There is no way to avoid ageing. The human body was designed to grow old, fall sick, and die one day. Is that true or have we been falsely believing it? Find out how to reverse ageing and live a healthy life with a natural lifestyle.

Although humans cannot avoid ageing, we can do it right. Throughout history, there have plenty of tribes including – Indian yogi, Australian aboriginals, and Native Americans – who lived long and healthy lives. They didn’t succumb to disease or let their body go frail and weak, as they age.

Even today, five blue zones have been identified – a small island in Japan, a Greek island, a hamlet in Costa Rica, an enclave in California and a mountainous island in Sardinia – where people live the longest and healthiest. It’s common to find centenarians and super-centenarians going about their daily lives with full energy and no disabilities in these zones.

So, what makes them live longer? What are they doing right?

Studies show that people living in Blue Zones have several common traits:

• They eat predominantly plant-based diets (90%) that are rich in raw, green leafy vegetables. The amount of animal food is minimal (10%)
• They avoid processed and sugar-laden foods
• They don’t overeat
• They don’t drink or if they do, take alcohol in moderation
• They are naturally active – engaging in long walks, gardening, and other moderate day-to-day exercises
• It’s not just about diet and exercise. People living in blue zones have a strong sense of community and purpose.
• They have low-stress levels
• They maintain lifelong friends, participate in group activities with a strong sense of purpose, and focus on family interactions

Beating Ageing – Is it Nature or Nurture?

We all age at different rates. While some people appear younger than their actual age, others appear much older than they are.

While hereditary factors play a role in the way you age, lifestyle factors play a huge role in increasing life expectancy. Humans have two ages – chronological age and biological age.

• Chronological age refers to the actual number of calendar years a person has been alive for
• Biological age, on the other hand, refers to the physiological age – how old a person seems. It considers several lifestyle factors like diet, exercise, sleeping, environment, behaviour and other habits

Is it possible to reverse the biological clock? While you may not be able to stop ageing, what you can do is age at a slower rate. With the right lifestyle changes, you can live a longer and healthier life.

6 Ways to turn the clock back by adopting a natural lifestyle

1. Get Adequate Shut-Eye

Sleep is the most powerful doctor. The quality of your sleep plays a crucial role in your overall mental and physical wellbeing. Think of it as your body’s natural housekeeping. When you are in sleep, your body undergoes repair and rejuvenation at the cellular level.

How to get it right?

Make sure to avoid all digital distractions in the bedroom. Do not take your mobile phone or other digital screens to bed. Avoid overeating or late eating, just before going to bed. To get the best quality of sleep, make sure that your bedroom is completely dark and you are wearing comfortable clothes to bed and go to bed early at least most days of the week. Here are nine easy ways to boost your sleep naturally.

2. Get Moving

According to the circadian rhythm of nature, as our bodies wake up from a night of rest, we need to stretch and move our bodies in sunlight. Moving your body first thing in the morning helps to eliminate waste and toxins from your system naturally. Exercising releases our happy hormones – serotonin, oxytocin, dopamine, and endorphins, making us feel energetic and happy.

How to get it right?

Choose an activity that you enjoy. It can be yoga, dancing, walking, gardening, cycling, swimming, or anything else. Don’t focus on burning calories at the gym or building muscles. Instead, do something that you really look forward to doing every day. Keep active throughout the day. Remember also to adopt a good sitting, standing and walking posture as it greatly affects not only the way you look but also the way you feel and that reflects on your outlook to life.

3.Sense of community

As human beings, we want a sense of belonging as each of us feel the need to belong to a group or identity. As we saw from the blue zone study, a strong sense of community and belonging brings us happiness and will to live. As we support and derive support, give and receive, life becomes richer and more meaningful.

How to get it right?

Surround yourself with positivity – by doing things you love and by being with people you love and bring you happiness. By nature, we are herd animals preferring to live together in communities. So, find your tribe and make time for family life and community engagement. Mix with young and old alike. Practically, this can take the form of family/friends get together, community gardening and clean-up, satsang, being part of a trekking group or just joining a daily group for chit chat in the neighbourhood park.

4. Eat Hydrating foods

Our bodies are 60 to 70% water. Hydrating foods are foods high in natural water content. Such foods keep the mind and body supple and the skin smooth, blemish-free and healthy. On the contrary, foods like caffeine, sugar, salt, processed foods, fried foods, dairy and meat, smoking and excessive drinking are acidic and dehydrate the body making it tired and age faster.

How to get it right?

Our body can truly get its hydration from foods which are in their natural state as given by nature. This means that our diets should be high in living foods – i.e. fruits, vegetables in raw form and a few nuts and seeds. Enjoy your cooked foods too but give prominence to living, raw foods.

5.Beat Stress

Stress takes a toll on your health in more ways than you can imagine. While it’s not possible to eliminate stress completely from your life, you need to work out the right ways to keep it under check.

How to get it right?

Practice breathing exercises and meditation to calm down your mind and relax your body. Here are 5 practical tools to overcome stress. Accept what is and change what you can.

6. Keep your Brain Active

Keeping your brain active and alert is the secret to staying young. Remember that it’s never too late to do something that you have always wanted to do.

How to get it right?

Enrol for a new class – drawing, music, dancing, or pick up a new hobby painting, calligraphy, and more. Today, the internet offers plenty of online courses and tutorials to help you learn new skills. Learning new skills regenerates brain cells.

Finally, remember that you are only as Old as You Think

We all have come across some people in our lives – who are always cheerful, energetic, and happy – even in their 60s, 70s or beyond. What’s their secret? What drives them?

Ageing is not just a physiological effect. It’s a mental state too. The Japanese have a concept called “Ikigai (Translates to Life Worth).” Ikigai is the one goal/purpose in life that keeps you looking forward and moving ahead in life. What’s your Ikigai?

Discover your purpose in life, and never let go of your child-like passions and curiosity to stay young, healthy, and happy forever. Lastly, it is not only the length of a life lived but how well you lived which really matters.

Learning from real-life examples

Listed below are the health journeys of several people who embarked on a journey of healthy living. Not only did they reverse their chronic health conditions, but they also state that they look and feel younger than before!

• Satish Sharma’s Health journey
• Della Upsher’s health journey
• Pramod Pathak’s health journey
• Kapil Behl’s health journey
• Malathi’s health journey

Further Reads

• How to find your Ikigai and discover your passion in life
• The Science of Living Well
• 6 Natural Ways to Look and Feel Younger