Anti-Aging Tidbits

Tips to Combat Aging

Anti-Aging Tidbits: Get an Attitude

Here are some tidbits I've picked up along the way in my quest for anything anti-aging. They may seem a bit off-point until you get to the end. So please read all the way.

1. Smile more. - Not only does it help keep the corners of your mouth upturned and avoid that unhappy look many older people exhibit after years of concentration and frowning; but also research shows that smiling releases feel-good endorphins. The more you smile, the more you feel like smiling.

2. Wear bracelets. - A recent study presented a woman wearing bracelets to a group of volunteers and the same woman sans bracelets to another group of volunteers.

The second group of volunteers consistently estimated that the woman was five to ten years older than the first group estimated her to be. Think about it: how do you feel when you wear bracelets?

Words that come to my mind are "dressed up", "jingly" and "lighter".

3. Every morning "get dressed to lace up shoes". - (This one I learned from Fly Lady.) It doesn't matter whether you will be stuck in the house the entire day and that no one else may see you. It's not for others that you need to do it; it's for you!

It reinforces a feeling of caring for yourself ... of caring about yourself.

In Fly Lady Marla Cilley's words "Today I want you get up and get dressed to lace up shoes when you first get up in the morning. This means fix your hair and face too."

Even if you don't wear lace-up shoes, get something on your feet other than slippers or socks. Put on your makeup and do your hair - for you!

These tidbits make me appreciate how much of feeling and looking younger is based on attitude. Stop thinking of how you're getting older every day and revel in today.

It's really all we have.