It’s not your genetics. It’s your lifestyle. You’re not aging; you’re destroying yourself with every smoke, every drink, every late night, and every “I’ll start tomorrow”. It all shows up in your face, and the scariest part is you don’t see it day-to-day.
One day you’ll wake up and look at yourself in the mirror and wonder who that old dude is. That said, I want to talk about lifestyle habits that are cooking your looks and robbing you of your energy. These habits age you ahead of your schedule, but if you fix them, you will look and feel 10 years younger.
What affects how look as you age
- Alcohol consumption. It’s a silent face killer, which cause water retention and puffiness. Alcohol can damage skin and collagen long-term. It breaks capillaries in and around the nose and causes eyes to get darker, ruining your looks.
- Smoking. Cigarette smoking constricts capillaries which reduces oxygen to the face. Over time, wrinkles are created, and skin looks ashy and loses a elasticity. THC in weed lowers testosterone levels and impacts your sleep. Smoking anything will age quickly. You get puffy, your eyes look bad, and your teeth become discolored.
- Lack of sleep. Get enough sleep so your testosterone levels don’t drop. Sleep is part of the body’s healing and replenishing. If you’re not sleeping enough, you can’t look as good as you can.
- Processed foods. Processed foods affect hormones, which in turn ruin your face. You also can get acne and gain weight.
- Excess caffeine. Too much caffeine can dehydrate the body and spike cortisol (stress hormone) levels, aging you quickly.
- Sun exposure. If you’re getting outside without sunscreen, the sun can age and damage your skin. Use an SPF moisturizer of at least 20 and cover up.
- Screen time. Blue light can damage skin and make you squint. Squinting can increase crow’s feet and create dark circles under eyes.
- Dehydration. Hydration is critical for your skin and body to look good. Drinking a gallon a day flushes out toxins.
- Sodium intake. A diet that is high in sodium causes puffiness and bloat. Sodium can cause you to look chubby but by reducing salt and increasing water, your body can flush out subcutaneous water making you look leaner, healthier, and younger.
- Stress. When stressed, cortisol increases which annihilates collagen.
- Sitting for extended periods. If sitting all day, testosterone levels will drop from the lack of activity, and posture can becomes crappy making you look old.
- Not lifting or working out. When lifting weights causes testosterone to skyrocket, muscle mass to increase, and in turn, you to look better. It’s a youth potion. If you don’t workout, you can get man boobs and a dad bod which make you look older.
- Neglecting mental health. If you don’t manage your mental health, you can become stressed out and anxious. Sleeping becomes worse and your diet may also suffer. You may also experience substance abuse.
- Poor oral hygiene. Pay attention to your teeth and gums, as you don’t want gingivitis or plaque buildup. Bleeding and puffy gums are also nasty. It all ages you and and is not healthy. Schedule twice a year cleanings but floss, brush, and take care of your teeth daily.
- Poor sleep hygiene. Have a clean bed because bacteria covered pillowcases are not suitable for your face. Wash your face and moisturize twice a day. Exfoliate twice a week. Also use some sort of anti-aging serum. Retinol is an incredible product that can reverse and fight aging.
- Lack of or minimal recovery time. If you don’t slow down, decompress, and chill, your body is not able to heal.
- Binge drinking. Partying on the weekends ages you fast, and you can tell who has consistently partied hard. They look older than those who have led a clean lifestyle.
- Destructive social circles. If you’re hanging in a negative social circle of those facilitating bad behavior, you will look older faster.
- Hustle culture. If you’re constantly grinding and never taking a break, it’ll catch up with you.
- Dressing too old. If you dress old, you’re going to look old. Dress young without looking like you’re trying too hard. Own your style and identify what works for you by upgrading pieces and items.
