The midlife health checklist: How to Maximise Your Wellbeing in Your 40s and Beyond

Turning 40 makes a big difference. All of a sudden you can’t eat as much without gaining weight and you can’t read letters in small fonts. Your health should be your priority from the point you turn 40. Here is a list of things to pay attention to when maximizing your wellbeing in the fifth decade.

Muscle-up

From the age of 40, you start losing about 1 percent of muscle per year. If you haven’t developed working out habits by now, you may consider doing so now. This may be the perfect timing for you to take up this healthy habit. The good news is that you don’t even have to go to the gym to work on your muscles, even though it would be best to occasionally visit the gym. If you like exercising outside, you can do it in Centennial Park, for example. You should start with weight-bearing exercises when you start developing your workout routine. Then, do some cardiovascular training and lift some heavy objects for a while. Since aging means getting less flexible, you may want to consider yoga or Pilates too. With activities like these, you will significantly improve your flexibility, balance, and range of motion.

Working out can be tiring and annoying but its benefits are more than important for a healthy lifestyle. This is especially important once you reach 40 and your health needs to remain in perfect condition. Some days may be especially hard, but all of the pain will pay off. All you need to do is not give up and find the workout routine that works best for you. Set goals for yourself and do your best to accomplish them.

Eat healthy

One of the most important things you should pay attention to if you’re in your 40s and want to stay healthy is what kind of food are you eating. You may notice that your eating habits have changed. You are no longer able to eat as much as you used to and not gain weight. This means that your metabolism has slowed down and that you should start paying more attention to the food you eat.

The crucial thing to have a healthy diet is to make sure your body gets enough fibre and fluids. Your daily eating plan should be full of nutrient-dense food. Such foods are proteins, fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy and whole grains. If you don’t know how to start eating healthier, consider ordering some delicious weight loss meals.  With the right diet, you’ll be ready for the 40s, but also every other stage in life.

Visit ophthalmologist regularly

Since vision can worsen at the age of 40, you should start paying a visit to your doctor more often. Regular check-ups are crucial in preserving good sight. If you notice that you have trouble reading medicine labels or guides and manuals, you should visit your doctor immediately. This is a normal phenomenon after 40, but you’ll still want to prevent any further damage. If you find glasses helpful, start wearing them as soon as possible.

Sunglasses are important too. They take part in the prevention of the damage as well as the regular glasses. If you’re exposed to the sun longer than you should be, the chances of cataracts are increased. With sunglasses that have UV-A and UV-B protection, this problem is solved. Diet is important for your vision too. Make sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables since they are full of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Since these are all proved to slow vision loss, they will make a great addition to your diet. Another benefit is that you’ll have more energy for your exercising with the right kinds of food.

Explore your family history

Finally, you should explore your family history. This is very important because some of the diseases your ancestors had had may be hereditary. If you didn’t have reasons to look at your family tree more carefully over the years, now is the time to do it. Diseases such as cancer and heart disease are known to be connected to genetics. If you find out that you do have such diseases in your family history, you’ll know that you should take higher care of your health.

The first step would be to do all the necessary check-ups. For instance, someone who has a family history of colon cancer might want to get a colonoscopy as soon as possible. In any case, it’s better to do this at 40, than wait until 50 or 60. The same goes for any type of disease you may find in your family history. You should get to know your enemy and prevent any inconvenience before you have to fight it.

Conclusion

Being healthy is always important, but once you turn 40, the situation gets more serious. This is the time to pay attention to your body and mind and do your best to preserve your mental and physical health.

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