The rotating hands of a clock turn seconds to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days, days to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years. This countdown no doubt impacts our lives. It dictates the seasons and times, causing us to decide on what to do in every season. Furthermore, it counts our years, moving us from toddlers, to children, then teenagers, even as we migrate to adulthood and parents. As time causes increase in our age, so also it brings changes to our bodies. We grow up, and grow old. Ageing happens to us as surely as seconds catches up with minutes.
Ageing is not an entirely ugly phase of life, as we can choose to age gracefully and remain ever young and bubbly. This can be achieved by deliberate and calculated actions and choices, most importantly, identifying early signs that you are ageing and attending to the same early enough.
To help you achieve this, below are some early signs in your body that indicate you may be ageing badly.
Loss of smell – degenerative nerve disorders like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer usually start slowly and worsens over time, leading to muscle tremors to slowness of voluntary movements, slowness in speech, and dementia. An early awareness of this and quick treatment will go a long way in preventing a troubling and difficult old age.
Loss of hearing – Loss of hearing, or loss of perception of high frequency sound occurs to us all. However, hearing loss is actually the number one indicator you are ageing too quickly and badly, it also can be a sign of developing dementia or Alzheimer disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the formation of blockades in the brain, making it difficult for it to send all the signals it wants to organs of the body. As a result, the brain begins to shut down. A quick way to remedy this is to keep your brain active through reading or doing crossword puzzles or brain games.
Reddening of eyes – Arthritis is the painful inflammation and stiffening of joints. Inflammation in your joints and eyes can be caused by the same cellular process. Reddening of eyes can be an early sign of arthritis. Gladly, the earlier arthritis is treated, the better the long term result. Medical solutions to arthritis have evolved and advanced in effectiveness over the years. The earlier you avail yourself of treatment, the better for you.
Slow Digestion – Like hearing loss, this happens to all. However, when it shows up early in life, it calls for concern. When the movement of food through the digestive system becomes slower, it’s because the stomach, liver, pancreas, and small intestine produce deficient amounts of digestive juices responsible for breaking down food.. A good way of attending to this is through exercises that stimulate bowel movement and tone to the muscles of the abdominal region. Also, not allowing dinner to run into late nights is very advisable.
Partial loss of physical balance is an early indication of ageing. It’s a scientifically proven fact that by the age of 80, an average person experiences almost a complete loss of the ability to stand on one leg with both eyes closed. There’s a simple test based on this fact that could help you evaluate the speed of the ageing processes going on inside your body:
- Stand still on an even floor with your legs close to each other and close your eyes;
- Raise your leg and bend it at the knee — the left one if you’re right-handed, and the right one if you’re left-handed;
- Use a stopwatch to see how long you’re able to stand in this position until you lose your balance.
An average 30-year-old person who doesn’t have any serious problems with their vestibular system (of the inner ear involved in balance) will be able to stand for 20 seconds or more. While an elderly person won’t be able to stand for even 10 seconds. If as a young person you can’t do this for 20 seconds, you are ageing badly.
Hair Loss -Hormonal changes, environmental factors, genetics, and your diet play a role in how quickly you lose your hair. Hair loss often suggests that something else may be wrong, so you need to take it seriously. You may want to run a series of blood tests to rule out lupus, thyroid disease, or anemia.
Knowing what you are up against helps you make informed decisions. Remember, you can’t stop ageing, you can only age gracefully by taking heed to your well being.