10 “Harmless” Habits That Age You

1. It pretty much goes without saying that smoking cigarettes and frying
your skin in the sun make you older, so kudos for quitting and slathering
on the sunscreen religiously. But if you’re trying to turn back the clock—
or at least slow it down a little—don’t overlook these other habits that may
be sabotaging your efforts.
 
Need price & availability for your textbook?  
              (What's this)

2. You keep your college bedtime
It’s not uncommon for superbusy women to cram a day’s worth of
around-the-house to-dos into the late evening hours, a practice that pushes
back bedtime into—eep!—Late Night with Jimmy Fallon territory. The
problem with this is that too-little sleep is proving to be really, really bad
for your health:

Research links it to high blood pressure, diabetes, weight gain, and even
just looking tired and older.
 
Act your age: We’re not saying you need a perfect 8 hours every single
night, but make sleep a priority more often and your body will thank you.
Everyone's sleep needs are different; to find out what yours are, sleep
experts recommend you turn off the alarm clock when you're well rested,
and see how long you naturally sleep. (Most people need 7 to 8 hours.)

3. You have a soft spot for sweets
A sugar-packed diet can take its toll on your waistline, but now experts
also believe it can make your skin dull and wrinkled too. To blame is a
natural process known as glycation, in which the sugar in your
bloodstream attaches to proteins to form harmful new molecules called
advanced glycation end products (AGEs, for short). The more sugar you
eat, the more AGEs you develop; these damage surrounding proteins
like collagen and elastin, which keep skin firm and elastic. Once damaged,
springy and resilient collagen and elastin become dry and brittle, leading
to wrinkles and sagging. These aging effects start at about age 35 and
increase rapidly after that, according to a study published in the British
Journal of Dermatology.
 
Act your age: It's not easy to eliminate sugar completely, but limiting
added sugar to no more than 10% of total calories can help. If you're
a 45-year-old woman of average height (5-foot-4), that's 160 calories

(or 10 teaspoons) from added sugar—about the number in one 12-ounce
can of Coca-Cola or six Hershey's Kisses. By comparison, the average
American consumes 31 teaspoons per day of added sugar, or the
equivalent of 465 calories. Watch for stealthy sugar in unexpected foods,
like salad dressing. Many prepared foods contain hefty amounts of sugar,
but it's hidden under aliases—including barley malt, corn syrup, dextrose,
fruit juice concentrate, maltose, maple syrup, molasses, and turbinado—on
ingredient panels.

4. You’re stressed more often than not
You don’t feel good when you’re stressed-out—be it from work projects
piling up, a miserable commute, issues with the kids, etc.—and there’s
good biological proof why you shouldn’t. Stress increases the concentration
of the hormones cortisol and norepinephrine in the bloodstream, kicking
up blood pressure and suppressing immunity. Over time, stress that doesn’t
go away can delay healing, harden your arteries, and possibly shrink areas
of your brain involved in learning, memory, and mood—talk about feeling
older!
 
Act your age: Stress will never go away completely, but how you manage
everyday blips can keep hormones on a more even—and healthy—keel.
Deep breathing is the top antistress pick of Prevention advisor Andrew Weil,
MD: He makes time for it at least twice a day. “It only takes 2 minutes,”
he says.

“I do it in the morning, when I’m falling asleep in the evening, and
anytime I feel upset.” Try it: Exhale strongly through the mouth, making
a whoosh sound. Breathe in quietly through the nose for a count of 4.
Hold your breath for a count of 7, then exhale with the whoosh for a
count of 8. Repeat the cycle 3 more times.

5. You only exercise when trying to lose weight
Exercise is one of the best turn-back-the-clock agents around, but too
many of us don’t reap its full benefits because we only associate physical
activity with weight loss. If you tend to hit the gym in 2-week stints to
shed a few pounds, but then take a few months off from physical activity,
you’re missing out on some major health perks. Research shows that
vigorous exercisers have longer

telomeres—cellular biomarkers that shorten as we age—compared
with healthy adults who rarely work out. Being active consistently can
help fight brain fog, reduce inflammation, and prevent type 2 diabetes
and other chronic conditions that crop up over time.
 
Act your age: Don’t let your sneakers get dusty. Choose any activity you
enjoy—be it walking, cycling, or dancing—and aim for a minimum of 20
to 25 minutes a day. Break it down, if you have to, into two 10-minute
sessions. Slowly increase the frequency, duration, and intensity in small
increments. If you miss a day, don’t let it become a habit; just pick up
again the next day.

6. You blast your iPod
Nothing makes you feel 80 years old like having to cup your ear and
say “Excuse me?” to get your friend to repeat herself…again. Hearing
loss typically develops slowly, the result of prolonged exposure to
thousands of high-decibel insults to the ear, many of which come from
exposure to everyday gadgets, like iPods or hair dryers. MP3 players
set at 50% volume can pump out sounds up to 101 decibels, well over
the recommended safety threshold.
 
Act your age: To ageproof your iPod, keep the volume as low as possible.
Use noise-canceling earbuds to block out ambient sounds, reducing your
need to jack up the volume. Wear earplugs when you’re around other
loud noises too, like the garbage disposal, coffee grinder, lawn mower,
etc.

7. You never see your girlfriends
Your friends were probably the meat and potatoes of your social calendar
back in your 20s; now you spend most of your spare time shuttling your
tweens around to their various get-togethers. But here’s why making time
to cultivate your friendships is so key: One study found that satisfying
friendships predict longevity better than even close family
ties, and they can protect against obesity, depression, and heart disease,
among other health problems.

No wonder you always feel reenergized after a marathon catch-up call
with your best college friend or a girls’ night out with your high school
crew.
 
Act your age: Your friends keep you young—simple as that. So if hectic
schedules keep you apart,

consider carving a more permanent place in your schedule for friend time.
Take advantage of Facebook

or e-mail groups to stay in touch on a more frequent basis—even clicking
through and commenting on a pal’s recently uploaded vacation photos can
help you feel closer.

8. You eat fruits and veggies—but not every day
You’ve likely heard that antioxidant-packed fruits and veggies can help
you stay young. These powerful compounds fight free radicals that would
otherwise wreak havoc on your body and skin, damaging cells that can lead
to cancer and make you look older. But here’s the rub: Antioxidants remain
active for only a few hours and need to be continually replenished, so don't
think you're set for the week after eating a big salad for lunch on Monday.
 
Act your age: ODing on veggies a couple of days a week or month—and
skipping them the rest of the time—doesn’t do your body any favors. To
truly maximize their age-defying benefits, aim to eat antioxidants every
4 hours or so or with every meal.

9. You’ve shunned all fat
Cutting out artery-clogging saturated and trans fats is a heart-healthy
move, but when it comes to your health and vitality, equally slashing
unsaturated fats, like those found in fish, nuts, and olive oil, is like
throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. One kind, omega-3
fatty acids, is the ultimate anti-aging fat, essential for protecting your
brain, heart, bones, joints, skin, and more. Another kind,
monounsaturated, can lower bad LDL cholesterol, raise cardio-protective
HDL cholesterol, and decrease your risk of atherosclerosis. Plus, studies
suggest that a higher intake of these fats may contribute to longer life
expectancy.
 
Act your age: Remember that fat isn’t inherently evil, and it won’t make
you fat per se. About 20 to 35% of your daily calories should come from
fat (mainly healthy, unsaturated fat) like those from the above sources.

10. You can’t remember the last time you had sex
Yep, sex feels good and does wonders for your mood, but it’s also
fantastically great for your health. Research shows that people with
active sex lives have stronger immune systems, less pain, a lower
cancer risk, healthier hearts, and less stress. The best news: It can
even make you look younger—up to 12 years, a study shows.
 
Act your age: Rekindle the romance between you and your partner.
To shake things up, try making the first move next time. “Some
women are not active participants in their sex lives,” says Pat Covalt,
PhD, author of What Smart Couples Know. “A lot of men would like to
be touched more, seduced more. Everyone wants to feel wanted.”