I can remember turning 40 like it was yesterday. Well, more like if yesterday was over 10 years ago.
While reaching age 40 was a huge milestone and a success, what I learned came after age 40, and it required more effort, precautions, and many adoptions, including a healthy lifestyle.
Most people are not even aware of the concept of a healthy lifestyle. That’s why Best Men’s Health and Lifestyle considered it important to provide an ultimate guide to a healthy lifestyle, especially when you turn 40. So, we will start with the benefits you will get with adopting this new lifestyle.
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8 Benefits of Adopting Healthy Lifestyle Habits After the Age of 40
Before we move to the benefits, it’s necessary that we define a healthy lifestyle. Well, we will talk about it later in this article but what’s prominent is a healthy diet, exercise, good sleep, and the prevention of unhealthy behaviors. A healthy diet includes a lot of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, healthful fats, and other nutrient-dense foods.
Once you recognize what is a healthy lifestyle, it’s important that you adopt it as soon as you turn 40. It comes with many benefits that can help you keep healthy after 50. That’s why it’s important to take a few necessary steps at this stage of life and consider it a great investment for your 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond. Let’s see what advantages you will get with a healthy lifestyle.
1. Prevent Disease
A person is likely exposed to various diseases once he turns 40, including the disease that runs in his family. All these diseases can be prevented by adopting a healthy lifestyle that includes a healthy diet. For example, a study (1) shows that adult Americans who follow a diet rich in fruits and vegetables for 8 weeks are less exposed to diseases, especially cardiovascular disease.
2. Increased Lifespan
Once you reach 50, your lifespan (2) depends on your current health and family history, including alcohol consumption, diet, smoking, exercise, and more. So, once you turn 40, get yourself ready for this stage for an increased lifespan. If your health history includes no smoking, limited alcohol consumption, healthy weight, and a healthy diet till 50, you can potentially live 14 years (3) more than before.
3. Saves Money
When a person gets older after 50, in most cases, he either has high blood pressure or is a diabetic patient. He has to spend a lot of money on regular doctor visits, medications, and an expensive diet to get everything going. You can avoid all these expenses once you turn 40 by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Instead, spend more time than money on yourself in keeping yourself active and healthy.
4. Reduced Cancer Risk
The chances of getting cancer increase (4) with a specific lifestyle behavior, including physical inactivity, not eating enough fruits and vegetables, excessive alcohol intake, tobacco use, inadequate sun protection, and risky sexual behaviors. So, avoiding these risks by adopting a healthy lifestyle can reduce cancer risks. For example, if you follow a healthy diet that contains antioxidants, it protects cells from damage which lowers cancer risks.
5. Improved Memory
Research (5) showed that those who ate high-fat diets, including red meat and butter, had lower memory than those with low-fat diets. To do so, the DASH diet has also proven to be very helpful in consuming low-fat foods to boost your memory. Also, another study in 2015 showed that healthy diets that include omega-3 fatty acids, fish, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin C protect against dementia and cognitive decline.
6. Weight Loss
Adopting a healthy lifestyle can help with weight loss. It is found that patients with obesity are more likely to have heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and poor bone density. Since regular exercise is the most significant part of any healthy lifestyle, it helps burn calories and fats that lead to the generation of LDL (the bad cholesterol) while preventing strokes and heart attacks.
7. Good Sleep
Eating an unhealthy diet, drinking alcohol, and obesity can lead to sleep apnea that occurs when the airways are blocked while sleeping and disrupts your sleep patterns. So, reducing your caffeine intake and your alcohol consumption will help you get restful sleep regardless of sleep apnea. A healthy lifestyle for good sleep includes going low-tech, finding relaxing rituals, balancing calories throughout the day, and eating a healthy diet. It doesn’t take much time to get to a routine where your sleep will be restful. Read our blog on, The Importance of Sleep for Better Health.
8. Strong Bones
A diet that contains a fair amount of calcium and magnesium (6) prevents primary bone conditions like osteoporosis. Besides, it makes the bones and teeth strong. Major diets that include low-fat dairy products, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, tofu, legumes, etc., helps in providing excessive calcium and magnesium.
Because magnesium is one of the most important minerals your body needs, Magnesium Caps by Life Extension is a great way to add a daily dose and provide support for strong bones and teeth. Click and purchase a bottle of Magnesium Caps supplements today.
Here are 9 Healthy Lifestyle Tips to Adopt After the Age of 40
Once you know the benefits of a healthy lifestyle after 40, you are ready to learn how to live a healthy lifestyle. You are still young and have passed half of your life as some countries have an 80-year life expectancy, such as Japan, Panama, South Korea, Switzerland, and more. You have half of your life ahead of you, and you can make it better if you follow these tips right now.
Tip #1: Get 7-9 Hours of Sleep
It’s highly recommended by health experts to put your cell phone away at least 30 minutes before you go to sleep. It helps in getting restful sleep as soon as possible. Getting at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep (7) becomes necessary once you turn 40. Later in your 50s, you might need more good sleep at this stage.
Insomnia is directly associated with high blood pressure and heart disease. So, adopting a good sleep routine can prevent these significant life-taking risks. Since it’s the first step toward a healthy lifestyle, you’re already getting many health benefits.
Tip #2: Eat Every 6 Hours
When scheduling your meals, first, deduct 8 hours of sleep, and divide the remaining 16 hours by three meals a day. So, you will get 6 hours between each meal. That’s the best-recommended eating schedule once you’re in your 40s. Start with a healthy breakfast when you wake up in the morning. You can consistently eat throughout the day, keeping three big healthy meals aside.
Tip #3: Regular Exercise
It’s time you adopt a regular exercise routine, including 30 to 40 minutes of workout, five times a week. The exercise may include biking, sensible weight training, and more. Since most people after 40 are likely to experience anxiety and depression, regular exercise plays a vital role in keeping your thoughts intact. It also improves self-drive and motivation to do things with your day. Read our blog, Why Exercise is Important After the Age of 40.
Tip #4: Maintain a Positive Attitude
Surround yourself with good company and positive energy. It keeps your attitude positive, avoids depressed thoughts, and helps achieve your daily goals. Having a pet helps a lot at this stage of life in maintaining a positive attitude. Take time for yourself besides your work routine to feel human — not a robot designed for work. All these activities are included in a healthy lifestyle.
Tip #5: Work on Prevention
A healthy lifestyle starts with preventing bad habits, unhealthy diets, and unhealthy behaviors that lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. For instance, it includes avoiding smoking, excess alcohol consumption, fat-rich food, commercially processed food, and more. You didn’t care about preventing harmful activities before 40, but now you need to be more careful. Rather than adopting a new routine, preventing an unhealthy lifestyle alone will work in making your 50s and beyond more comfortable and relaxed with no serious health risks.
Tip #6: Know Your History
Most of the time, you can prevent the disease right from the start if you know your family medical history. It means the genetic history of your mother and father as well as your grandparents to learn if they had any kind of genetic disease. If yes, get yourself prepared before the disease reaches you. Reach out to your doctor first.
Tip #7: Meditate
Since your 40s have a lot to do with anxiety, depression, and stress, it’s time to meditate. Physical exercise, such as going to the gym, can help, but meditation will relax your inner soul. Research shows that mediation helps a lot in dealing with stress and anxiety in your 40s. That’s why we consider meditation as a part of a healthy lifestyle. Read our blog, Learn 3 Important Benefits of Meditation That Will Change Your Life.
Tip #8: Adopt A Healthy Sex Life
You might not know, but sex decreases stress and helps burn calories. And in your late 40s, your sex life isn’t the same as before your 40s. You may be restricted in the number of times you have sex in a month. So, you need to get all the energy from healthy activities and diets to prepare yourself for more sex each month. Yea!
Tip #9: Visit the Doctor
Visit a doctor even if you do not have any troubling conditions. It’s essential that you get beneficial advice from your doctor. He can give you recommendations and preventions that can make your life after 40 a lot better. Also, he will be able to help when he already knows your health history. That’s why an annual physical/visiting the doctor is included in a healthy lifestyle.
Conclusion
Now that you know the benefits and steps to adopt a healthy lifestyle look no further and start right away. Otherwise, it would be a lot more challenging as you get older. Consider all these healthy lifestyle tips for how to live a healthy lifestyle. This way, it can be easier to adopt this new lifestyle as it has always been difficult to instantly change all your routines.
If you want to learn more about how to live and enjoy life after 40, join our email list Best Men’s Health and Lifestyle, and get valuable information delivered to your inbox. We are always providing information and making recommendations for improving your health and living a happy lifestyle.
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