Have you noticed some gray hairs and wrinkles popping up all over your body? Are your kids getting older and having kids of their own? Have you reached retirement age and feel lost now that you don’t have a job providing you with consistency each day? You’re not alone if you feel like aging has caused you to lose your direction. Furthermore, you’re not the only aging person to feel as if you wish you were younger.

But just because the years are passing by doesn’t mean you have to look older. There are always ways to be young at heart, no matter your age, and it all comes down to making the most of your choices and living life to its fullest. If you’re interested in looking and feeling younger than your actual age, you can do so with the following tips.

● Remain Social

Feeling isolated as time goes on? Thinking about reaching out to a long-lost friend but worried you might be bothering them by doing so? Never let reaching out to someone hold you back. If you’ve considered getting in touch with a friend, you should simply get in touch and see if they’d be interested in meeting up.

There’s a great benefit to maintaining friendships as you age. That interpersonal connection is an important way to feel validated as time goes on and, rather than fill your days with nothing but solitary activities, you should equally spend time remaining socially active with people. You can even consider joining a local league or club to meet new people.

●  Stay Active

One of the easiest ways to feel young is to remain active. While exercise won’t stop the passage of time, it will leave your body feeling less creaky and stiff as you move from day to day.

Because of natural degeneration of cartilage in joints, it’s a smart idea to avoid exercises that exert a lot of stress on the body. Wonderful exercises for people who are aging include cycling, running, and swimming. The results will be noticeable over time, making you feel young. Exercise has even been shown to ease feelings of mental stress and loneliness. Furthermore, you can find local walking or cycling groups to meet new, similarly active folks from your community and make friends, remaining both social and active at the same time!

●  Work On Your Posture And Core

Just as you should work to remain active, to feel younger and avoid the usual aches and pains, you should also make serious effort to work on your posture. People tend to become inactive as they age, either due to feelings of fatigue from a lifetime of work, a desire to relax once reaching retirement, or pain brought on by working a desk job 9-to-5 for four or more decades. To improve your posture and alleviate daily back pain, set aside time to work on your core strength.

You can do simple exercises like push-ups, wall-sits, and planks to strengthen your muscles. Thisstrength will help to support your core, which is the powerhouse and stability center of the body.

●  Maintain Direction And Purpose

As you age, you might find yourself looking at your reflection in the mirror, asking, “What’s my purpose at this point?”

That may sound vague or overly philosophical, but it’s an important question to ask yourself from time to time. What is it that makes you happy and lively, and brings you joy? If you can determine what your purpose is, you can give yourself direction from day to day, setting tasks you can regularly move toward. That direction provides a sense of excitement every day. Whether it’s maintaining a garden, running a charity, or caring for others in your neighborhood, that joy can multiply elsewhere and make you feel enlivened.

●  Treat Hair Loss And Graying

With aging, you’ll see many changes in your appearance, especially that of your hair, with hair loss being a common side effect. Hair loss in men often involves hairline reduction and eventual balding, while women struggle with overall thinning. Hair loss and graying happen, but it doesn’t have to be the end all be all. Natural hair dye treatments can help you darken the color of your hair if you’re not prepared to accept your gray hair for what it is.

Hair loss associated with aging can now be treated effectively, thanks to laser hair regrowth treatment. Safe and effective, these physician-recommended, FDA-cleared devices can restore scalp health while helping you to reclaim the original quality of your hair, helping you to look and feel younger.

●   Remain Positive

To continue feeling young, it’s important to maintain a young mindset. Whether you want to achieve this by performing mind games each day, such as sudoku or crossword puzzles, or simply want to maintain an optimistic outlook on life is up to you. But, no matter your approach, a positive mindset is sure to improve your quality of life.

●   Protect Your Skin

Your skin should be cared for, no matter what your age, but it requires a bit more self-care as you age. To keep your body feeling healthy and young, it’s particularly smart to regularly cover up when heading outdoors. As well as wearing wide-brimmed hats and long-sleeved shirts and pants, using SPF 30 sunblock, which tends to be the lowest limit approved by physicians for safe use, ensures you’ll be protected for some time. Consistent use can keep your skin looking youthful, helping you to avoid annoyances such as wrinkling and sunspots brought on by UV damage to the skin.

●   Do What Makes You Happy

Don’t waste the time you have on inessential activities you don’t enjoy. Do what makes you happy in life. Partake in whatever brings a smile to your loved ones’ faces. By setting aside time for these personal joys, you’ll find yourself feeling validated and enlightened each and every day.