As we age, especially when we turn forty, we carry on with the same habits either good or bad one which we have been practising for many years, but health experts stress the need to re-think about many of the things related to our life.
Some individuals consider that reaching this age is a milestone in their life, and unfortunately some start to feel that he or she is becoming less attractive and expect the decline in fitness level.
For many, the concept of ageing begins on their 40th birthday. This transition can be even more shocking if you enter your forties in an inactive lifestyle, nevertheless psychologists think it is good if you are afraid of ageing. But you have to overcome your fear and understand that all ages have their advantages and disadvantages.
For instance, when you reach the age of forty, some may feel the desire to cling to the spirit and shape of young people also by wearing clothes that may not befit his age. In fact, wearing young clothes at an older age makes it worse and shows your age, not the other way around.
Actually, once you are in your forties you feel some changes in your body, you may have trouble sleeping or have to enlarge the font while writing emails or texting because you can’t see the text well. I would say that you shouldn’t feel depressed or frustrated, but accept this change in your life and start making changes that will help you stay healthy throughout your life.
For instance, at the age of forty, the human body needs to rest and sleep for seven to nine hours a night. In fact, prolonged sleep is not only linked to productivity, but also helps to get rid of bad eating habits.
So, if you don’t use forties as check-in points and turnout time, health problems will start to worsen, leading to chronic conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes.
Regular screening for common ailments is critical as most health conditions go unchecked and start showing signs only at an advanced stage and that’s sadly observed in our daily medical set up.
It makes me wonder some time, why almost everyone of the explained age, I talk to, has back pain or a health problem. When I ask if they are exercising, the answer is usually, no. Have we thought that your fitness is not just for yourself so you can feel comfortable; it is about how you are fit for your family. For your son, your wife, dad, brother and niece, so you can stay there for as long as possible.
Hence, you will need to consider for example, drinking more water, eating a high quality protein food, since we start losing our muscle mass since the early thirties, until the forties. In addition to taking care of the breast in women, as breast cancer affects one in eight women, making early detection of the disease essential. In fact, most women should start and continue to have a mammogram at the age of 40, depending on family history, disease and risk factors.
Although the burden of managing your finance and taking care of your family may cause you to be overwhelmed, pressing small things will only increase your suffering. All you have to do is find a little time to keep you fit and that could happen by accommodating a moderate exercise.
I think to some points, we need to be real as well, health in the forties is more important than the thirties. If you don’t lay a good foundation in your thirties, you are more likely to pay for it later in life or you may feel it now.
Also, sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition increase the risk of premature ageing, illness and disease, which ultimately shortens your life expectancy. As an adage that says life begins at forty, starting from today, you can make small changes so you can live the best life possible and be awesome over forty years old. After all, age is just a number, right? So we can undo body hours by controlling our health and making minor changes every day that have a major impact on our health in the forties and beyond.
Dr Yousuf Ali al Mulla, MD, Ministry of Health, is a medical innovator and educator. For any queries regarding the content of the column he can be contacted at: dryusufalmulla@gmail.com
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