Columnist Dr. Cheryl Christy

Author's note: This column is intended for educational purposes only. It aims to highlight gaps in health knowledge, provide support and empower organizations to guide their members in creating effective health and wellness programs.

While there has been a tremendous amount of groundbreaking longevity research over the past 10 years, offering great advice on aging well, paying attention to your health throughout your lifespan is priceless. In other words, lifestyle choices matter. From your teens through early adulthood and beyond, every choice you make matters to your lifelong health. It is known that a sedentary lifestyle, environmental toxins, including smoking and vaping, highly processed foods, obesity and a lack of preventive health care adversely affect regenerative cell growth, resulting in damage to the immune system. Lifestyle choices affect the body's innate ability to recover from viral or bacterial assaults and cellular damage, which can lead to chronic disease. Living with chronic disease diminishes your quality of life and has an adverse economic effect on the community.

SIX LIFE-CHANGING STEPS AS YOU AGE

6. Drink 12 to 16 ounces of water first thing in the morning, before coffee or breakfast. Then drink a glass of water at every meal and one midafternoon.

5. Perform resistance-based movement at least two to three times per week for 20 to 30 minutes. This can be a light dumbbell, a wall push-up or a resistance band. This matters because of a process called anabolic resistance, which is the reduced ability of aging muscle cells to respond to exercise stimulation. Your muscles are not lazy; they are harder to reach as you age. The mitochondria in your muscle cells, the energy powerhouses of your body, regenerate more efficiently during resistance exercise. You are not just building muscle — you are rebuilding the energy infrastructure of your entire body.

4. Maintain a consistent, purposeful sleep schedule. The circadian rhythm, your body's internal 24-hour clock, weakens as you age. Poor sleep is not just about feeling tired. During the deepest sleep phase, human growth hormone is released, which is responsible for cellular repair, immune function and muscle maintenance. Key: Keep your bedroom cool and dark; avoid screens for 60 minutes before bed, go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every day. Add 10 minutes of slow diaphragmatic breathing before bed, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system, your body's rest-and-repair mode, and deactivates stress.

3. Eat protein in a deliberate, distributed pattern. You do not need less protein as you age, but you can control the form of protein you consume. Protein is the building block your body uses to rebuild itself. Aim for 4 to 5 ounces of chicken, fish, eggs, Greek yogurt, lean meat or legumes daily.

2. Daily intentional social engagement. The National Institute on Aging has found that loneliness accelerates cognitive decline by up to 64%, increases the risk of dementia by 41% and dramatically elevates inflammatory markers in the blood. Engaged human connection triggers the release of oxytocin, which suppresses cortisol and reduces inflammation.

1. Said to be the most important. A daily purposeful cognitive challenge. Not crossword puzzles or passive reading, but the daily practice of learning something new: a skill, a language, a musical instrument or a new form of creative expression that forces your brain into a state of productive discomfort. As you age, your brain begins to preferentially rely on established neural pathways. This survival mechanism causes an aging brain to conserve metabolic energy by favoring the familiar. The more you favor the familiar, the more you lose your buffer to withstand adverse life events.

You are making an investment in your future healthy self with every healthy choice.

Dr. Cheryl Christy is a Baldwin County resident and registered nurse with nearly 30 years of experience. She holds master's degrees in nursing education and nursing practice and a doctorate in nursing practice. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, Phi Pi Chapter, a certified lay counselor and the author of "Voices for Healthcare," a health care blog.

Read her previous column titled "Resilient health begins with good cellular health" on www.GulfCoastMedia.com. Her blog can be found at https://substack.com/@dnprn.