Q: What can I do to age gracefully?

A: Three things – First make sure you get some kind of physical activity every day. This helps take care of your heart.
Second, do something for your brain. Learn something, study something, read something, challenge yourself mentally every day.
Lastly, get as good a night’s rest as you can because sleep is where we repair ourselves. If you get crappy sleep, you get crappy repairs.
Sleep does become a challenge as you get older but the more we do it and make it a priority, the better off we are with our repairs. Naps are also good. This is the circle of life.
Remember when you were a kid in kindergarten? You were expected to have a daily nap. I think as we evolve into our later years we return to the need for that daily nap. Go for it because we are coming full circle as far as the cycle of life is concerned and we are back at the circadian rhythm that we were at when we were a kid in kindergarten. As an older person, you might need that extra boost to get through the rest of the day. Otherwise, you might be kind of cranky.

 

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