How to Look Younger

While genetics may play a role in how we age, one thing is clear: a few small tweaks can have a major impact on how you look and feel. Here’s how to turn back the clock with five simple changes to your busy lifestyle.

1. Drink more water.

Getting an adequate amount of H2O aids in digestion, circulation, absorption and even excretion. Considering your skin is 64 percent water, it makes sense that ensuring to replenish its supply would aid in maintaining your youthful glow.

The flip side? Dehydration makes your skin look dry and wrinkled. Dehydration can also make you feel (and look) sluggish.

2. Get more sleep.

Sure, getting sufficient sleep makes you feel better and well-rested. But, the importance goes well beyond boosting your mood or banishing under-eye dark circles. Sleep also affects the quality of life, improves memory, spurs creativity, helps maintain a healthy weight, and curbs stress.

In a 2010 study of women ages 50 to 79, more deaths occurred in women who got less than five hours or more than six and a half hours of sleep per night, Health magazine says. Meanwhile, the CDC reports that sleep problems affect 70 million Americans. In other words, it’s not unlikely that you’ve experienced insomnia or restlessness at least once in your life.

Experts advise aiming for seven to eight hours of sleep each night.

3. Put down the smokes.

Cigarettes, which contain carbon monoxide, displace the oxygen in your skin. While nicotine, which reduces blood flow, leaves your complexion looking dry and discolored. This is due to a loss of collagen, which naturally provides integrity, firmness and elasticity to the skin. Furthermore, cigarette smoke drains the dermis of essential nutrients, like vitamin C, which aids in protecting and repairing skin damage.

By quitting, you’ll add years to your life and see a drastic improvement in your skin’s appearance.

If you can't kick the habit just yet, lather up with moisturizer daily. A simple over-the-counter face cream can boost hydration, as well as prevent dullness and flaking.

4. Skip the heat.

What says youth more than a head full of luscious, bouncy hair? While periodically pulling out the flat iron won’t wreak havoc on your tresses, religiously pressing your coif can lead to brittle, dry hair, split ends and breakage – leaving your mane not so much worthy of being the main attraction.

Processed hair? Try reducing the temperature and using a heat protectant to prevent the possibility of further damage.

5. Wear sunscreen daily.

A 2013 study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that people who applied SPF three or four days a week were less likely to suffer from skin aging compared to those who applied it at their discretion after a 4.5-year follow-up.

By wearing sunscreen, you’ll also aid in protecting your skin from harmful UV rays, reducing your risk of skin cancer, sunburn, and premature aging. Because skin cancer isn’t only reserved for pale complexions, Black skin can get it, too!

5 Secrets To Managing Stress

“I’m so stressed!” If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, I would never work another day in my life. Seriously speaking, stress is inescapable. How you react to it, though, is everything. Put it in your mind to choose how you respond to things.

MUST READ: 5 Ways To Beat the 'Stress Hormone' For Weight Loss

I lost my father a month before my final exams. These were final exams that would determine whether I graduated or not. It was the most stressful time, to say the least.

When I moved to England, after passing my exams, it took me seven months to get a job, and I was trying to plan my wedding. Stressful…

There is no one who has not been through stress, in various forms. Sometimes what constitutes stress to one person is not to another. Sometimes many little things combine to become one big overwhelming mess.

Manage stress with these tips:

1. Focus on the positive.

When my father died, I was surrounded by so much love from my friends. My boyfriend was at my beck and call encouraging me all the time. Sometimes after I spent most of my waking moments crying my friend Francisca would come and read to me in the evenings. My class representatives had a class test canceled so that they could support me by attending my father’s funeral. I was grateful for all that. Yes, my father had died, but I had good friends.

2. Connect with God.

I pray to God about things that bother me. Prayer helps you to find peace, focus your heart, get wisdom and find answers. A few years ago, I was going through a tough time with some of my relationships. I was overwhelmed at work due to a sudden surge in my workload. I developed severe heartburn that even ranitidine (Zantac) would not work on! As I prayed about it, I was inspired to read and meditate on peace verses from the Bible. As I concentrated on peace and the peace of God, an amazing thing happened. I knew what I needed to do to handle my work and the heartburn disappeared. The relationships that I was so troubled about came into perspective and I did not worry any longer. Eventually, the people who were causing me this stress waltzed out of my life, as I refused to get sucked into their drama.

3. Take mental breaks.

Every day, make it a point to take 15 to 30 minutes of quiet time to yourself to just do nothing. Do not plan, plot or pray. Just. Be. Quiet. So, full disclosure here, I am still working on this, but I do find that when I feel the most overwhelmed, and I pull back and take a quiet moment, I get clarity and feel better. Every few weeks or so, take a vacation. If you cannot take a vacation, do something enjoyable to create nice memories and break the monotony. Or you can take a mini-retreat, even if it is just for a few hours.

4. Talk it out.

Talk things out with a trusted friend. I have friends that I can always take my stuff to. Now, this does not mean running from person to person rehearsing your problems. Some people do not wish you well, some people do not care and some people will make matters worse. Talk to trusted friends and not too many at a time.

5. Blow off steam.

There is no better way to safely blow off steam than to exercise. Run. Lift weights. Do push-ups. Sing loudly (if your voice is not melodious, you may want to confine your singing to the shower). Exercise releases endorphins, which are the body’s happy hormones. These make you feel good at the moment as well as afterward. Blowing off steam also serves as a momentary distraction from the things that are bothering you.

Shola Ezeokoli is a medical doctor, a life coach a two-time Amazon No 1 bestselling author and a public speaker. Shola works with purposeful women, helping them get liberated from survival mode and truly live the life that they want to live. Her coaching niche is Balanced Living and this is based on the five pillars of balance: Physical, Emotional, Relational, Mental, and Spiritual. She does this through her program called Discover, Balance, Activate. She has written three books, His Delight, Shoetry and You Are The Best You (which has a companion Workbook). She has a fourth book which she co-wrote with her husband, Staying Married: 7 Key Strategies You Cannot Do Without. She blogs at sholashade.com on matters related to balanced living.