Habits that Doctors Wish You'd Adopt After 40


Confront your vices

Your bad habits are no doubt deeply ingrained by the time you are in your 40s, but by this stage of life, you also have a clear sense of the kind of damage they can cause. Your 40s are the time to take a closer look at your behaviors and nip your vices in the bud.

Create a Sleep Routine

Getting enough sleep is necessary to have good physical, mental, and emotional health. It improves your quality of life. Adults require seven to eight hours of sound sleep every night. When you reach your 40s, getting that amount of sleep and having a sleep routine is essential. If not, you will feel tired and cranky because of a lack of sleep.

Eat more protein

"Building and preserving precious muscle isn't possible if you're not taking in enough protein," says Chapman. She notes that the USDA's recommendation—5.5 ounces of protein daily—is "unnecessarily low, and don't represent the amount of protein required for optimal health and muscle maintenance and growth." She says that in order to maintain and build muscle in your 40s, you should aim to get 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day.

Spend More Time Outdoors

Exposing yourself to nature has tremendous healing properties. It can enhance your mental health and make you feel happier. Just being in nature can reduce tiredness, leading to you moving around more and feeling more energetic. Spending time in nature offers so many benefits because you are exposing your body to more vitamin D.

Focus on Being Positive

Life in your 40s will have its challenges. If you can stay optimistic, it will be easier to deal with adversity and stress. Embrace your 40s with positive thinking. You are becoming wiser and gaining more life experience.

Compliment people

Take the time to point out the things you like about others, whether it's a friend, coworker, or Uber driver. Just a quick approving comment about someone's shoes or the way they did their work will leave both of you feeling better.

Drink a lot of water

A significant issue people over 40 face is dehydration. It becomes more difficult for the body to retain water during the aging process. If you take medication, a side effect may be frequent urination, which causes the body to lose even more water.

Manage your anger

When you start feeling angry, try deep breathing, positive self-talk, or stopping your angry thoughts. Breathe deeply from your diaphragm. Slowly repeat a calm word or phrase such as "relax" or "take it easy." Repeat it to yourself while breathing deeply until the anger subsides.

Exercise in the morning

A slow starting routine that includes aerobic exercise, like biking or a treadmill, and sensible weight training that builds up to a 30- to 40-minute workout, five times a week