Are We Ageing Early Or Is It Just Laziness?

This is not the kind of ageing that is denoted by grey strands, wrinkled skin and weakened bones. When I talk about ageing here, it’s to emphasis the fact that we, at an age that is not exactly over the old age bar start showing such symptoms; lowered immunity and tolerance for stress and exhaustion, extreme tiredness, mysterious body aches and physical capacity of that of a 90 year old individual. There’s at least one such moment in the entire day when you hear yourself whine and huff out an ‘I’m so tired’, ‘I have no energy left.’ or ‘I’m dying.’ Now, the question is whether we are all really ageing early or are we just becoming too lazy to nourish our youth?

With these contemporary world patterns, it’s easy to get tired and exhausted without doing much. We spend about 80% of our energy on daily mentally exerting activities. Of course, most professions involve intense brainstorming and mental productivity while others involve physical labour of some degree. Apart from these work induced mental functioning, throughout the day, our head runs with thousands of other thoughts and strenuous mind activities. Contemplation on what has happened, what’s happening and what will happen in the future; thoughts alike keep brewing in our head each minute, every moment. No wonder, we complain of physical exhaustion without even moving a hand. It’s not a surprising fact that your mental health affects your physical health and your physical affects your mental health. So, as we think we’re nourishing our overall health by sharpening our mental aptitude, we’re under the false impression that it’s enough for a healthy and quality life. It’s definitely not.

“In today’s day and age with the advancement in technology and the sudden boom of social media, the importance of being physically active has considerably reduced. We need to understand that if we want to continue leading a healthy lifestyle then being physically active is extremely necessary.” – Natasha Noel, Yoga Guru and Nike Athlete.

Being mentally active is of course important but keeping it levels above physical activity is the biggest mistake we are making. It’s the product of today’s fast-paced lifestyle, advancement of technology, the social media and the lack of buzz around the importance of being physically active just as much as it is to be mentally active. Although, we are refining and grooming our intellect, we are neglecting the bodily strengths, in turn weakening our zest to live and the drive to be healthy. While some are so hell-bent on conquering the mind and testing and challenging our mental limits, other part of the crowd is satisfied by just daily chores.

Your physical and mental stability should ideally be on the same page, not a level higher or lower. And, when the mind-body balance sways, chronic health issues invite themselves into our lives. Then, we begin to wonder, why us? We wake up early, sleep on time, eat right and work right but what we do is neglect our physical fitness. Working your body is just as crucial as working your brain.

We attribute lack of physical activity in our lives to ‘lack of time’ and ‘busy schedules’ but is that enough of an excuse? Our lives are so complex today that in order to de-stress, we incorporate movies, music, hot showers, desserts and vacations. If only we incorporated a little bit of physical activity and expression, would the dire need to de-stress tone down considerably.

Physical activity has been a part of everyday lives of people since the very root of mankind and ideally, still has to be. Our bodies are designed to move, not stay still, attached to our work desks or our living room couch.

The growing tech has made everything easier and convenient for us, which simply adds to our physical inactivity and tricks us into believing we’re living a successful and a healthy life. Walking to the local grocery store has upgraded into adding items to the cart from the comfort of your couch. The patisserie around the corner has become accessible at the tip of our finger. Cabs come to pick you up right where your home ends and the road begins. Incorporating physical activity into your daily life is not a science task. In fact, it’s in the little things; walking to the station instead of taking a cab, taking the staircase down instead of the elevator. More than anything, it’s by taking advantage of the technological progress only up to where it stops consuming your lifestyle and interfering with your natural way of living.

Our body and our mind are two of our most precious possessions. We groom and mould our mind and forget to do so with our body, degrading it without really realizing. We nourish and fuel the mind but forget to refill the body. We fuel the body but forget to refill our mental capacities. If you’re achieving one, you end up neglecting the other. It’s not that these health epidemics have begun suddenly or the sole reason for early ageing is the fast paced lifestyle and stress that comes along with it. It’s the lack of physical fitness which naturally has the effect of reducing everyday stress and hence adding life to your rather sullen, monotonous routine.

It’s the balance between your mind and your body.

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Source: Natasha Noel

Photo by kumoma lab on Unsplash