So now we are looking at 30 and wondering what’s next!
Knowledge is power and health when it comes to educating ourselves on our body’s natural changes and how we can aid the process. The following are a few mistakes we make and how we can take quick action to make a difference.
1. Staying too busy for our annual doctor visits.
I will be the first to admit that when I’m feeling good I will quickly cancel my yearly doctor’s visit but it’s a must for staying healthy. Checking our blood pressure, getting a breast exam, a thyroid uptake scan and a diabetes screening with our yearly appointment will give us information we need to make any gradual changes keeping our body balanced as well as catch any abnormalities early. A few tweaks to our daily habits and awareness of what changes our bodies are going through will make an enormous difference to our future selves.
2. Thinking that our fertility will allow us to wait to have our children
Statistically our bodies are at peak fertility in our 20’s with a slight decline in our late 20’s to continue to drop until menopause due to normal changes in our ovaries occurring as we age. Perimenopause is the actual transition our bodies go through before menopause and can begin in our 30’s, making it more difficult to get pregnant. During this time our ovaries slowly begin to produce less estrogen. I’ve included a short list of the most common symptoms telling us that our bodies are shifting into perimenopause:
- Irregular and/or extremely light periods
- Hot flashes
- Problems staying asleep
- Vaginal dryness
3. Not taking the time for daily exercise.
The same exercise routine we did in our 20’s will not be as effective in our 30’s. As our metabolism starts to slow down which leads to weight gain, changing our focus will help combat the undesired symptoms of aging. Our muscle tone decreases with age and concentrating on cardio and low weight resistance type exercising coupled with watching our calorie intake will help make growing older a more appealing process.
A few suggestions which I find are excellent additions to my workout regimen that you might consider and why:
- Yoga is by far one of the best practices for all ages but especially for those of us going into our 30’s for it is easier on our joints and increases our flexibility keeping us mobile and helps our balance as we age.
- Pilates focuses primarily on our core strength and as with yoga it will help with our breathing, balance and flexibility. Yoga plus Pilates would be awesome however if time is limited, pick your favorite for they both have enormous benefits.
- Swimming is an all-around good cardio exercise that burns up calories, tones our bodies, de-stresses our minds and increases our energy levels.
4. Using the same skin care products year after year.
Beginning in our 30’s vitamin C is an essential ingredient to our daily regimen stimulating collagen production and helping to improve our skins elasticity as we age. The alcohol toners we used in our 20’s will now dry our skin out, stripping natural moisture we desperately need to help keep those lines and wrinkles at bay. Sunscreen is vital to add before we venture out for the day. A product with a high SPF value will minimize any UVA damage to our skin which can affect our over health.
5. Overlooking the value of sleep
Insufficient sleep can completely alter our emotional and physical health in the present which takes a toll on our future health. Our metabolism, memory capability, mood swings and even heart disease can be affected by our lack of sleep. 7 to 9 hours each night on a regular schedule will help us be our true selves in the present and deter future health issues. I know we all say how is it possible to get the recommended amount of sleep and convince ourselves that 4 to 5 hours is a good night for us but keep in mind that lack of restful sleep will overflow into mood swings, mid-day burn out, and irritability.
6. Underestimating our water intake.
Water is a natural lubricate for our bones enabling them to continue to function smoothly affecting our mobility as we age. Our water intake alters our food cravings, boosts our energy, aids in digestion, moisturizes our skin and helps regulate our body temperature just to name a few of the benefits. Try your best to drink it least 2 liters a day and you will see the difference in your mind and body over time.
7. Trying trendy diets.
Let me introduce you to protein structures we all have called telomeres. They are powerful and actually help determine the length of our life span. They battle the diseases attacking our bodies and naturally shorten over time however we can slow down the process with the very knowledge of their existence. Maintaining a healthy diet along with our exercise and lowering our stress level together can lengthen our lives by slowing the process at which Telomeres shorten. Diets that go from one extreme to the next will increase the rate these important DNA strands shorten therefore determining the length of our lives.
Bottom line here is that those extreme diets that can cause some immediate but temporary weight loss have an effect on our overall health in the present and puts us on a path of unhealthy habits as we age. Ultimately choosing to stay on a natural and organic diet would be the best choice enabling our bodies to absorb nutrients and vitamins from our foods without disabling the natural rhythm created to keep us healthy
8. Forgetting our eye exams.
Our eyes are so important so let’s not forget to take care of them. Presbyopia is the condition making us search for our reading glasses in order to see the fine print that was so visible in our 20’s. We can’t really stop the process however an early detection of any other eye issues which can be treated will certainly make aging a more pleasant adventure.
9. Not addressing our stress level as being essential to our overall health.
Our bodies handle stress differently at different ages and as we go into our 30’s the toll it takes can become overwhelming. It increases the stress hormones in our brain revealing itself through depression, anxiety, and memory loss to name just a few. Statistics show that our 30’s can be the most stressful years of our entire life. We need to combat those numbers starting with ourselves. High blood pressure is one of the most dangerous outcomes of chronic stress and can quickly escalate causing strokes or heart attacks creating permanent damage changing our entire life..
Aging is an awesome process and with each milestone comes change
We can make change a good thing by staying aware of what our bodies need along the way. One thing I didn’t mention above is the importance of fostering our friendships. Communication helps our minds, mood and overall emotional being making a lengthy life more enjoyable. Isolation is a determent for our thought process and reasoning where meaningful conversation and laughter keeps us young within which carries over to our overall well-being. We need to remember to make time to gather and enjoy our lives together. We are all a bit different so let’s share our knowledge with one another because that is what helps keep us all educated creating powerful women at every age. Let me know if you have ideas that have helped you make the changes we all need to make this life easier to live.
