can lead to a host of health problems, not least in regards to limited mobility.

If you have noticed issues or have received comments from a loved one, you must not ignore it. Back braces, knee supports, and other products can work wonders. Meanwhile, there are plenty of exercises that can correct the problem and restore a greater range of movement. For the immediate and long-term issues alike, it’s vital that you take responsibility.

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4| Fading Memories

We are collectively living longer than ever, which is great news. Nonetheless, this has seen a direct correlation in mental health illnesses. Dementia, Alzheimer’s and other syndromes that result in memory deterioration are on the rise. They even affect younger adults.

Keeping your brain active and maintaining human interactions will help prevent damage. Still, if you notice that you are struggling to recall things, perhaps in the short-term, you may want to get tested. You might just be tired or have another issue. But if a memory-related illness is detected early, it’ll give you the best chance of slowing it down.

5| Oral Health Issues

It’s not uncommon for older individuals to need extra dental work. This could include whitening, realignment, or bridges. However, cosmetic procedures aren’t the only items to consider. After all, the mouth is a reflection of your general health.

Wisdom teeth can be particularly problematic. As such, you should find an expert to see if they are impacted or not. Some people escape the need for support with this issue. However, any pain or discomfort needs to be treated, even if the teeth erupted years ago. Likewise, checking for gum disease and related problems is vital.

6| Arthritis

As the body starts to fail you with age, it can impact daily tasks. This is especially true when dealing with arthritis. There are various forms of the condition, but most will affect your hands and joints. It can cause a lot of pain in later life if left untreated.
It might not be possible to stop arthritis. Still, you can at least slow the process with a range of practices. This will make your life far more enjoyable in the short-term while also preventing major disruption down the line. It may mean that you need to change some aspects of your lifestyle. In truth, though, those compromises will be vindicated.

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7| Alopecia

Losing your hair probably isn’t the worst thing in the world. Then again, it can be a little distressing, particularly for women. Therefore, if your hair starts falling out, it’s important to equip yourself with a plan of action. Or else, the shock factor can cause nightmares.

While you should have no guilt or shame about going bald, you may need another answer. The quality and volume of wigs on the market is greater than ever for both genders. Meanwhile, some tonics are promoted to help your hair growth. Transplants are another option. Essentially, then, this is one area where you don’t need to wave the white flag.

8| Eating Changes

As you get older, you cannot do the things you did in your 20s. Changes to the organs mean you probably can’t drink or smoke like you used to. Moreover, it should be noted that the muscles of the esophagus are less forceful. So, eating become slower.

This may be coupled with reduced appetites, linked partly to reduced activity levels. If you notice changes in your digestion such as IBS or constipation, you should seek help. For the most part, though, you simply need tor respect the bodily changes that come with age. The fundamental functions will stay unchanged though.

Conclusion

Getting older isn’t always easy, especially when your mind wants to do things the body can’t. Still, rolling with those punches is crucial for growing old gracefully. More importantly, staying on top of the challenges should allow you to make these your truly golden years.

If that doesn’t encourage you to take control right away, perhaps nothing will.

Staying Healthy As You Get Older

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Looking after yourself is essential no matter what age you are. However, you may need to pay closer attention to your body as you get older because things change as you age. For example, it is likely that your bones will become thinner and more brittle. Conditions such as osteoporosis are caused by thinning bones and decreasing bone mass. This will also make you at risk to falls which could give you broken bones. To prevent this, make sure you have a nutritious diet and a good calcium intake as well as a decent supply of vitamin D.

A healthy diet and regular exercise could lower your heart rate, but to look after yourself properly, you need to cut out bad habits too. Everyone knows that smoking is bad for you and is linked to a whole range of different health problems, including heart disease, lung cancer, and bronchitis. No matter what age you are now if you stop smoking, your circulation, your lung capacity, and your energy levels will improve.

Also, don’t forget to top-up with lots of water to avoid dehydration. Tea, coffee and fruit juice will help you to stay, but you should avoid sugary fizzy drinks. If you do drink alcohol, make sure you have some days in the week where you don’t drink to give your liver time to recover.

Make the most of expert help, particularly your doctor. Don’t be afraid to get routine tests to check your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. While high readings increase your risk factor for stroke and heart disease, any problems are reversible with medication. Many people have a vitamin D deficiency and aren’t even aware of it, but vitamin D is essential and being deficient in this vitamin has been linked to health issues such as cognitive impairment, bone problems and cardiovascular disease.

Try to get outside in the fresh air for at least 15-20 minutes a day for a boost of vitamin D boost and increase your intake of eggs and oily fish or have a word with your doctor about a vitamin D supplement.

While you’re getting tests and help from the doctor, you may as well get the full MOT from the GP but also make time to go to specialist doctors such as a testosterone doctor or an ear specialist for hearing tests and get your eyes checked too to make sure your vision and hearing are up to scratch.

As well as sight and sound, your other senses could be affected by ageing, as you may start to lose your sense of taste meaning that flavors may not seem as distinct to you. Your senses of smell and touch may also weaken as your body takes longer to react and needs more to stimulate it.

Getting older can also cause changes in your reflexes. While dementia is not inevitable in old age, it is common for people to experience some forgetfulness as they get older as cells in the brain and nerves become damaged over time.