3 Signs You Aren’t Aging Well
To quote the beautiful and talented Dr. Brooke, “Midlife is not for sissies.” I usually find myself laughing when in her presence, but in this particular instance the joke has a wistful bent. Are we all destined to grow old and frail and be helpless and sick? Or is aging a crapshoot where some of us make out better than others? Do we have some control over what happens to us as we age or are we just destined to live out the predetermined roadmap laid out by our genes?
I’ve been a doctor for 20+ years and I’ve seen first hand in our patients at my practice how important good habits of lifestyle are to aging well. It’s my professional opinion and the opinion of many of my colleagues that
“Genes may load the gun, but Lifestyle pulls the Trigger.”
You may not have control over the quantity of your life but with good lifestyle habits you have some control over the quality. It’s just that most of us realize that too late in life. I’m here to tell you it’s never too late to make meaningful, lasting changes that will impact your life for all of your days. And if your idea of sailing off into the sunset doesn’t involve things such as wheelchairs or oxygen tanks then there are a few important non conventional signs to be on the lookout for when it comes to you, your health and aging well.
Lack of purpose characterized by Boredom or Numbing
Purpose is defined as the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. The need for purpose is one of the defining characteristics of human beings. As humans, we crave purpose and we can suffer serious psychological difficulties when we don’t have it. We all know the sad souls who retire with big dreams only to realize they are bored and directionless without their job because that was their purpose. I’ve also had many a patient whose kids leave home, they don’t work and they spend their days on the couch glued to the news or the tv. Without that spark for life and a purpose for getting up everyday, most people end up with poor health outcomes. Lack of purpose is highly correlated with advanced aging- meaning aging beyond your years. If you are feeling stuck and you know you’re lacking purpose but you don’t know where to start, my recommendation is to find a charity or a family in need, someone or something that could use your mix of talents and the time you have to give and dive into helping out. Stepping outside ourselves and focusing on the needs of others is a great start to finding some purpose in your life.
Hump in back of your shoulders/Losing Excess Hair
Technically these are 2 signs but they often go hand in hand. The humping on the back of the neck, at the top of the upper back is called a Dowager’s hump. In a side profile, women with a Dowager’s hump will often be hunched in the mid back and their necks will be thrust forward in many cases, something called Anterior Head Posture. It is usually accompanied by storing excess body fat. In my clinical experience, many of these women have food intolerances like gluten and/or dairy that go undiagnosed and they eat a high carbohydrate, low protein diet to boot. This combination of excess body fat and high carb diet will often create hormonal imbalances, both in female hormones and in the thyroid.
Though there are several reasons for losing too much hair, as practitioners we generally want to rule out thyroid imbalances first. Note: I’m not an expert on women’s hormones, nor am I an expert on thyroid health but I do know enough to recognize the symptoms and recommend help for my patients when they are experiencing hormonal distress. Getting to the bottom of the cause of the hormone imbalance usually involves changing and improving the diet. If ignored, these hormonal challenges can accelerate aging and prevent your body from operating at its best. This is vital because when it doesn’t operate at its best you don’t repair and regenerate as well. In addition, the high carb diet often leads to other sicknesses such as diabetes and heart issues that work against us living a long time with a good quality of health. Some good news- you can improve the humping and the forward head posture with specific exercises designed to strengthen and coordinate the upper and middle low back musculature and also with specific Chiropractic adjustments.
Lack of Support System
People need people. Love and connection to others is one of our deepest most basic human needs. So as much as people can bug us at times, we do need a support system of people we care for and for whom care for us as we age. Health outcomes decrease when we live alone or have few human connections. Obviously the older you get the more people you lose in your life. I think there should be more single older folks who pair up and live together as roommates. Just think how beneficial that would be in keeping our minds active and alert and for us to feel supported and have daily love and connection. The main point here is it’s a healthy practice to develop and foster relationships at all ages and many times that means we have to take the first step. That can be uncomfortable but it’s one of the healthiest things we can do as we age.
So how did you do? Do you have 1,2 or 3 of these signs? I’ll say it again- it’s never too late to make positive changes to your health but with each passing day we are getting closer to those golden years. Making some hard changes today can be all the difference in making life easier down the road.
xo,
Dr. Lynne