Everyone has different goals when it comes to their bodies and lives. One thing, however, that everyone can agree to is that you never want to be aging faster than you should. Unfortunately, many of us don’t realize when we’re aging prematurely since it happens over a longer period of time. Have you ever looked at two people who are thirty years old where one looks like their twenty-five and the other forty? I’m sure you have. While genetics do play a role, the choices we make have a tremendous impact on how we appear and age. I’ll make the assumption that you’re not doing anything severe like smoking, excessive drinking or abusing different substances so that we can focus on the other major steps that you can take. Without further delay, here are the top 5 reasons that you’re aging faster than you should:

Most people don’t get enough water in a day. To make matters worse, most people drink things like coffee, tea, and soda which are caffeinated and therefore act as diuretics (dehydrate you). While the perfect amount of water varies based on your activity levels, environment, size and more – it’s good to aim for 2 liters. That’s 4 easy bottles or glasses of 500ml in an entire day. If you don’t hydrate, your skin will age rapidly as it loses moisture and the ability to cycle out toxins among other things. Let’s not forget the cascade of different issues you’ll also experience internally from cardiovascular problems to kidney issues and much more. Keep in mind, there would be 0 life on this entire planet without water. So rest assured, keeping hydrated will keep you from aging quickly.

Candy crush is a fun game but we shouldn’t crush so much candy in real life lol (me trying to be funny). Seriously though, I’m not telling you to go Keto or even low carb but carbohydrates – particularly simple ones – cause a rise in our insulin levels and extreme insulin variability (ups and downs) is not only related to energy crashes but pretty much every health condition you can think of! From heart disease to cancer and everything in between.What about aging? Get this – one of the world’s leading researchers on anti-aging (Harvard researcher Dr. David Sinclair) actually takes medication typically used for diabetics even though he isn’t one. He does this to help control his insulin levels as he’s identified that as a key to not aging.In short, the world-leading Anti Aging expert out of Harvard does everything he can to control his insulin since he knows he helps with anti-aging. You should be careful with the sugary snacks and boatloads of carbs!

Sunshine is amazing for your overall health. However, UV damage on your skin is not so amazing. Spending time “directly” underneath the sun wreaks havoc on unprotected skin. In fact, on a hot summer’s day with a high UV index, you can cause lifelong (yes lifelong!) damage to your skin within minutes. Ever heard of sunspots? They don’t ever go away without some sort of intervention (which is pricey!). Ever notice how some people who over tan or never get out of the sun look 10 years older than they should? OK, you get the point. Don’t forget your sunscreen and stay out of direct sun exposure on hot days or a few minutes can cost you a lifetime of age spots/skin damage.

I know, it’s boring. You’re hoping for me to write about a pill that no one has ever heard of right? Well, I’d rather drill things that are real then go on about a magic (fake) pill or “secret formula”. Here’s the thing though, you probably don’t know just how important sleep is.The world’s leading authority on sleep, Matthew Walker, has written books and been on several podcasts to talk about this. He flat-out refers to sleep as a superpower. Sleep helps your skin heal, allows you to produce collagen (hello anti-aging!), repair muscle tissue, bone tissue and more. Oh yea, it also makes a world of difference for your brain function. Now here’s the kicker, Dr. Matthew Walker notes that the science is 100% clear that you need at least 8 hours per night. That’s right, everyone who talks about being OK with 4 or 6 – they’re hurting themselves and not as healthy as they could be. You can “survive” with less than 8 but he notes that yes, nearly every human being on the planet (other than a group that’s less than 1%) needs 8 hours.

When you stress, your body releases something called cortisol. Excess amount of it. Cortisol and inflammation go hand in hand. Excessive inflammation is the gasoline if aging is fire. Get it? Good! So what should you do? There’s a lot of things that will help but one of the things you should try is meditation. There are several great, free, apps available for meditation that really work wonders! Want to try the quickest and easiest way to de-stress and meditate for a bit? Find a dark room, sit down for at least 10 minutes with little to no noise around and just think of nothing. Clear your mind. Doing this once or twice a day (not just at night) will change your life. Try it in the morning if you can. Get to work early and do it in your car. Sneak off to the break room at lunch. Remember, 10 minutes where you think of nothing and just clear your mind. That’s it! Try implementing these things in your life and you’ll stop aging as quickly as you are. You’ll also feel absolutely great!