How can you still turn heads when you look run down? We suggest walking — with “head turns” — straight to your dermatologist’s office asap. Here’s why.
Your Skin After 40
There are new factors affecting the appearance and texture of your skin. A natural decrease in collagen and elastin production reduces skin’s elasticity and thickness, which allows fine lines and wrinkles to appear. Hydration becomes more important than ever, so if you aren’t treating yourself to a daily and nightly moisturizing regimen, hop to it!
This is also when bad habits—tanning, smoking, not wearing sunscreen—make a permanent appearance on your skin. Fortunately, it’s not all doom and gloom for epidermis that’s 40 or better. Recent stats from the Face Aesthetics Report reveals that Canadian women in their 40s want to look on average nine years younger, noting “uneven skin tone” as their biggest concern. With the ever-evolving pace of skin care science, hiding under a layer of foundation (or BB or CC cream, or whatever they’re calling it these days!) isn’t your only option.
Speak to a dermatologist about laser treatments, peels and other effective products and clinical treatments available that can help correct skin damage and promote a healthier, more radiant complexion.
Your Brain After 40
In a recent study in the British Medical Journal, researchers discovered that memory, vocabulary, listening and comprehension skills begin to drop once a person hits the age of 45, not 60 as previously thought.
Exercise is a powerhouse technique for helping to keep your brain happy and healthy as the years since the last time you sat in a university lecture hall pile up. A slew of research links regular exercise to improvements in cognitive performance, including a new nod to workouts from the journal Psychological Medicine. The study, published in March 2013, showed that participants who stayed active over the course of their lives performed better on memory and executive functioning tests at ages 11, 16, 33, 42, 46 and 50 than couch potatoes did (they were asked to name as many animals as they could in under a minute).
To further your exercise gains, Karen Peterson, M.A., author of Move with Balance: Healthy Aging Activities for Brain and Body suggests adding “head turns” when walking on safe, level and clear terrain. Peterson says exercises such as this one help to increase coordination, sharper cognitive skills, improve vision and enhance self-assurance.
How to walk with “Head Turns”
- Walk forward normally.
- As you walk, turn your head to the left and continue to walk.
- Then turn your head to the right and continue to walk.
- Slowly walk backwards as you turn your head left and then right (as if to look at something).
- Change the movement of your head. Move it up and down as if nodding.
- Walk forward and backward at various speeds.
- Lengthen your gait. Shorten it.
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