As we age, men's physiology naturally declines, but certain bad lifestyle habits can accelerate this process and affect quality of life.
Staying up late and not getting enough sleep
Staying up late for a long time is a common problem for us modern people, especially in those fast-paced city life, we are always willing to sacrifice sleep time in order to cope with work, school or entertainment.
But did you know that sleep is not just a break for the body, it is a great thing to maintain our health!
Research by the National Sleep Foundation shows that adults need to sleep 7 to 9 hours a night to keep their bodies and brains healthy.
Sleep deprivation is no joke, it not only affects the secretion of growth hormone and accelerates our aging habits, but also rings the alarm bell for our immune system and increases the risk of disease!
Growth hormone is the treasure of our body, it is the big housekeeper of our growth and development, cell repair and metabolism!
But the reality is that it is mainly secreted during the deep sleep stage when we sleep sweetly, but if you stay up late for a long time, the deep sleep will be discounted, and the growth hormone will not be effective, which is accelerating the aging process of our body!
The immune system is our moat, an iron gate against the invasion of external pathogens! However, once we do not get enough sleep, our immune cell activity decreases, and the natural killer cells, macrophages, and T cells are all too important!
Unfortunately, we are susceptible to all kinds of germs, and it can also cause various chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc.!
Moreover, lack of sleep can also make a mess of our brains! Memory, concentration and decision-making ability will be affected, and it may also make us emotionally messy and prone to anxiety and depression!
Don't think that staying up late will only affect our physical health, it will also make us "embarrassed" in social and work!
In terms of social interaction, you may not get enough sleep because of your emotional instability, which may affect your rapport with others.
Therefore, in order to maintain physical and mental health, it is essential to get enough and high-quality sleep! Everyone should reasonably adjust the work and rest time according to their own situation, and try to avoid staying up late, so as to lay a solid foundation for our body to be healthy!
Poor eating habits
In today's society, everyone's eating and drinking methods are becoming more and more diverse, but those high-sugar, high-fat, and high-salt eating habits have attracted widespread attention.
Why? Because these things don't just affect our appearance, they affect our health and longevity on a deeper level!
Eating too much sugar will not only make you fat, but it will also cause your skin to age! Yes, you heard it right, it's skin aging!
Studies have found that when we eat too much sugar, they react with proteins in our body and form something called final glycation products (AGEs).
These things are not good things, they make our skin's elastic fibers and collagen harder, and then our skin loses its elasticity, wrinkles, and even becomes dull and yellow!
Who doesn't want supple skin? Therefore, controlling sugar intake and choosing low-sugar foods is super important to maintain healthy skin.
Next, we have to talk about salt. Eating too salty can make your blood pressure soar, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke in the long run!
Reducing salt intake in food can reduce the risk of death or heart disease. Moreover, eating too salty can also lead to hardening of the arteries, making us more susceptible to heart diseases such as coronary heart disease.
Therefore, for the sake of heart health, it is a wise choice to eat less salt and choose low-sodium foods.
Finally, we have to talk about fat. Eating too much fat is not only easy to gain weight, but it can also make a mess inside your body!
Because eating too much fat can make you fat, and when you get fat, your body will fall into a big pit called a chronic inflammatory state.
And this hole is not easy to fill, because it will cause problems in your body's metabolic function, making you more susceptible to various diseases! Therefore, in order to reduce inflammation and maintain good health, it is very necessary to choose low-fat foods and eat more vegetables and fruits!
Diets high in sugar, fat and salt can have a profound impact on our health and aging!
By adjusting our diet and reducing the intake of these harmful ingredients, we can not only improve our appearance, but more importantly, improve our quality of life and prolong healthy life!
Therefore, you must consciously choose a healthy diet and invest in your future.
Lack of exercise
With the acceleration of the pace of life and the increase of work pressure, many people have begun to ignore the importance of physical exercise.
You may not know that long-term inactivity will not only cause our muscle mass to lose sharply, but also slow down our metabolism, and more seriously, it will also accelerate our aging process!
Muscle is not only the one that helps us move around, it is also the largest endocrine organ in the human body! The loss of muscle will directly lower our metabolic rate, which not only affects the body's various functions, but also makes us look old.
But don't worry, a moderate amount of exercise can help us greatly improve the function of the immune system and strengthen the body's resistance.
If we don't exercise for a long time, our immunity will be weakened, and we will be prone to colds and illnesses, not to mention, exercise can also help us release stress, relieve those anxiety and depression, and make us feel good.
And, did you know that aerobic exercise and strength training are powerful tools for anti-aging! Aerobic exercise can not only enhance cardiopulmonary function, improve our blood circulation efficiency, but also promote angiogenesis and keep blood vessels young.
Strength training can make our muscles stronger, increase the metabolic activity of muscles, help us burn excess fat, and maintain a good body shape.
The World Health Organization says that adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week.
These are recommendations based on a large number of scientific studies to help people adopt a healthy lifestyle and stay away from chronic diseases.
For example, studies have found that strength training followed by cardio can burn more fat in the first 15 minutes of cardio.
In daily life, we can choose aerobic exercises such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, etc. As for strength training, lifting dumbbells, barbells, and doing pull-ups are all good choices.
The key is to find a way to exercise that you enjoy and can stick to. Of course, don't forget to drink enough water and electrolytes after exercise, as well as the right amount of protein and carbohydrates to help your muscles recover and grow.
Physical exercise is really important for us to maintain our health and delay aging. So, let's take action, starting today, for the sake of health, for the future, keep exercising, and enjoy the fun and benefits of sports!
In this way, we can have a higher quality of life, a healthier and better future!
Psychological stress
With the increasing pace of life and the increasing pressure of work, a common problem faced by many people is long-term psychological stress.
This stress not only affects our mental health, but also triggers a range of physiological responses, including chronic stress. Chronic stress disrupts the body's hormonal balance and accelerates the cellular aging process.
Studies have shown that stress is associated with shortening of telomere length, a key structure that protects chromosomal stability, and that their shortening leads to a shortened cell life cycle and accelerates the aging process in individuals.
The length of telomeres is a limiting factor in the number of cell divisions, and with each cell division, telomeres are slightly shortened. When telomeres are shortened to a certain extent, the cell cannot continue to divide and enters a state of senescence.
Therefore, telomere length is considered a biomarker of aging. Studies have also found that shortening of telomere length is not only associated with aging, but also with the development of several diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and certain types of cancer.
In order to slow down aging and improve quality of life, we need to adopt active lifestyle adjustments.
Getting enough sleep is crucial because it helps to restore physical and mental vitality and reduce chronic stress.
A balanced diet can provide the body with essential nutrients to help maintain hormonal balance and reduce oxidative stress. Thirdly, regular exercise not only strengthens physical fitness, but also slows down aging by promoting blood circulation and improving metabolic function.
In addition to these lifestyle adjustments, learning to effectively manage stress is also the key to slowing down aging. Stress can be managed in a variety of ways, such as communicating with friends, participating in physical activity, or singing.
In addition, planning your daily life and work reasonably, and using a calendar or schedule app to keep track of your daily schedule can also effectively reduce stress.
By adjusting lifestyle habits and managing stress effectively, we can control and delay the aging process to a certain extent. These changes not only improve quality of life, but also lead to healthier, longer lives.
We should cherish each day and take positive steps to protect our bodies and minds and enjoy a more fulfilling and healthy life.
Such lifestyle adjustments not only bring personal benefits to us, but also have a positive impact on society, as healthy citizens are better able to contribute to the development and progress of society.
Let's work together towards a healthier and happier future.
References are as follows:
【1】AGING CELL：高脂饮食加速衰老：表观遗传角度的解读
[2] Physical activity