How to stay young at heart with these 5 lifestyle hacks

Age is just a number right? And the trick is to remain youthful on the inside. But how exactly do you stay ‘young at heart’? Here are our secrets…

1. Be social

Whether it be maintaining lifelong friendships, chatting to strangers in the street, trying out different activities to meet a new crowd, socialising plays such a key part in staying young at heart. When you’re retired, and for some living alone, it may be easy to fall out of the habit of meeting up with friends, and making time for those around you. However, taking part in social activities allows retirees to stay sharp, maintain thinking skills and prevent loneliness.

2. Stay active

To be young at heart, you also need to keep that heart healthy! This can be ensured through regular exercise and keeping active.

Get your heart beat up by adding a daily walk into your schedule, maybe start by walking to the shop instead of driving. Small changes to your routine like this can make big differences.

Strength training is also heavily advised by healthcare professionals, especially for older people. Resistance training can help keep your bones strong and physical activity also improves balance, which is a necessity as falls can be are more common in older people.

3. Making time for hobbies

Reignite your passion for something you used to love! A hobby you once enjoyed in your early years could well be the reason you feel youthful in your later years.

However, it’s never too late to try something new and take on a fresh new hobby. Set yourself a challenge and strive towards inner youthfulness.

4. Embrace new technology

Recent studies carried out by Lenovo have shown a phenomenal amount of evidence supporting the idea that embracing technology makes you feel younger.

A survey was completed by 15,000 people from all over the world, including the US, Mexico, Brazil, China, India, Japan, UK, Germany, France and Italy. The study not only found 40% of global respondents feel “a lot” or “somewhat” more youthful thanks to technology, but on average it made them feel younger by 11 years!

5. Volunteer in your local community

Not everyone has the time throughout the first part of their life to volunteer within the local community, with full time employment and raising a family, etc., but for people in their later years, volunteering is a fantastic way to get out and about, and stay young at heart.

Carnegie Mellon University in the US found an association between volunteering and a decreased risk of high blood pressure, with older adults who volunteered at least 3.8 hours per week had lower blood pressure after four years than those who did not volunteer. This is most likely due to many volunteering roles involving quite a bit of physical activity, therefore improving cardiovascular function, balance, and agility, all contributing towards you feeling younger at heart.

All in all, lots of research has shown that not just older people, but pretty much anyone who regularly volunteers, engages in a hobby, keeps on learning new things, and connects with others tend to report higher feelings of youthfulness and overall wellbeing.

How can ExtraCare help you to stay young at heart?

ExtraCare can help you stay young at heart through the many volunteering opportunities we have across our locations, including retirement villages, schemes and charity shops. Email volunteering@extracare.org.uk for more information.