The latest face cream, the specialist tea, the superfood, the coffee bean from a secret location, the newest supplement with a name you can’t pronounce. There’s always something being advertised as the latest and best way to look younger for longer. But what if you could feel younger for longer without spending any money? What if you could do it in your own home?

Look down at your feet, and you have your answer. Physical activity. It won’t necessarily make your face as soft as a baby’s bottom, but what’s the use in having baby soft wrinkle free skin if you can’t leave the house on your own because of your health. Physical activity won’t just make you look younger, it will make it feel younger, and able to act younger too.

It Will Help You Live For Longer

Well I hope this is an obvious one, but you can’t go flaunting your youthfulness around the town if you aren’t alive. Physical activity is a ticket to longevity.

It Makes You Fitter

I’m not talking about your attractiveness, but it will give a nice glow to your skin. What i’m talking about is how physically fit you are, because fitness is the reason that physically active people live for longer. Having said that, struggling to walk up a flight of steps, breathless, hanging on for dear life isn’t something we really want to portray either.

This Makes You More Independent

If you’re fitter and stronger, there’s a good chance you’ll bypass the person struggling to climb the steps, because that’s not a problem for you. Don’t underestimate the importance of being able to carry your own shopping bags from the car, being able to climb the stairs to the toilet, and being able to get on and off the toilet yourself. These are things which require fitness and strength, and without them you might begin to find yourself living by the interests and time tables of the person looking after you. Being active means you can live your life where, when and how you want to for as long as possible.

It’s Like Free Pain Relief

Let’s not deny, that as we get older we start to get aches and pains that remind us of our age. Luckily we can wipe away a lot of these aches with physical activity, because when we’re active we release lots of helpful hormones that relieve us of pain. That’s why people with painful conditions like arthritis benefit from physical activity so much. On the other hand, being active changes our pain tolerance, allowing us to be totally unfazed by pain which in comparison would make our partners melt down over.

An Active Body Makes An Active Mind 

If there’s anything that reminds us of our progressing age then it’s our mind. This is the key to ageing well, because how can you continue to work, plan to socialise, make a shopping list, or remember to go to the gym if you’re increasingly having problems with your ability to concentrate, remember things, or think clearly in general. The body and mind go hand in hand, if you have an active body, you’ll have an active mind too. It’s no wonder that physical activity improves peoples memory, concentration, problem solving, and decision making skills to name a few.

Here are just five reasons to take up physical activity as you age, but the list could go on forever. Becoming more physically doesn’t mean dusting off your bicycle, joining the running club, or buying a gym membership. Physical activity can be done for free, even from your own home. Take for example hoovering the house, running after the grandchildren, walking the dog, or gardening. The important thing is that you choose something that you enjoy.

Faye Prior (Researcher)

Sources

Carvalho et al., (2014). Physical activity and cognitive function in individuals over 60 years of age. Clinical Interventions In Age, 9, 661-82.

Hamer et al., (2014). Taking up physical activity in later life and healthy ageing. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 48(3), 239-43.

Lee et al., (2010). Mortality trends in the general population: the importance of cardiorespiratory fitness. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 24(4), 27-35.

Paterson et al., (2007). Ageing and physical activity. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 98(2), 69-108.