Let’s face it—when you become a mom, focusing on your well-being can be challenging. Between caring for your kids, keeping up with chores and your career, and finding time for both your spouse and other extracurricular activities, it can seem practically impossible to make time for yourself. As a result, this may cause you to let your health fall by the wayside, which consequently, can speed up the natural Aging process. That’s why it’s imperative that you integrate wellness habits into your everyday routine so that you not only can age gracefully, but also make the most out of the life you’re currently living.

Getting older can be a difficult concept to come to terms with, but it doesn’t have to be. For all you moms out there, this one’s for you! Follow these Healthy Aging Tips for a better today, tomorrow, and the rest of your lifetime!

Delegate Some of Your Responsibilities

First and foremost, delegate some of your motherly responsibilities when possible. As mentioned before, carrying out your role as a mom can be time-consuming and exhausting—two factors that are negatively affecting your mental and physical well-being. Being burdened with all those not-so-fun obligations can be overwhelming, and too much stress can lead to more than just a bad mood. Believe it or not, it’s also a contributing factor of age acceleration, meaning when it comes to Healthy Aging, the less stress, the better.

For this reason, delegation is necessary as you get older. Instead of doing the dishes every night, ask your children to wash them. If you’re running late from work, ask your neighbor or spouse if they’d be willing to drive your kid to practice. Whatever the situation may be, do not be afraid to ask for help when you need it. You don’t have to put the weight of the world on your shoulders. Truth is, everyone has been there at some point or another and will only continue to go through it throughout their lives—that’s just a part of life.

So, don’t feel bad or apologetic when your to-do list becomes a little too much for you to handle and you can’t get everything done on your own. Remind yourself that you are human and that there are many people in your corner and community who’d be more than willing to assist you when needed. Take advantage of the world around you and use it to foster new relationships and healthier self-care practices as you get older.

Utilize Anti-Aging Skin Care

Whether you’re a mom in her twenties or a mom in your forties, there’s no better time than now to start using anti-aging skin care. Part of getting older means naturally developing visible signs of aging. Contrary to popular belief, these signs don’t always appear in the form of a fine line or wrinkle—despite the fact that these concerns are common amongst women with mature skin types.

In actuality, developmental signs of aging can take the form of dark spots, dullness, sagginess of the skin, loss of collagen, and more. Especially if you’re a mom who enjoys tanning, or used to when you were younger, the likelihood of acquiring these other tell-tale signs of aging is quite high, as excess sun exposure has been found to be one of the leading causes of premature aging.

Fortunately, with the proper products, it can be easy to preserve your youthful complexion throughout your lifetime. So, if you haven’t already, try to invest in some sort of wrinkle-fighting treatment that’s compatible with your skin type, and incorporate it into your daily skin care regimen. Regardless if you do or do not have any fine lines and wrinkles at this moment in time, utilizing something as basic as an anti-aging face cream can work to prevent and diminish developmental signs of aging before they even occur. This, paired with consistent application of SPF skin care products will allow you to fully protect your complexion both now, and in the long run. I find that as I age, my eyes and face need some extra TLC. Check out my post, DIY Calendula Cleanser for Face and Eyes.

Prioritize Your Sleep

Even if you don’t have a newborn baby keeping you up at night, sticking to a regular sleeping schedule as a mom is no walk in the park. With all of the day-to-day tasks at hand, combined with simply carrying out your duties as a parent, it can be a struggle to keep your circadian rhythm in check. And while the solution to this problem may seem straightforward—getting more sleep at night—following this healthy aging tip isn’t always that simple. Still, it’s crucial to get your sleeping schedule back on track, as sleep deprivation ages you quicker and can cause other long-term consequences on your health including depression, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Although perfecting your sleep schedule won’t happen overnight, there are some things you can do to improve and prioritize your rest time. One of the most important being to try to aim for at least seven hours of sleep per night by following a specific bedtime and wake-up time. This will make it easier for you to effectively alter your circadian rhythm for the better and maintain a sleeping schedule that’s actually supportive of your well-being.

To help get you started, consider setting a bedtime and wake-up time using one of these sleep tracking apps. They are specially designed to automatically set your alarm clock in the morning, send you reminders when it’s getting close to bedtime, silence your phone during your scheduled time, and provide you with other relevant data related to your quality of sleep—so don’t be afraid to see what’s out there!

Embrace Your Downtime

Above all, remember to embrace your downtime. There’s no denying how chaotic life can be when you’re a mom, but that doesn’t change the fact that your alone time is just as essential to your health as it is to everyone else’s. In other words, no matter how busy you are, you must put in the effort to make time for yourself! All of us, no matter what age, gender, or role in life, need some “me time” to unwind and reconnect with our inner being. And there are no exceptions, even for all of you moms out there!

Repeat after me: self-care isn’t selfish, so don’t feel guilty for taking some “you time” if and when you need it. After all, you deserve it! How you choose to spend your time is up to you and your needs, but for all intents and purposes, try to dedicate at least fifteen minutes a day to do something proactive for your mind and body. Performing your anti-aging daily skin care regimen and/or getting some shut eye are great places to start, but it shouldn’t stop there.

Depending on what you have going on or how much downtime you schedule into your day may affect what activities you do, but the list of self-care practices out there that you can try is endless! Don’t limit yourself to only doing a few routine practices during this time. Rather, challenge yourself to get creative and go out of your comfort zone to learn and try new things that are either of interest to you or beneficial towards your well-being and interpersonal relationship with yourself. In doing so, you’re bound to age gracefully from the inside out.

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