THE PROCESS OF AGING

Our neurons are non-regenerative. That means they do not divide to reproduce more of its kind. Once they die, they can’t be replaced with another one. As we age, these brain cells of ours start to reduce in size and in number. This reduces our ability to call to mind some things that we have learned, including those in school, and even those details when we were younger.

A neurotransmitter called acetylcholine also declines as we age. This neurotransmitter is directly involved in memory and conveying of messages from a cell to another one. Moreover, because of the stresses that we have, the hippocampus, our memory bank, diminish in function.

As we get old also, we develop plaques and tangles that accumulate between and within neurons, respectively. Plaques are proteins that mount up in between neurons while tangles are fibers that grow within the brain cells. Too much of these two are thought to kill nerve cells, like in Alzheimer’s Disease, an age-related disease.

In addition to this, substances are created as a result of our lifestyle and environmental pollution. These substances called free radicals can damage our DNA and impede the production of energy which can cause early cell death.

STAY SHARP

To delay the signs of aging with regards to our mental capability, we should make a number of things a habit.

As they say, stress is inevitable in everyday life because we need it to overcome large and small obstacles. But, of course, stress has a lot more negative effects than good ones. So, avoid too much stress. According to some studies, stress does not only make you look older, it also accelerates the degeneration of your brain.

Those who are easily stressed have higher risks to cognitive impairment than those who are not. You should examine yourself and determine the best ways in which you can cope with the obstacles of the day. Praying is one of the best examples. Planning ahead of time can reduce possible stress. An hour of it can even reduce two hours of your working time.

To stay sharp, one must also have adequate sleep. A new research in Massachussetes General Hospital shows that adequate sleep can help you think well. Adequate sleep helps the brain collect different bits of information and have correct interpretation of them. On the contrary, if you sleep less than the required number, you would most likely have a bad performance and mood problems.

Another thing we should regularly do to preserve our brain functions is to meditate. Doing it actually improves attention, learning, and memory. Regular meditation can also help you slow down the shrinking of our gray matter. For the younger ones, a thought of it is quite ridiculous because meditating is just for the oldies. But a new study has shown that people who meditate earlier in life have better attention in their succeeding years.

One can’t end a roster of anti-aging recommendations without mentioning about eating right. It is true when the say that an apple a day can make you okay. Apples are rich in flavonoids that helps protect the brain cells from free radicals. These fruits also contain a good number of antioxidants that do not only make your skin look young, it also raise the levels of the neurotransmitter called acetylcholine that diminishes as we age.

Just for review, this neurotransmitter is very important for our memory and the ability of the neurons to transport messages from one to another.

In 2005, more than a million American men underwent skin treatments, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Adding to that is the 44% upsurge in the slightly invasive procedures in which men underwent from 2000 to 2005. Vanity has indeed taken its strike to more men.

But what are the exact things men should do and improve for the vanity of looking young to take effect?

Age-defying Skin Treatments

While diet can be very helpful for men to look young and well-rested, men can also do this by some skin treatments that do not require a needle and a knife.

Men may try microdermabrasion. In this procedure, the surface of skin that contains astounding number of dead skin cells are removed with a vacuum suction device. Together with a mild chemical crystal formulation, microdermabrasion aids in revitalizing the complexion, lessen ultra fine wrinkles, help cosmetics to be absorbed more, and make skin glowing young. This 30-minute procedure results to a more evenly textured skin.

Men may also use chemical peels. These topical products allow peeling of damaged surface of skin. Chemical peels excite production of collagen making the skin firmer with improved texture and with a reduction of surface lines, wrinkles, dark spots, and sun damage. It makes look more relaxed, energetic, and young. More men tend to seek for light chemical peeling which is by the way one of the most common skin treatments among men. However, this light chemical peeling has to be redone for the effect to last for more than a few months. A medium peel’s effects persist about a year.

Another skin procedure men may choose is the light skin rejuvenation. This procedure invigorates the face using light-based devices such as noncutting laser beams that send off pulsed energy to the skin. Light or laser skin rejuvenation also fuels the growth of collagen to give a firmer skin.

While it does not use of any harsh chemicals, it can reduce lines and help give men a revitalized aura. Despite the fact that it can redden the skin for a little while after the procedure, this procedure requires no extreme aftercare. Really good news for men.

Another manly option

For a man who is committed to delaying the course of aging, a regular exercise is a must-do. According to the American Heart Association, for a man to build endurance and strength, he should perform eight to 10 types of workouts to be repeated eight to 15 times, and to be done thrice in a week.

An astounding number of studies have shown that a regular exercise fights the thrashing of muscle strength, endurance, and the reduction of muscular and bone density that tends to worsen as men age. In addition to its health benefits, a regular exercise can also make a man a magnet among girls, which quite explains why a lot have been going to the gym.

Eating lots of citrus and vegetables

Greens and citrus like lemons, grapefruit, and oranges are high in Vitamin C, a natural antioxidant. This wonder worker serves as a primary ingredient of collagen, a glue-like protein that binds cells together to form tissues, and makes up about 25% of the whole-body protein content. Collagen production is vital to skin suppleness, firmness and averts the onset of premature wrinkling. Collagen is, in fact, a much-endorsed ingredient in facial moisturizers and hand lotions Therefore, the more citrus and veggies celebs eat, the softer their skin becomes.

Avoiding excessive alcohol

Celebrities going in and out of rehabs due to alcoholism look worn-out and spoiled. That is why a lot more celebrities keep their alcoholic intake to a minimum. Despite the sparkling delight it brings, alcohol causes skin damage and loss of moisture due to its dehydrating effects. In turn, this will cause sagging and wrinkling of skin.

A High School Musical star says its even better to soak one’s self o he beach without sun protection that drinking too much of alcohol.

Alcohol causes dilatation of the blood vessels in the skin and every time you drink, the blood vessels will dilate and stay permanently dilated until they lose their tone. Abusing alcohol will also deplete the body of Vitamin A, an important antioxidant.

Avoiding Coffee

Despite its antioxidant content, too much coffee causes skin dehydration, and even causes the body to eliminate needed liquids and minerals. It causes skin to look like crepe paper and have very little elasticity if you pinch it up into a peak. A country music diva even shared that drinking too much coffee stains her teeth and causes little winkles around her eyes to look horrible.

Celebrities who drink coffee suggest drinking a cool glass of water after a cup of coffee.

Drinking LOTS of Water

No one can dispute the role good hydration plays to a healthier skin. If hydration does not come from sodas or alcohols and only from clean water, then it has potentially helpful effects on your skin. Furthermore, water helps cells move nutrients in and toxins out, which leaves skin looking better.

Paris Hilton disclosed that she drinks more than ten glasses of water a day cause if not she notices her skin to look dull, vapid, and gray.

Limited exposure to sunlight

More exposure to sunlight puts the skin at higher risk for aging caused by free radicals. But if you cannot avoid it, use a quality high sun protection factor lotion.

A former Mickey Mouse club member uses SPF50 on her neck and face and SPF35 on her body to develop nice brownish tan where she likes.

Moisturizers

Lastly, for celebrities, using a night time moisturizer is the simplest yet one of the most necessary parts of their beauty routine. They choose a night cream with proven age-fighters like retinol.

If applied at night, this will reduce the effect of aging and the environment on your skin.

Okinawa, Japan

With over a million inhabitants in this southern Japanese island, more than 900 of them have already lived more than a century. There are five more Okinawans who live to be 100 years old or so compared to other places in Japan. And the number of their centenarians is four times as many in America and in Britain.

One distinct characteristic of the Okinawans is the ability to be healthy even until their end. Researchers observed that these people tend to age slower than others. They even work as long as they can which grants these people ikigai, a sense of purpose.

Okinawans eat low-salt, low-fat, anti-oxidant rich foods such as fish, tofu, soya products, and seaweeds. A wide range of healthy foods like fruits and vegetables are also included in their rainbow diet. Not to mention, the age-defying tea is a mainstay in any meal.

But what they don’t eat may also be their secret to long life. Hara hachibu is a distinct cultural practice in this place wherein they eat until they are 80% full, consuming around 1, 200 calories in a day. Why this practice makes them young is still not understood that much.

Loma Linda, California

In this Californian city populated by the Seventh-day Adventists, citizens observe the healthy lifestyle the church promotes –having a vegetarian diet, and abstinence from smoking or drinking. That is why a lot from this city are living five or ten years longer than their neighboring areas.

That practice can well-explain that. However, scientist discovered that this practice is not done by everyone in this area, yet, they still live longer than the average.

As many claim, this community’s secret is their faith. It really does raise a question if there is something about being spiritual that makes their life longer.

Researchers don’t fully understand but there’s this remarkable fact that makes everyone curious. It’s been known for a couple of decades already that people who regularly go to the church, whatever their religion is, live more than those who don’t. Some say that those who go to church on a regular basis have considerably lower levels of stress, and perhaps, because of this, these people are able to deal with stress better.

Ovvoda, Sardinia

This small town in Italy boasts many centenarians among its 1, 700 residents. Even more notably, there are as many men who live longer as women, kicking the trend in the world. Their secret is not only the Mediterranean diet, but also their genes.

For centuries, the families in this place lived in isolation, and married only their fellow Sardinian. So, from a genetic point of view, marriage among relatives provides positive results like centenarians.

With that said, interbreeding in this place seems to have caused their people to live a longer life. This phenomenon even made some scientist discover specific genes that are associated with long life.