1. Stay active 

Staying physically active can have a significant impact on your wellbeing. Exercise and activity are vital for keeping you healthy and well as you age — it stimulates endorphins, making you feel good. And helps with maintaining a happy mood throughout the day.

Incorporating activity into your daily life doesn’t mean you have to start lifting weights or running (although that’s not to say you shouldn’t keep these things up if you feel capable!). Exercise can also become somewhat difficult later in life if you haven't been consistent, so it’s a good idea to speak with your doctor before you start doing anything strenuous. 

However, it’s good to remember that things like walking, gardening, and dancing are great ways to get some exercise in. 

2. Stay busy

You may or may not be retired or possibly working from home, but that doesn’t mean that you should settle into a rhythm of doing very little throughout your day. Now’s the time to enjoy a busy, varied life, while you still can. Filling your time with social plans — seeing family, friends, or enjoying time out by yourself — is a brilliant way to stay busy. 

Equally, with the spare time you have the opportunity to take on tasks that you might not have had time for in the past. Have you always wanted to grow your own vegetables? Maybe you’d like to do some DIY's? Or perhaps you’d love to learn a new language? Something even I have been considering. 

Make time for your own interests, and enjoy the boost your brain will get when you do. 

3. Maintain a sense of purpose 

It’s important to consider how you can maintain a sense of purpose when you may not be working or experience some life changes. Having a sense of purpose will keep your mind focused and imbue your day with interest and excitement. 

It can be challenging to find out what you’d like to do with your time, and it may take a few different projects to find what stimulates your interest. You could consider volunteering, picking up a new hobby, or even taking on an other type of work that might keep you active and your mind busy. 

4. Practice meditation and mindfulness 

Maintaining a positive mindset as you age might not always be easy, but picking up meditation or mindfulness can be a great tool. It's actually really come in handy for me personally. I suffer from bipolar depression and meditation yoga has really been a great tool for me.

Mindful living can help you find joy in the day-to-day things. While meditation and mindfulness might not sound like much — especially if they’re not things you’ve practiced before — they’ve been proven to improve people’s mental wellbeing. 

Meditation is a practice where someone focuses their mind and helps people reduce stress. Mindfulness is a type of meditation that focuses on being aware of the moment, including what you’re feeling and sensing. 

Getting started might be daunting, but there will likely be classes in the local area. Additionally, there are a number of online tools that you can access to get started. There are apps that will help you from the beginning, taking you through sessions, and guiding you in your practice. 

5. When you look good, you (sometimes) feel good 

You may not look like how you used to look at the age of 25, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy taking pride in your appearance. Boosting your confidence by getting your hair or nails done is not to be underestimated. This is also where exercising plays a big role in how you feel on the inside that boosts on how you feel on the outside.

Let’s not forget the men! For some, tackling baldness could be top of the agenda, and tackled by Finasteride tablets. Remember: grooming can be an incredibly positive act of self-care. 

Confidence is key! 

6. Start talking & share your feelings

Keeping things bottled up is a recipe for disaster. Keeping open lines of communication with friends or family members is key. The support that you receive from loved ones makes a world of difference. So, start talking and keep talking, because prevention is much better than a cure, don’t you think? 

7. Don’t be afraid of professional help 

If you feel like your mental health is declining or need the advice of a medical practitioner, don’t be afraid to reach out. It can be a difficult conversation to have, but these professionals have the power to help you and make you feel much better. 

It may be that there are talking therapies that can help you or medication that may alleviate your symptoms. Whatever the issue, it’s essential not to be embarrassed. Therapy has been a lifesaver for both my marriage and me personally.

8. Eat a balanced diet 

I can't stress this one enough. It may sound simple, or even odd, but what you eat affects how you feel. 

If you fuel your body poorly, your mental health may suffer as a result. As you age, your body can require more vitamins to ensure it’s running correctly. So, to have positive mental health, it’s important to consider your nutrition. Eating a nutritious diet full of vitamins and nutrients will help you keep your mind and body running well. 

Eating foods that maintain vitamin B (a vitamin that helps cells make new DNA) and omega-3 fatty acids (it can improve symptoms of depression) can help you stay mentally strong. So, it’s a great time to get experimenting in the kitchen! And remember, supplements can be a useful way of making sure you’re getting enough of the good stuff. 

Hopefully, this guide has given you some food for thought. The aging process is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. There will be ups and downs along the journey, but it offers you the time and opportunity to explore new challenges, improve yourself, and generally enjoy life!