People all age at the same rate, but the effects differ from individual to individual. Nonetheless, all of us, regardless of how healthy we may be, suffer from some effects of deterioration and aging over time. It’s basic nature, and it isn’t something that should be feared. It’s simply something that should be expected and planned for so as to keep yourself as happy and healthy as possible throughout the entirety of your life.
Even though you’ve only just entered your fifties (which isn’t very old at all in the modern age) and you’re likely still in good health, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start thinking about your health ten or twenty years from now. You’re not ancient yet, but if you want old age to be enjoyable then you might want to start being more careful about your health and the way you approach life.
Vision.
Eyesight is one of the first things to go for many of us. In fact, most of us have needed glasses since our twenties (some unfortunate souls need them when they’re children). However, whilst you might simply use glasses for reading and driving at the moment, you likely realize that your vision is going to deteriorate further in your old age. It’s better to not lazily accept this fact and, instead, do all you can to protect your vision.
Hearing.
It’s so important to look after your ears throughout your life, but, much like everything, they start to deteriorate more rapidly as you creep into old age. Wearing earplugs in concerts or perhaps even on the street if you frequently visit loud and chaotic spots of your local towns of cities. You can’t always control the sound around you, but you can find ways to protect your ears or avoid certain noisy situations. You might want to look into a sound amplifier for hearing even if you have been very careful and wise enough to look after your ears throughout your life. The reason you might want to look after them now, more than ever, is so that you avoid any future damage as they deteriorate into old age (naturally, of course).
You might find that if you don’t keep your hearing at a healthy, normal level that you start to develop bad habits in response to this natural effect. For example, you might start to turn up the volume on devices you use to counteract the fact you can’t hear them. However, in much the same way as somebody with perfect hearing, this would be damaging to your ears. You wouldn’t feel how loud and damaging it is because of your deteriorated hearing, but the effects would still be much the same. You need to look after your eardrums to reduce the effects of weathering and time.
Mental ability.
Everybody’s mind deteriorates to some extent in old age. In fact, even during middle-age, you’ve probably noticed that your memory doesn’t work as well as it used to. There are ways to train your brain and look after your mental health, of course. Happiness is always the best medicine, and making sure you’re doing all you can to live life to the fullest (especially after retirement when you have little to do in the way of work) is very important to keeping you on top of your game. It’ll keep your brain working as it should be well into old age.
