Five Quick Wins for Healthy Ageing

Healthy ageing in middle age and beyond is far easier than most people think.

Healthy ageing need not mean massive sacrifice of life’s pleasures. You don’t need to become ‘that person’ who is twice the age of everyone else in your local gym either.

I estimate that 80% of healthy ageing is within reach of everyone – and that the five quick wins listed below is how you get there. Once you get going, you’ll want to improve further. That is where the fitness guides here at FitnessReview come in, you’ll find the most popular linked at the end of this page.

Healthy Ageing Quick Wins

#1 – Sleep is the Bedrock Healthy Ageing Habit

Sleep is the first quick win for healthy ageing on my list for important reasons.

When you get sleep right, all the other habits become three times easier. I’m not talking about some exotic schedule, or high-tech sleeping aids here. All you need is a solid 7.5 to 9 hours each night of quality sleep and you’ll feel unstoppable.

Quality sleep involves both REM and non-REM rest. As your REM (dream) sleep happens at the end of the cycle, getting up to early is detrimental over the long term.

Improving sleep involves setting a regular schedule, optimising your environment to be cool and dark, plus avoiding alcohol (which murders sleep quality) and caffeine late in the day. You’ll never make up for bad sleep with a weekend lay-in. Consistency is the key.

#2 – Healthy Ageing Quick Wins with Your Diet

A balanced diet is key to healthy ageing, though unlike fitness gurus, I won’t preach complete abstinence from those delicious treats.

If you have excessive adipose tissue (fat stores), getting them lowered is important. Sure, you can be healthy and carry weight. Over the long-term, that fat is massively correlated with chronic disease progression from diabetes to heart disease.

The key knowledge that helped my healthy ageing journey is that carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes turn into glucose immediately on digestion. There is no such thing as a carb crash – this is 100% a sugar crash.

Reducing these carbs, boosting vegetables and leafy greens, and getting a good balance of healthy oils are the quickest possible wins for a fit and healthy middle age and beyond.

#3 – Exercise Quick Wins for Healthy Ageing

I don’t take fitness advice from ripped ‘gym bunny’ types who live and breathe working out.

They just can’t relate to me.

I have a job, and ageing body and a long list of personal preferences. Spending five hours a day on your fancy fitness system is a ridiculous idea.

Fortunately, the quick wins from exercise for healthy ageing are easily within reach. Instead of worrying about the right balance of HIIT, gentle cardio and strength training – just get started with something you enjoy.

Once you feel the benefits (and you will), you can increase the tempo, reps, or intensity. The better you feel, the more you’ll want to move. Sleep and a sensible diet will compound the benefits.

I do recommend one single visit to your local gym. This is to try out the different types of fitness equipment. Have a quick spin on an exercise bike, run on a treadmill and try and elliptical. A form of exercise you enjoy is far more important than the number of calories burned over the long run.

#4 – Healthy Ageing and Reducing Stress

Work related, relationship related and anxiety related stress ages us through chronic inflammation.

There are quick wins for healthy ageing available to everyone to reduce your stress. First, you need to be honest about the causes. Breaking away from toxic relationships or moving job to something less stressful are big wins.

You can write down your worries before bed (along with an action for each), try breathing techniques or even mediate.

Exercise, diet, and sleep are all related to stress and anxiety. By tackling them all with simple quick wins, the benefits will start to compound.

#5 – Prevention is Always Better than Cure

Try as you might, it is possible your healthy ageing plans could be ruined by an unexpected health issue.

Screening and prevention are key factors in getting to an old age in prime health. This will ideally include regular medicals, age-related screening for prostate, mammograms, and eyesight, and following up on any worrying symptoms right away.

Sunscreen is a bigger health boost than many people know. A spray of factor 50 before leaving the house will do a lot more than keep you looking younger – in some cases it may even save your life.

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