They say it’s not the years in your life, but the life in your years that counts. Age may just be a number, but it is one that matters a lot. Most importantly, once you enter your 50, this number can become a burden. As of a recent census, more than 23% of the world’s population lies between 40 and 59 years of age. This means that almost a quarter of the entire human race is in an age group where energy levels start to decline, and chances of contracting acute and chronic conditions rise.
However, there are ways in which you can continue to live fresh and healthy even after you cross 50. The secret lies in the type of lifestyle you adopt. Eating right, maintaining a constant exercise regime, staying in a positive state of mind, and mitigating factors that cause stress are just some of the factors that will help you ensure a healthy life. This may seem easy and simple when you are between 20 and 40, but things can become challenging once that number goes above 50.
Crossing 50 also means that you’ve spent more than two decades working as a professional in one field or the other. Some jobs carry more risks than others. Construction, for instance, is a sector where there is a possibility of long-term asbestos exposure. This is a dangerous material that leads to numerous health complications, such as mesothelioma and asbestosis, but on the bright side, your exposure to this chemical falls under negligence on the part of your employer and means that you are legally entitled to compensation.
That’s all well and good, but it’s a circumstance that a certain niche of the population may have to experience. For the rest, there lies the question of how to maintain a healthy life post the half-decade mark. Here are some tips:
1. Build a routine
Your habits are like shirts of steel; tough to change. There are people out there with the resilience to get up and transform their lifestyle even after 50 years of age, but the majority of us don’t fall into that category. The solution to this dilemma is simple; you plan for your post-50 life in advance.
Over the years, it is important to build healthy habits, and it is even more crucial to create a routine that you follow religiously. It doesn’t matter what this routine is, as long as it involves a 45-minute slot for exercise and the chance to indulge in activities that foster a positive mindset. This can include hanging out with friends, visiting your family, yoga, meditation, or any other hobby that your heart is set to. As long as it gives you healthy energy, it has to be a part of your daily routine.
2. Adjusting exercise regimen after 50
The 50th year in your life’s journey is a tough one to hit. Obviously, you’re no longer as energetic as you used to be when you were 20 or 30. So, it is only fair that you start making certain adjustments, particularly to your exercise regimen, once you celebrate your golden jubilee. You will inevitably have to slow your roll.
Although how much you decrease your pace will vary from person to person, everyone has to make certain amendments. Especially for people with respiratory or cardiac ailments, it is important to consult a doctor in order to get the best possible advice. Moreover, small tweaks are necessary for even the fittest individuals, like bringing down gym time from an hour to 30 minutes or replacing sprints with brisk walks.
3. Track your nutrition
Your current diet may eventually affect the number of years you live as well as how gracefully you age. You can ward off cardiovascular ailments, weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, and various other chronic diseases with a good diet. It’s important to keep a healthy weight. You can achieve this by consuming more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts while consuming fewer red and processed meats.
Concerns related to the best meals for you and your particular requirements can be addressed by your doctor. Check the nutrition facts and fat content on the food labels of the products you purchase. As much as you can, stay away from meals that are rich in saturated and trans fats. They could make heart disease more likely to occur.
4. Getting the right amount of sleep is essential
Not many of us pay attention to the amount of sleep we get. This is mostly because of our hectic work routines that put a strain on the ideal rest that the human body needs. Messed-up sleep cycles result in fatigue, irritability, and focus issues, to name a few. You seem tired all the time, and eventually, research shows, you age faster by draining your energy levels.
For optimal health, 7 to 9 hours of sleep is ideal. The fittest, most active people on the planet have routines where they get at least seven hours of sleep every day. Resting is an activity that you can’t compromise on because this is the time when your body truly gets to reboot and get ready for the next day. Getting the right amount of sleep is one of the biggest favors you can do for yourself.
5. Your health needs to be your top priority
Once you reach 50, you realize that health is the only currency you want in life. Having all the money in the world doesn’t mean anything unless you have a healthy body to go with it. This is why your health needs to be your top priority, and one of the best ways to do this is by visiting a doctor for regular checkups throughout your life.
It is important that you start at an early age because what this does is help you understand the individual requirements of your body, which can vary from one person to the other. Also, you are able to determine a wide range of ailments in their early stages so that there is a better chance of curing them. Once you build a routine of checkups, you will be thankful post-50 that you did.
Conclusion
Having a healthy life once you are past 50 years of age is no rocket science. However, it is something that you’ll need to work on from an early age in your life. The routines of exercise, healthy eating, reducing stress factors, spending quality time with friends and family, ditching unhealthy habits like smoking, and getting regular checkups from the doctor are key on this journey, but as mentioned earlier, you need to build these routines much before you cross your half-century.