How You're Getting Old Fast

How You’re Getting Old Fast

woman in robe applying gold eye mask

As we approach our later years we start seeing the signs of aging more and more. This isn’t anything new, but what we have noticed is that people who live a more reckless youth tend to pay the price in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. How you spend your formative years will directly impact your quality of life in your later years. So what could hinder the quality of your life? Careless eating, excessive drinking, and lack of proper sleep.

Lack of Proper Sleep

It’s common for people in their late teens and early 20’s to get into the habit of going to bed and waking up late. The problem with this is staying up late actually stresses the body. The major stress hormone in the body is called Cortisol, which naturally declines in the early evening to help prepare the body for sleep. Staying up late at night actually forces the cortisol to surge for days. This rise or surge makes it difficult for the body to get to bed early, which in turn conditions the body to stay up late. Some of the risks of high cortisol are high blood sugar, suppressed immunity, and hypertension.
People who sleep between six to eight hours of sleep per night maintain good cognitive function and age normally. The opposite can be said about people who show signs of accelerated decline in cognitive function. Studies have shown that either too much sleep or too little could cause weight gain, excess snacking, hormone imbalance, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Alcohol

There have been numerous studies about the effects of alcohol on the body. Back in 2002 the World Health Organization stated that alcohol was found to be linked to esophageal cancer, and liver disease. It can also have extensive effects on the brain including cognitive impairment.  The key reason alcohol ages the body so quickly is due to the fact that it damages your liver. It’s a toxin to the cells that detoxify your body. This can make the skin look pasty and make your pores larger; it also dehydrates your skin. What this means is your skin will appear less fresh and plump the morning after you consume.

Careless eating

This is rather simple: avoid junk food or at least try to. Most of the processed food is made with preservatives and processed oils. This makes them very hard for your body to digest. These processed oils can build up in your liver over the course of time, so your liver function can start to break down. The other thing to avoid is excess sugar, the kind you find in candy, boxed cookies and the like. Too much sugar can lead to bad cholesterol, excess fat in the hips, and stomach, it can also lead to heart disease. If you’re looking for a change in diet and some healthy sweet alternatives that will give you better-looking skin, read our post on Eating for Healthy Skin.

Our resident “Beauty Expert” Donna Fay is on staff and will aid in any questions you might have.