People In Their 50s And 60s Say These 7 Low-Effort Habits Help You Stay Healthy And Actually Enjoy Your Life
Gladskikh Tatiana | Shutterstock Want to learn how to be healthy? Vibrant health in your 50s and 60s comes down to a simple set of low-effort habits. But to stay healthy and actually enjoy your life, you have to take charge and push back against your own mind.
When it comes to being in the driver’s seat of their lives, a lot of people in their 50s and 60s are asleep at the wheel. They mindlessly slide through their precious years like sleeping robots. Various studies have indicated that many of the decisions they make are informed by trends and marketing, rather than acute sensitivity to their hearts and instincts.
People in their 50s and 60s say these 7 low-effort habits help you stay healthy and actually enjoy your life:
Habit #1: Having integrity and being aligned
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This is the first and most important point, because it is what will yield a deeper kind of happiness and confidence that is not based on how much sleep you’ve had, how many pull-ups you can do, or how many zeros were on your last paycheque. It is rooted in gratitude for being in the world and pride in the way that you move through it.
If you’re out of alignment in your life, nothing will function well. Aliveness comes from alignment. Alignment will be different for each person, but it means that your outer and inner worlds are congruent. It happens when your lived experience is suited to, your inner desires, gifts, and talents.
- Are you in a loveless relationship that you just stumbled into?
- Do you spend hours a week commuting with a twisted gut to a job that you hate, and have no exit plan out of it?
- Do you have dreams for creative projects, career, or travel that have been filed away in the “maybe someday” folder on your mind’s desktop?
- Have you resigned and given up on those visions ever being a reality?
Being in alignment means doing work you love, spending your time doing things that light up your soul, and being around people who see you and challenge you. Every step forward you make in any of these domains makes it much easier to get regular exercise or eat well, because you love and respect yourself. One study showed how self-care becomes a naturally automatic focus.
Integrity is saying what you mean, meaning what you say, and following through on what you say you’ll do. Confidence and integrity are tightly linked. If you jump on a sidewalk, you can have confidence in it supporting you and not crumbling or disappearing beneath your feet. Now, how much self-confidence can you have if you, yourself, are not solid? If you’re always subtly lying to other people just to look good and please them, or rarely follow through on what you promise to do for yourself and other people?
Your thoughts, feelings, and actions need to be in alignment, or everything will suffer. If your words and actions are in alignment with what your authentic thoughts, feelings, and needs are, you will cultivate steadfast happiness and vibrant, optimal health over time. Your heart is always right. You can wrestle with its siren song as long as you want, but you’ll have to listen eventually.
Habit #2: Getting good sleep
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We might act like robots sometimes, but we are (still) human beings. Your body and mind need sleep. This needs to be a non-negotiable priority in your life. There are tons of factors that go into getting deep, quality rest:
- Cool your room to 15-19 degrees C (60-67 degrees F).
- Put up blackout curtains to block street lamps and early sunlight.
- Avoid screens and electronics at least an hour before bed (or at least wear blue light blocking sunglasses).
- Read fiction to soften your mind and relax your eyes.
- Cuddle to relax your body.
- Journal your thoughts to calm your anxious mind.
- Stretch and foam roll to relieve tension and soreness.
The importance of your sleep quality can not be overstated. Having a consistent bedtime and a few wind-down rituals will make huge changes in your overall health and state of mind.
Habit #3: Getting proper nutrition
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Along with sleep, there’s a high price to pay if you’re not eating well. The researc shows that ultra-processed foods are unhealthy, specifically engineered to last longer, taste better, cost less, and literally keep you addicted to them.
Similar to loving yourself, eating well these days is almost an act of rebellion. You have to go out of your way to put good stuff into your body and feel confident telling your friends and co-workers, “Nah, I don’t want to eat there. But I can meet back up in half an hour after I grab something down the street.”
Diet doesn’t have to be complicated or cutting-edge. Just eat whole, unprocessed foods most of the time. To me, indulging once in a while is part of living well. When you shop at the grocery store, stick to the outside walls (lean meats, fish, eggs, nuts, fermented foods, fruits, and lots of colorful vegetables) and avoid the middle aisles where all the processed and packaged stuff resides.
Focus on:
- Drinking lots of water
- Eating lots of veggies and nutrient-dense smoothies
- Cutting out the cheap processed junk
- Keeping lots of easy, healthy snack options around the house
- Planning meals so you don’t have to compromise in a pinch
The human body is an intergalactic supercar. Treat it accordingly, and it will reward you in kind.
Habit #4: Prioritizing exercise
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Like food, water, and air, movement is an essential need for the body. Dance, walk, run, go rock climbing, and go to the gym. Do whatever makes you sweat and is legitimately fun for you. And then do it a few times per week.
The science is clear: feeling fit boosts your confidence. A successful person knows when they have to ask for help to achieve results. Are you better off being externally accountable? Then team up with a friend/workout buddy/trainer to help keep you on track.
Habit #5: Basking in sunlight
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One of the highest forms of punishment in prison is being socially isolated for long periods of time with zero natural light. On the cellular level, light is food for your body. If you go without it for long periods of time, your mind, mood, and body will feel the absence.
If you live somewhere that doesn’t get ample light year-round, you may want to consider getting a light therapy box and/or a near-infrared/red light therapy device. Personally, living in the Pacific Northwest of Canada, I use both. I use the light therapy box during the winter months to ward off seasonal affective disorder. And I use a combination red light therapy/near infrared device for 10-20 minutes every day for skin health and overall energy levels.
Ever since I started using it, I’ve noticed a reduction in fine lines and wrinkles, dry skin, eczema, sun spots, and skin roughness, and an increase in my energy levels, creativity, and muscle recovery times. The science on red light and NIR therapy backs up all of these aforementioned benefits, so I’m far from alone.
Habit #6: Having social connection
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Humans are a social species. We need each other to thrive. Studies have shown increased health risks with being chronically isolated. If you don’t have a sense of community, of being surrounded by people you love who love you back, then this could potentially take years off of your life.
Motivation enough for you? This stuff matters. Your sense of social connection is the single greatest contributing factor to your day-to-day happiness and sense of satisfaction.
Habit #7: Doing emotional work
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A fulfilling life isn’t about feeling better, it’s about getting better at feeling. If you want to feel alive, you need to feel it all. Men especially tend to develop chronic emotionally suppressive reflexes. We tend to clamp down on our hurt, sadness, and loneliness. It takes time to drive in a wedge and pry them loose. Though you can do this alone, I really recommend finding a skilled therapist that you can trust. They will take you places and open you up in ways that you couldn’t possibly imagine.
Emotion is energy in motion. But when it gets stuck, it wreaks havoc in the system and saps energy. Busting this loose will give you a whole new lease on life.
Embrace your anger. Lean into your sadness and grief. Every emotion has a purpose. None of them is wrong. Let yourself feel what there is to feel.
Jordan Gray is a five-time Amazon best-selling author, public speaker, and relationship coach with more than a decade of practice. His work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, Forbes, The Huffington Post, Women's Health, and The Good Men Project, among countless others.
