Stay young - naturally

Granted, there are many tips and recipes for staying young. But we wanted to discover anti-aging strategies that can really get you started. That's why we asked experts from many disciplines, made different life situations and searched for the latest research results. The result is ten tips against aging, so that body and head naturally stay young. Easy to implement - and actually promising.

Stay curious

For a long time, researchers assumed that with adulthood, brain development is completely completed, and in the course of one's life, we only mentally "degrade". The good news: Studies have shown that learning processes can create new nerve connections at every stage of life - this is called "adult neurogenesis".

However, compulsory crossword puzzles or brain teasers do not do it if you want to keep the mind fit. Only the already known knowledge level is retrieved. It is much more effective to seek new and complex experiences that not only train knowledge but also, for example, the speed of reaction.

In studies of people who juggled for three months, there was a significant change in brain areas associated with learning: certain areas increased during the training phase. If the participants stopped juggling, the changes in the brain also regressed. This means that new tasks - a new sport, a new hobby, a new project - bring us to a whole new level of mental performance.

Sweat less

Everyone knows that sport helps us stay fitter and younger. And there should be some effort, otherwise it will not work. But Dr. Achim Kürten, head of the Center for Traditional Chinese and Integrative Medicine in Berlin, has found that the movement should not be too sweaty.

At the same time, a lot of strong sweating in sports always means a great loss of energy for the organism, says Kürten. And that, according to Chinese health teaching, upsets the body's balance of power and weakens kidney chi - according to TCM classification, our body's own power reserve, our "battery", whose energy we should use as gently as possible.

Although there are a few people who naturally have such a high level of energy that they can completely exhaust themselves in sports and thus react to aggression. But the majority is better served with less sudorific forms of movement such as Tai Chi or Qigong to move in the right amount.

According to anti-aging expert Dr. Dietrich Wachsmuth of the Ayurveda-Klinik Parkschlösschen also consider rowing and Nordic walking as ideal sports to stay young, because they promote relaxation and exercise to the same extent. As rules of thumb Wachsmuth calls the following points: Sport should be fun, not degenerate into a chore. One must only work as hard as one can still breathe through the nose. And, most importantly, those who do not feel better after training should change the sport or change their pace or stamina until they find their exercise wellbeing dose.

The love formula

"Make love" say the French when they mean sex. And that's what it's all about: profane sex. Yes, we have heard it innumerable times that Beischlaf is healthy and beautiful, but physical closeness usually also plays a role here.

The scottish scientist dr. David Weeks now went into more detail about the phenomenon of sex in a comprehensive investigation. His results are astounding: Regularly satisfying sex has been proven to make us look up to seven years younger - because sexual activity reduces body fat, improves circulation, and provides women with good estrogen that keeps skin and connective tissue taut.

In men, the increased release of testosterone causes increased protein production, which stimulates muscle growth. Both sexes actually benefit from it. A consolation for singles: The Weeks theory is not all about tenderness and cuddle factor - a solo orgasm has the same effect.

The heat principle

Although muesli with yoghurt and fruit was considered the ultimate fit breakfast for a long time, we now make this standard version cold. Instead, the energy balance is already fueled shortly after the alarm clock ringing. Because when our body has to process cold food in the morning, the energy expenditure is always higher and we feel rather tired afterward. Therefore, TCM doctor Kürten recommends a warm millet porridge with raisins and apples that dispels the rest of sleep, which activates chi, ie the basic life energy, and stimulates fat metabolism.

Incidentally, anti-aging experts can only confirm the much cited sentence from the Kaiser breakfast over the king lunch to the Bettelmann dinner. Those who often go to bed hungry, spur the regenerative powers of the body. With the "dinner canceling", also called calorie restriction, one should eat at least 14 hours before getting up nothing more. This short period of fasting has been shown to stimulate the production of the hormones somatropin and melatonin. While the growth hormone somatropin helps build muscle mass and reduce fat, melatonin slows cell division. This slows down the aging process in the short term.

During the day there should always be plenty of fruits and vegetables on the menu. Because the much cited phytochemicals and antioxidants contained therein are actually an effective anti-aging weapon, as a study by the Berlin Charité recently could prove. In humans who consume a lot of lycopene and carotene with food, eg. As from tomatoes and carrots, significantly fewer wrinkles form than in comparison subjects who eat unhealthier. And the phytohormones in soy and tofu products, which act like estrogens, can keep the connective tissue taut and preserve a young complexion.

stay in contact

Loneliness makes the number of birthday candles noticeably shrink. According to a US long-term study of 20,000 respondents, people with good social contacts are three times less likely to die prematurely than those who live in isolation. Important to know: Above all, the quality of relationships is crucial, purely superficial acquaintances can even increase a sense of loneliness.

Therefore, the physician advises Bamberger to deal with especially friendships that have grown over the years, particularly careful. Anyone who knows us since childhood or from school and study times, has more understanding of our personal quirks and has become part of our biography so to speak. Such friends will appreciate the trust that has been built and will hardly break off contact like a casual acquaintance or a colleague with whom you will have a trivial conversation every few days.

Also Dr. Sabine Schäfer, a psychologist from the Max Planck Institute for Educational Research in Berlin, can confirm on the basis of studies that social inclusion is the ultimate anti-aging drug. While loneliness often leads to depression and can weaken the mind regardless of age, a busy social life keeps the mind awake.

Incidentally, marriage, despite rising divorce rates still the most stable form of a close relationship, is only partially suitable as a makeover. While the life expectancy of married men increases by almost two years, married women die one and a half years earlier than their single girlfriends. This was the conclusion of a study by the University of Magdeburg. The researchers suggest that wives simply have to invest too much energy to keep their men happy and well-fed over the years. However, as women's average life expectancy is generally higher, they still tend to survive by just under four years.

Unfortunately, common children do not necessarily keep fresh, according to a study by the University of Zurich. Comparative surveys of singles and couples with and without a child showed that the married people with children were often the most dissatisfied with their life situation.Especially happy are the childless couples, where both partners are totally absorbed in their job.

The two-point plan

The term "pressure" is actually representative of stress. However, knowing the right acupressure technique and the appropriate points to stimulate in order to relieve tension, pressure does the opposite and keeps you young. According to TCM specialist Kürten, the most important anti-aging points are in the eye area, namely the gallbladder point G1 in the depression next to the outer edge of the ocular bone and the bubble point B2 at the inner end of the eyebrow (exact illustrations on www.akupunkturpunkte-find.de).

Both points can relax the face and eye muscles and increase blood circulation to make you look fresher and more relaxed. To do this, use your index fingers for one minute to apply even pressure to the area described. A slight pulsation indicates the right amount of pressure and increasing blood flow.

Become a radiation protection expert

And make it clear that not only the sun, but also long air travel exposes our bodies to a cell-damaging radiation load every time, comparable to that of an X-ray examination. Because with the distance from the earth amplifies the radioactive cosmic radiation. It does not have to be Bali every year. A train trip within the German borders or a car trip to Tuscany are sometimes quite relaxing.

No matter whether the South Seas or the Black Forest: as soon as the sun is shining, adequate protection should be taken for granted. After all, UV radiation is next to smoking as the biggest skin enemy. The physician Claudia Milz advises generally to protect face and hands not only with sunscreen, but with a sunblock against age spots - whether cycling or gardening.

In addition, you should check the vitamin D status in a blood test (at your own expense, about 50 euros). This "anti-cancer vitamin" may be partially associated with food, eg. B. on milk, eggs or fat fish, are absorbed, but also forms in the skin by sunlight. Often the values are still too low. Then you can clarify with the doctor, if a dietary supplement is appropriate.

Find your own flow

Especially the "superiors", ie people who have a hundred years or more under their belt, are sought-after study objects for anti-aging research. After all, they must have done something different from those who died of cancer or cardiovascular disease ahead of time.

Particularly interesting: Among the elderly there are a striking number of "underachievers" - people who have liked to live in the day and had not set themselves the life goal of wanting to make a career spasmodic. But that does not mean that top managers automatically drop into the grave early. Because if a lot of people enjoy their job and get a lot of confirmation from their job, they also do good to the body.

The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has shown in studies that joy in the job can lead to the so-called flow experience - a state of complete blissful self-forgetfulness that children often achieve while playing. And concentrated work puts us in the flow much more than a lazy afternoon on the sofa.

On the other hand, chronically harried and dissatisfied workaholics age faster at the cell level, as medical tests show. Stress management is the magic word. Whether it works best through meditation, autogenic training or yoga, everyone should find out for themselves.

Basically, the simplest recipe against stress is to do what you want as often as possible. The closer you are to your actual needs, the less you feel overwhelmed or dissatisfied. We need little moments of happiness every day despite the pressure to perform - as vitamin syringes for the soul.

Create rituals

Our entire organism is oriented towards inner and outer rhythms. Whether breathing, heartbeat or brain waves, whether hormone release by day or night: We live ideally always in the same tact. But if overtime, insomnia, time difference or other factors permanently bring us out of our natural rhythm, we disrupt important regeneration processes in the body and therefore age earlier.

The best counter strategy: live as regularly as possible. So always get up at the same time and go to bed, stick to fixed meals and - most importantly - make sure to book appointments regularly on the calendar. Relaxing rituals are not luxurious gadgets, but a true elixir of life. The best way to recover from everyday stress, when we address our senses, z. B. by a full bath with aromatic oils, by a visit to steam room or sauna with subsequent massage or listening to music. Studies have shown that slow pieces of music can clearly calm our body rhythms such as breathing and heart rate, while fast-moving pieces of music have a stimulating effect.

The right feel-good dose can also be just five minutes in between, which we indulge in the daily routine: for a yoga exercise, a foot massage, a face mask or just just for our favorite music.

4 x 5 minutes against aging, for ...

... happinessTCM doctor Achim Kürten recommends a thought exercise against stress: "What would be my ideal day?" Do you have long walks, lots of sports, a hobby like drawing, singing, etc.? Pick out the best idea - and tackle it.

... the freshMorning ritual with the "Garshan" method, an ayurvedic massage with special silk gloves (eg via www.indu-versand.de). Stimulates the connective tissue and stimulates the metabolism. Starting at the neck, then moving down over arms and shoulders - face and chest area are left out. After the abdomen and back, the hips and buttocks and finally the legs and feet are massaged. Occasionally wash gloves with warm water.

... the headMake an experiment on your next date. Try to really engage with others by asking questions for a while. That may quietly be ten questions and demands in a row.

... the sleepBefore falling asleep put an eye pillow with lavender and flaxseed on the eyes and just enjoy the scent for five minutes - that brings peace, relaxed strained eyes and gives the clear signal to the brain that is now really bedtime. You can easily make a pillow yourself: sew it out of cotton and fill it with lavender flowers (from the pharmacy) and organic linseed.

The small cure for every day

Well tempered startAccording to the teachings of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a hot breakfast saps fatigue and boosts the life energy, "chi." For warm millet porridge, melt about 15 g of butter in a saucepan, add 4 tablespoons of millet and 3 tablespoons of raisins and simmer for about 15 seconds. Add 500 ml of hot water. Cut 1 apple into small pieces and mix in, bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes until the water is completely evaporated. Then mince everything with a blender. Season with a little cinnamon and a pinch of fresh ginger - that stimulates the metabolism of fat.

Fruity evening for the faceFast anti-aging mask: first clean skin well, eg. B. with the Asia trick. Rice bran (available in Asian stores) with a little water to a thick pulp. Spread on dry skin, rub gently, wash off with plenty of hot water. For an intensively nourishing mango mask, puree the flesh of a very ripe mango with 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil, apply to the skin and leave to soak. The pulp contains unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins A, B, C and cell protective vitamin E - which prevent premature aging and smooth minor wrinkles. Grapeseed oil nourishes dry skin with its essential fatty acids and is also a great smoother.