What you do to stay healthy and animated determines how well you age — or don’t. Want to feel great in a decade? As the TV pitchmen say: Act now.
Your Healthy Schedule
Women's 40s and 50s are a pivotal time, says JoAnn E. Manson, MD, chief of the division of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, in Boston. Your body is changing in dramatic ways. Remember puberty? It's like that. You will probably go through menopause during these years (typically around 51). Your memory may become slightly porous. You may be at increased risk for hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions. There's a lot at stake. But as you head into midlife, there's also a lot you can do to be the strongest, nimblest, and healthiest version of yourself possible.
In 44 BC, the statesman and philosopher Cicero advised his fellow Romans "to adopt a regimen of health, to practice moderate exercise, and to take just enough food and drink to restore our strength and not to overburden it." Two millennia later, our knowledge has expanded slightly: Good health comes from more than just commonsense moderation. It's also the psychological and spiritual attitudes you bring to the effort.
To that end, here's a sample daily schedule of all the good things you can do to improve the chances that you'll still be in your prime in 2018.
Meditate, Exercise, and Step on the Scale
6:30 A.M.: Meditate
Meditation sets the stage for good health habits throughout the day. "It's probably the best thing anyone can do because it teaches you to inhabit the body from the inside out," says Anna Douglas, PhD, who has taught vipassana meditation at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center, in Woodacre, California, for 20 years.
By training us to focus on moment-to-moment living, meditation helps us make better health decisions all day long, such as whether to down that vanilla bean Frappuccino with whipped cream or walk home from work the long way. If we sit in meditation 20 minutes a day, we are more likely to make choices consciously, says Sharon Salzberg, cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society, in Barre, Massachusetts, and creator of the new book-CD set Unplug. "We're more in touch with our motivations, our desires, our fears," she explains. Good-bye, Diet Sprite; hello, mineral water with lime. And, Salzberg says, the health rituals that spring from personal insight are the ones most likely to endure.
If you're skeptical of these ethereal pluses, consider that meditation has health benefits in its own right. It can help relieve stress, decrease chronic pain, and improve sleep. Over the past several years, brain imaging studies of people who practiced either insight meditation or Zen meditation revealed an increased thickness in their brain's cortex, a physical change that may protect them from cognitive decline as they age.
7:00 A.M.: Exercise
"It's as close to a magic bullet as we've come in modern medicine," Manson says. A 2008 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people of all ages who are physically active in their leisure time actually slow down the aging process; on average, the cells of sedentary individuals are 10 years older, biologically, than those of their active peers. And a study of people over 60 in the Journal of the American Medical Association this past year noted that, regardless of weight, those who exercised regularly had greater longevity than did inactive people.
You know the drill: at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five or more days a week. What's moderate? Enough that your heartbeat accelerates but you can still carry on a conversation. (And you don't have to do the 30 minutes in one go; you can do several short sessions during the course of the day.) Also, twice a week perform eight to 10 strength training exercises, with 10 to 15 repetitions of each exercise, says the American College of Sports Medicine. Keep yoga in your weekly rotation too. "It teaches you not to be afraid of pushing your limits. You're feeling the edge of pain but not collapsing under it and looking for a Tylenol," Douglas says. "You actually learn to stay there and breathe and be present with it. That's incredibly empowering, the capacity to not be afraid of what the body is going to do as it gets older."
7:30 A.M.: Weigh and measure yourself -- but don't do it again for another week or two
Manson recommends that women weigh themselves regularly, though not obsessively. The goal is to catch those extra five pounds before they become 10 or 15. As a study in the February issue of The Lancet reported, being obese or overweight can increase one's risk of developing as many as a dozen types of cancer.
"The best thing a woman can do is get a tape measure and measure her waist, close to the navel. As it gets toward 30, 31 inches, that's a warning signal," Manson says. Above that figure, she cautions, you substantially raise your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, insulin disorders, and several forms of cancer.
Eat (and Drink) for Your Health
8:00 A.M.: Eat a healthy breakfast
Good health begins with high-quality fuel. David Katz, MD, director of the Prevention Research Center at the Yale School of Public Health, starts his day with whole-grain cereal, skim milk, and fruit, such as berries. Other healthy choices include a vegetable omelet with whole wheat toast, a low-fat bran muffin with peanut butter, or a yogurt smoothie made with fresh fruit. Because different whole grains contain different amounts of essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein), a mix of varieties -- wheat, oats, barley, amaranth, buckwheat, corn, millet -- will ensure a balance.
Starting the day off right underscores a key message: You are what you eat. "We're turning ourselves over every day," Katz explains. "Your skin is turning over every day. What are you making new skin cells out of? The food you eat. Your intestines and blood vessels, too, are turning over every day. What are you manufacturing those new cells out of? The food you eat."
8:30 A.M.: Take a fish oil capsule
The omega-3 fatty acids in fish, formally known as DHA and EPA, are powerful anti-inflammatories. They appear to help lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and possibly autoimmune conditions. Omega-3s may also improve brain function and prevent depression. Your best bet is to eat at least two fish dishes a week. But if that regimen doesn't appeal or you're concerned about mercury contamination, use fish oil supplements that contain an uncontaminated version of these active ingredients. Aim for 1 gram of fish oil a day.
10:00 A.M.: Make a cup of tea
Health-wise, tea has it all over coffee. Its flavonoids neutralize free radicals, the scavengers that damage our DNA over time and unravel our body's smooth operation. Studies suggest that the flavonoids in tea may help protect against heart disease and certain cancers and may boost the immune system. (By the way, we mean real tea here -- black, green, or oolong, though it can be decaf -- made from the tea bush, Camellia sinensis.)
Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
11:00 A.M.: Call or e-mail a friend to get together
Friendship is one of the best antidotes for aging. Among women and men in their mid 30s to early 40s, those who report they have solid social support -- a set of ties that make them feel good about themselves, a sense that there are people who like and care about them -- collect a big biological payoff. "They look healthier in terms of every physiologic system that we look at," says Teresa Seeman, PhD, professor of medicine and epidemiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine, at UCLA. "Their cholesterol is better. Their glucose metabolism is better. Their inflammation is lower. Their blood pressure is lower. All the main biological systems that regulate our bodies and our body cells look healthier." These biomarkers are a window on the future: Decades before a disease would be diagnosed, they help predict the risk of developing atherosclerosis, dementia, and other problems.
The lesson? Don't neglect friendships or make them the last items on your to-do list. "Be proactive. Don't take time just when it's available," Seeman advises. Even virtual connection through e-mail likely has health benefits: "Communication of any sort," she says, "is most likely beneficial."
11:15 A.M.: As long as you're on the phone, schedule your annual physical and mammogram
12:30 P.M.: Take calcium and vitamin D supplements after lunch
Our bodies absorb calcium, which enables our bones to withstand osteoporosis, better from real food (dairy products, kale, collards, bok choy, and mustard greens) or from calcium-fortified foods than they do from supplements. That's why you should get the bulk of your calcium from what's on your plate. Because most women don't receive the recommended daily requirement in their diet, for years physicians have advised those who couldn't reach the target level to take a calcium supplement of 1,000 milligrams a day if they were premenopausal and 1,200 milligrams a day if they were postmenopausal. But a recent study suggesting that calcium supplements increase the risk of heart disease in healthy postmenopausal women has some people reevaluating that advice.
Manson believes calcium is getting a bad rap; she's sticking with the traditional advice. She's also a firm believer in women getting enough vitamin D. Aside from helping calcium do its thing, vitamin D may have benefits in preventing cancers from developing, studies suggest. Vitamin D also plays a role in controlling infections and may reduce the risk of fractures and even heart disease. The best way to get it is to spend time outdoors every day (about 10 minutes without sunscreen should be enough) because sunlight spurs the production of vitamin D in our skin. Most women don't get enough time outdoors, so Manson strongly advises taking at least 800 IU of vitamin D daily, twice the amount the government recommends.
2:00 P.M.: Feeling stressed at work? It may be time to change jobs
A 2008 study in Britain found that among people under 50 who said their work was stressful, nearly 70 percent were more likely to develop heart disease than those who said their work was stress-free. The irritated employees churned out higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol and experienced changes in heart function, such as angina and nonfatal heart attacks.
4:00 P.M.: Think big
You're not the only one who wants to feel great in 10 years. So do your friends and neighbors, as well as perfect strangers. Join them to advocate for changes in the environment -- at work, in your neighborhood, in stores -- that will make a healthy lifestyle more easily attainable.
"The things we must do to cultivate our own health run the obstacle course of the modern world," Katz says. "No one of us can change the world by ourselves. But in unity there is strength." Do you have healthy foods in your local supermarket? Safe walkways and running paths in your neighborhood? Good (and green) public transportation? Sensible job schedules? "Ask yourself: What makes it tough to be healthy?" Katz adds. "Every one of those things is an invitation for a personal strategy or a policy. If it's a policy, get together with friends and start advocating for change."
Do Dinner Better
6:30 P.M.: While preparing dinner, pour yourself a glass of wine
Admittedly, alcohol is a double-edged sword for women. Though it may modestly increase the risk of breast cancer, it definitely reduces the risk of heart disease, which is a bigger threat. What to do? "If you have no family history of breast cancer but do have a family history of heart disease or you just really enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, then by all means have a drink a day -- and get your mammograms routinely," Katz advises. But beware: More than three alcoholic drinks a day of any sort -- whether beer, wine, or hard liquor -- does increase your risk of breast cancer. Keep to one drink (12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, 1 1/2 ounces of 80-proof liquor); more than that may raise the risk of hypertension, liver damage, and obesity. Some researchers believe red wine, with the antioxidant resveratrol, is better than white. But you don't have to imbibe the fruit of the vine at all to get a long-term kick; the ethanol in any alcoholic beverage may increase "good" (HDL) cholesterol and reduce the risk of blood clots.
7:25 P.M.: Take a few deep breaths before dinner
"Before you eat, breathe," Douglas says. "Our eating tends to be mindless and disconnected from our bodies. If you take some breaths before you eat, you slow down the mind." That may lead to chewing your food more slowly and attentively and inhaling aromas, basically reining in the pace of eating so that you feel full before you have time to overeat. Studies show that eating slowly results not only in fewer calories consumed but also in greater satiety an hour later.
7:30 P.M.: Eat a healthy dinner, preferably with other people
Family dinners promote healthful eating patterns: more fruits, vegetables, fiber, dairy, vitamins, and minerals and fewer fried foods, saturated fats, trans fats, and sodas. And as long as you're dining with your family, have a heart-to-heart conversation about your quest to hold on to your health. Ask if they want to sign on too. Are they up for jogging, hiking, or rock-climbing together?
Enjoy Your Evening
8:00 P.M.: Take a class
Woodworking. Bluegrass guitar. The tea ceremony. It doesn't matter. Cultivating new skills fosters what psychologists call a sense of mastery, the unshakable conviction that you can do something. "Mastery is boosted when you take on a new challenge and are successful at learning something that's satisfying," says Margie Lachman, PhD, chair of the psychology department at Brandeis University. "It also gives you new skills and fresh ways of looking at things, plus confidence to try new things in everyday life."
In other words, the mastery you gain from learning how to carve a dovetail joint or play a sweet chord progression carries over to learning how to cook with tempeh or learning how to perform a proper biceps curl. In fact, Lachman says, adopting good health behaviors generates a sense of our ability to adopt more, setting in motion a self-reinforcing pattern of healthy habits.
10:30 P.M.: Snuggle up with your mate. Doesn't appeal? Ask yourself why you're in the relationship
Marriage is famously beneficial for men's health. For women, it's more complicated. A 2003 study in Health Psychology found that middle-aged women in "low satisfaction" relationships had a more atherogenic risk profile (higher blood pressure, elevated blood cholesterol, and higher fasting glucose level) than women in satisfying relationships, putting them at greater risk for heart disease.
11:00 P.M.: Sleep well
Sleep makes everything sing. It helps the body repair itself, replenishes the nervous system, sharpens concentration and memory, boosts energy and the ability to carry out physical tasks, regulates immunity, reduces the risk of weight gain, diminishes stress, and improves mood. Though getting enough sleep becomes more of a challenge in midlife, it is worth the extra effort.
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Originally published in MORE magazine, May 2008.