Moving into 40s marks a big change in women’s lives. The body starts showing signs of abuse and it can take it no longer. If the physical status is bad enough, so is the mental state. Mid-life crisis catches on and women have stress managing grown up children as well as aging parents. Added to this they could have work pressures too. The scenario need not get so bad if we are aware of it and take preventive measures. These health tips for women over 40 need to become part and parcel with aging.
Why Does The Body Slow Down?
- One of the causes could be genetics. If your mother or sister has breast cancer you will also be prone to it. This doesn’t mean you will get it. But the chances of getting it are high if you have some bad lifestyle habits.
- Hormonal imbalances show up. The woman typically reaches menopause at around 51 years that is when she stops getting her periods. But nearly 10 years before that she might go through disturbing symptoms of perimenopause. This includes irregular periods, heavy or light flow of periods, dizziness, irritation, depression, hot flushes and weight gain to name a few.
- The bones weaken because of muscle loss. The woman might have to take supplements like calcium and vitamin D to ensure that there are no major skeletal issues. Otherwise falling down and breaking bones with fractures might prove to be very costly.
- Pelvic muscles can also weaken causing urination problems. There could be urine incontinence which is beyond the woman’s control.
- The metabolism slows down. You will find that what you eat and digest earlier may not be so after the 40s.
- The eyesight also gets affected. People in their 40s realize that their eye sight has changed to a large extent. They need to invest in bifocals to handle both near sightedness and far sightedness issues.
Basically, you get to see sudden signs of body aging. Though you suddenly age, mentally it becomes very disturbing and you need to start accepting the changes that are shown up in the body. Hence it becomes very important to be positive and implement life style changes which will help you with your normal life without any problems and need for hospital visits. Hence we bring health tips for women over 40.
Health Tips For Women Over 40
There are a number of lifestyle habits women need to incorporate in their lives to maintain a healthy life. Here we will see some health tips for women over 40.
1. Eat Healthy
As you age you cannot take your digestive system for granted. Your resting metabolism slows down and food doesn’t get easily digested like before. Hence it is important to eat a balanced meal without any processed food. Hydrate yourself by drinking sufficient amount of water too. Since you are aging and your activities are likely to change, you need to eat appropriately. Eating fewer calories will help in keeping the fat away and you trim and slim. Your meals should contain more of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and food supplements like vitamin D and calcium.
2. Exercise
Having to do a regular exercise or activity becomes compulsory to keep you fit. Your body should be in motion and say no to a sedentary lifestyle. A burst of physical activity has a lot of benefits. It increases your body immunity, brings in a feeling of goodness, gets your mood upbeat, makes you sleep better and also keeps your stress in check. Doing some strength training or aerobic exercises build muscle mass, keeps weight under check and prevents you from getting any chronic illnesses like diabetes or hypertension.
3. Maintain Your Beauty
Age shows up in more ways than one. This is especially true on the body and the skin. Baggy eyes, wrinkles on your face, palms and feet and furrow between your eyelids could be some of the visual indications. To get your skin taut and supple you need to take care of it. Drinking enough water regularly and eating foods high in antioxidants will help in this. Remove dead skin by exfoliating it with moisturizers. Use products which contain ingredients like C010, vitamins A, C and E. Shield your skin from harsh sunlight. Loosing scalp hair is also seen with aging. Eating nutritious food along with leading a stress-free life will reduce this to a large extent. Avoid use of chemical based creams and beauty treatments which will make your skin look good on the outside but cause harm inside the body.
4. Control Stress
It is a known fact that when you are under stress your breathing rhythm is different and causes less flow of oxygen to the cells. When the mind is calm the heart beats fast when inhaling and slow when exhaling. Stress changes this scenario. Thus blood pressure rises; there is less oxygen to the brain and cells. Try deep breathing exercises when under stress. This enables more flow of oxygen within the body and neutralizes the bad effects. It relaxes the heart muscles, gastrointestinal tract and the air passages.
5. Increase Your Social Circles
Communications and relationships play a major role in keeping you happy and have a good feeling. Thus married women should enjoy the relationship they share with their spouse. This is typically the time when kids have grown up teens and need less of you. Thus the hard toiling physically laborious days are over. It is now more of mental support that your children will need now. You and husband know each other very well by now. There could be a lot of expectations and disappointments which you may need to tackle with tact. Thus being mentally strong and having good friends circle matters a lot. Sharing your issues with others and getting advice from others will surely help you out with your lifestyle problems.
Thus when you are fed up with domestic problems you could enjoy good times with your friends and cheer up. This would enable you to tackle your domestic issues comfortably.
6. Doing Things For Yourself
Now that most of the people who matter to you, that is your parents, spouse and children have settled down its time you spent doing something for yourself. Engage in the activity that pleases you and makes you happy. It could be a job of your liking, social service, teaching, exercising etc. The woman is pivotal for any household. If she is happy the whole household is happy. Thus the woman’s mental state influences everything and everyone in the house.
7. Get Essential Health Checkups Done
Till now you would have enjoyed a carefree life without thinking much about your health. From now onwards you will need to track your health closely to ensure that you are not in for any surprises. Thus it becomes important to go for regular health checkups and take appropriate action. Being on track early will surely help to age gracefully and enjoy every bit of life. This is much against leading a poor quality of life due to health reasons. You could schedule an appointment with your doctor and check up what tests need to be done and how often.
8. Increase Your Protein Intake
Increase your quantity of protein in taking. Proteins boost the neurotransmitters in the brain. This slows down age related memory issues, depression and mood swings. Ensure that every meal has some amount of protein. Do not ignore your carbohydrates too. They also need to be taken in proper quantity for normal brain functioning.
9. Avoid Bad Habits
Days of not seeing effects of your bad habits are over. No more can you smoke heavily and expect it to pass off without any health implication. It is so with alcohol too. Thus you may have to relook at these habits of yours and give them up if you want to invest in healthy life from now onwards.
10. Have A Good Night’s Sleep
You will soon find out that you cannot compromise on sleep anymore. Keeping awake late into the night will tell tales the next morning. Eyes will be puffy and you will feel groggy too. Energy levels will take the toll. Hence a good night’s sleep is very important and you cannot do away with it.
11. Care Of Back, Feet And Hands
Back needs special care as your age. You cannot randomly pick up heavy things or twist and turn your body in any fashion. One wrong thing and your muscles will cry. You will end up experiencing pain due to sprains, fractures etc. Breaking your bones is even terrifying as you age. Fractures take a long time to heal and repair. Back injuries also take a long time to heal. You should take special care of your feet during the winters. The soles and palms can have cracks due to dry weather.
12. Dress Appropriately
You need to have a mindful wardrobe as you age. You should not wear clothes that you cannot carry off and which don’t look good on you. It is important to look graceful and elegant. This dress according to what suits your body. You need to accept your age and dress accordingly.
Conclusion
Everyone has to pass the stage of going through the 40s. It is not frightening but needs more alertness and care on your part. If you do things right it will surely be a breeze and life will be enjoyable.
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