A Youthful Mind #ForeverYoung

Studies have shown that people who keep their minds active lower their risks of developing dementia in later life.

Some ways to keep you mind active at any age:

Take up a new hobby - Whether you take up gardening, playing an instrument, drawing or hiking, enjoying a new hobby has benefits on the connections within your brain. Gardening, music, art, yoga, languages - all of these and more can have a beneficial effect on your brain. The learning itself is beneficial to your brain, but also doing something you enjoy releases endorphins which have a positive effect on your overall health and circulation which creates a positive effect on your brain function.


Learn something new - Taking a class at your local university or community college or learning through a private instructor, whatever new thing you want to learn, whether you are learning a new language, learning about psychology or taking a class on modern art, this learning will keep your brain working and help keep it young. The white matter in your brain is called myelin, and it helps improve performance on many different tasks. The more you practice a new skill you are learning, the more dense the myelin in your brain becomes, which, in turn, helps you to learn better.

Start exercising - Exercise increases your heart rate, which, in turn, pumps more oxygen to your brain. It also aids in the release of many hormones within your body which can create a more nourishing environment for your brain cells to grow. Research suggests that aerobic exercise helps create brain cells and improves the way your brain works. Regular exercise changes your brain to improve memory and thinking skills.

I am learning four new things, or rather, taking up four new hobbies. One is singing and vocal training. The other is playing the guitar. The third is learning a new language: Korean, and the fourth is learning to compose music. A fifth thing, which I need to find a location for before I decide whether to take it up again or not is swimming.

What are some new things you are learning or new hobbies you have decided to take up?

TMJD - Temporomandibular Joint Disorder #ForeverYoung

This probably doesn't have much to do with signs of ageing so much as it can be a way of slimming your face, but I recently heard about a treatment for TMJD (temporomandibular joint disorder). This is a condition that I suffer with. It is caused by the fact that I grind my teeth at night, which is also slowly eroding my teeth by creating cracks in my molars (which eventually lead to breakage). (It also causes jaw pain, jaw clicking and popping and sometimes even a "locked" jaw.)

I was watching some YouTube vidoes where people were having various anti-ageing treatments and showing how successful or unsuccessful those treatments were in their anti-ageing efforts, when I came across a video where a young woman had treatments to slim her face. She had a very slim body but couldn't manage to get her face to slim down. She had TMJD as well and her dentist treated her with Botox injections into her jawline on both sides. Apparently, the muscles in her jaw were quite enlarged because of all the teeth grinding and jaw clenching she did in her sleep and the Botox injections helped stop her from doing that by weakening those muscles. It also, eventually, slimmed down her face somewhat by reducing the size of her jaw muscles. (she then went on to have some further, different, fat-melting injections in her face though, which had nothing to do with her TMJD.)

Now, my face, at my low weight, is almost too slim, so I'm not really worried about making my face less round. However, I am really upset about the damage my teeth-grinding is causing to my teeth, so I'm excited to hear about this possible treatment. I will be asking my dentist about this with my next visit.

The Decaying of Teeth #ForeverYoung

Let's talk about teeth and a person's smile. One thing that happens as we age is that our teeth start to deteriorate; this is especially true of women who have given birth. Pregnancy takes a toll on our teeth, because those little growing fetuses sap a pregnant mommy's nutrients, vitamins and minerals while growing inside her.

Another thing that is common but causes problems for our teeth is grinding of teeth. I grind my teeth in my sleep and, because of this, I have weakened, and in some cases broken, my molars. A mouth guard to wear to bed can prevent the damage caused by teeth grinding, but I have not been able to afford one yet, despite the fact that they are not overly expensive in relation to the cost of most dental procedures.

Our teeth are important because they are what makes up our smile. Our smile is what can make people feel comfortable around us, and if your smile becomes blackened and with gaps, it can damage the overall look you have achieved, not just making you look older but making you appear much less than attractive.

We also need our teeth for chewing our food. And tooth loss can result, eventually, in bone loss in the jaw area. According to the Facial & Oral Surgery Institute (in Los Angeles):

"Typically, healthy teeth transfer the forces of mastication (chewing) from the teeth and gums into the jaws via their roots. This stimulates the jaw bones letting your body know that it needs to maintain jaw strength to accommodate chewing, biting, and eating. When a tooth is missing, the stimulating forces are no longer transferred to the bone beneath the missing tooth. As a result, the bone begins to deteriorate and atrophy until there is only a minimal amount of bone remaining. This process is called resorption."

So, it is really important to look after your teeth, not just to prevent some of the signs of ageing but for practical purposes too.

I've been considering dental implants for my two missing molars. The cost of the procedure is the only thing that has kept me from having it done already. I'd also like veneers for a whiter smile.

The Forever Young Experiment #ForeverYoung

I've been thinking a lot about ageing and how it influences the way others view us. I know that ageing is just another unavoidable part of life, and, intellectually, I believe that people should grow old gracefully, accepting what life is making of them as they age. But knowing that this is the right attitude to have and coming to terms with my ageing self are two different things. And I've come to a conclusion about my own ageing; I don't want to accept it gracefully; I want to fight it every step of the way.

Now, some of those ways of fighting the ageing process are to eat healthy, keep my weight at a healthy BMI, or, in my current case, getting my weight back into a healthy BMI, and getting plenty of exercise.

I also plan to take some vitamins that I might be lacking in and using creams and lotions, plus drinking plenty of water, to keep my skin hydrated. (Drinking water is difficult for me. I really don't like drinking water, but I will make an effort to do so.)

I already don't drink alcohol or smoke, which are two things that prematurely age people, so I have that going for me already.

I have some health issues that make getting plenty of sleep difficult for me, but I am seeing some doctors and hoping to get those health issues under control soon.

What's left to do are the things I am curious to try but have no money to do yet: things such as skin treatments and plastic surgery.

The beauty/skin treatments that interest me are:
chemical peels
Derma Pen
IPL
Sculptra
VBeam
Deese Mask (Phototherapy Mask)
SpectraLift
Ulthera
Fraxel Laser
Fat Dissolving Injections (for chin area)
Profhilo
Plasma IQ (for eyes)

The plastic surgery methods that interest me are:
blepharoplasty (for eyes)
Under-eye Fat Repositioning (for eyes)
Canthoplasty (for eyes)

AccuLift

V3 Lift

Non-incision SMAS Lift

Endotine Forehead Lift

Notice: I did not say I want all of these treatments, only that these treatments interest me. I want to learn more about them. Some of them would make others of them unnecessary, and it would be good if non-plastic-surgery methods worked without the need for any plastic surgery in maintaining a youthful appearance. 

Another important thing about maintaining my youth, as I mentioned early on in this post, is health. I do have some chronic health issues, such as gastric esophageal reflux disease (GERD), chronic anaemia (caused by low iron) and cysts on my ovaries (recently found). I will be doing my best to get every health issue treated as they have symptoms that do not help with my attempts at looking and feeling younger. 

I am waiting on a letter from the hospital with a date for the surgery to remove the cysts on my right ovary (they will remove the fallopian tube and ovary on that side as well, I am told). I have an appointment with a gastroenterologist in London in mid-March to see what can be done about my gastric reflux. And I am taking iron tablets, which have not improved my low-iron-induced anaemia, but I am hoping the removal of the ovarian cyst might help as I have read that it can help with menstruation irregularities which can also be a cause of low iron.

Make-up can also be a good way to look youthful. I have to admit, I am not very skilled at make-up application, I will try and learn some techniques though.

Another thing I associate with youthfulness is the ability and willingness to learn new things. I am currently trying to teach myself how to play the guitar and retraining my voice for singing (using YouTube until I can afford some actual lessons). I used to sing when I was younger, but gave it up when I developed allergies. My allergies never went away, but I think I can work around them to regain my voice. I'm also trying to teach myself Korean, and I am trying to refresh my Spanish skills. I've lived away from California for too long and the Spanish I learned when I lived there has grown very rusty.

I'd like to chronicle my efforts at remaining youthful and regaining my youthfulness here and let you know what works and what doesn't.