Finding Balance in Your 50s
As we enter our 50s, our responsibilities and stresses don’t look the same as they did when we were younger. Family dynamics shift, and work and social obligations can change. As the “sandwich generation” tasked with both childcare and eldercare, one in seven of us is financially supporting both a child and a parent. As we adjust to life after 50, we often find ourselves being pulled in many directions, which can take a toll on our health, well-being, stress levels and even our hair!
When we think about finding balance in our lives, this is usually because we feel like we have become unbalanced in some way. One of the best ways to start the recalibration process is to identify what specifically is not working for us and switch up our routines to address the problem head-on. But this is much easier said than done.
So, how can we recalibrate?
We’re here to give you the scoop on four approaches to help you find balance during this transitional time and build resilience in midlife while even rediscovering yourself. Read on to learn more about how small changes to your daily routine can have a huge impact in your life after 50!
1. Assess and Address Stress
When we don’t address stress in our lives, we often take a serious hit to our general outlook on life. And the symptoms of stress can manifest both mentally and physically. We might feel anxious or depressed. We might experience fatigue, headaches and digestive problems. Add menopause symptoms like hair thinning, hot flashes and brain fog into the mix, and it’s clear why minimizing stress is so important in life after 50!
Making changes to your self-care routine (or implementing one!) can combat the negative effects of stress and help you feel more balanced while building your resilience in midlife. This is especially important as we go through menopause, which stresses our bodies in a different way than we’re used to.
“I am a very confident person, and it took me by surprise when I experienced bouts of anxiety in my 50s after reaching menopause,” says Ann Garnier, founder of Lisa Health. “Paced respiration or deep breathing is a technique I’ve relied on to calm my nerves before activities like a big speaking event, and I found that along with meditation, it’s served me well to address anxiety.”
Another major way that stress and anxiety can manifest during menopause is through hair thinning and loss, which is why managing our stress levels is so important to the health of our hair—as are good hair and scalp habits. To nourish hair follicles and a healthy scalp in our 50s, we must address the underlying issues of dryness, follicular fatigue and increased DHT production as our hormones are in flux. A serum like Superpower Fortifying Hair and Scalp Serum helps by delivering hydrating oils to your scalp to condition skin and support active follicles!
2. Embrace and Love Your Body
As we age, embracing our bodies can become harder for us. We see more lines on our face and changes to our hair that leave our tresses with less shine and bounce than they once had. Our skin loses its elasticity due to reduced collagen production, which began declining in our 20s, and our hair thins out because our follicles become less productive.
While our confidence has grown in so many aspects of our lives, our aging bodies is one area where our self-acceptance can be challenged. Of course, there are steps we can take to address these signs of aging, from surgical procedures to facials, blowouts and keratin treatments at the salon. And yet, we often find ourselves shamed for aging and shamed if we take steps to slow or reverse aging. It’s very much a catch-22 for women as we age!
Trends come and go, and we say: Love your body regardless! (After all, it’s gotten you through the good times and bad so far!) Aging gracefully is whatever we make it, and we aren’t “past our prime” in our 50s. If you love your smile, don’t let worries about smile lines or crow’s feet stop you from flashing those pearly whites. If you adore your gorgeous grays but worry that you “should” color them, shake up your routine and embrace those silver locks! We have an entire line of silver hair care dedicated to supporting your natural color and making mature hair fuller and healthier.
3. Find and Embrace Your Passions
Think about hobbies or pursuits that bring you joy. These are key to balance and finding purpose in life after 50. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s too late to undertake a passion project! In our 50s, it’s far too easy to go on autopilot and find ourselves stuck in a rut. If you love to dance, take a class! If you love photography, start snapping photos!
And don’t be afraid of making major moves in your 50s! If your career is no longer serving you, think about what you would love to do. Is there a field you always wished you’d gone into? Always wanted to be your own boss and noticed a niche you could fill as an entrepreneur? Say it with us: It’s not too late! Julia Child didn’t publish her book Mastering the Art of French Cooking until she was 49, and her cooking show didn’t debut until she was 51. Laura Ingalls Wilder was 65 when she published her first novel. And Betty White got her big break on The Mary Tyler Moore Show at 51.
If you can’t think of a hobby or path that you would enjoy, start with a smaller change that requires less mental energy. Consciously carve out a few minutes each day to adopt new routines like reading that novel you’ve been meaning to get to or catching the sunrise over a mug of coffee—even giving your tresses a weekly deep conditioning treatment to ensure they stay healthy and hydrated counts! Believe it or not, these moments of self-care help you find balance in your life. We understand how busy life can be but finding purpose in life after 50 is easier than you may first think and starts with these little actions of self-love. It’s in these solitary, quiet moments that many creatives find their best inspiration. You might just stumble onto something new you’d like to try!
4. Fuel Up and Get Moving
When we eat better and move more, we feel better. We also know that restrictive diets and relentless workout programs usually don’t produce long-term results. Making small, doable changes to your eating and exercise routine are key to feeling your best and building resilience in midlife.
Our doctors constantly tell us to get moving, and for good reason! Studies have shown that exercise lowers our risk of many age-related health issues, such as breast cancer, osteoporosis and even our risk of future cognitive decline. It also helps support our mental health. “Daily exercise is another go-to technique that I recommend to anyone with menopause-related mental health symptoms or simply midlife stress,” notes Garnier. “For me, daily exercise is not an option; it’s a must for physical and mental well-being.”
But starting a new exercise regimen from scratch can feel intimidating. The good news is that you don’t have to dive right into the deep end of the exercise pool to start seeing improvement. In fact, adding as little as two minutes of walking per waking hour can produce life-saving benefits!
As the saying goes, “A healthy outside starts on the inside.” Try adding a rainbow of color to your plate with a variety of fruits and vegetables or adding “meatless Mondays” to your meal rotation for two simple changes that can pack a healthy punch. In addition to meeting your daily step count and focusing on leafy greens, try enhancing your dietary changes and increased exercise with a supplement designed to fortify your mature hair, nails and skin like our Significant Other Hair, Skin & Nails Supplement + Retinol Boost gummies for a small, delicious change that can make a big difference in how you look and feel!
Let Better Not Younger Help You Switch Up Your Self-Care Routine in 2022!
Whether you want to tackle hair loss, keep a gorgeous new color vibrant between touch-ups, or try a supplement that supports hair, skin and nail health during menopause, we’ve got you covered! Better Not Younger’s entire product line addresses specific issues with aging hair to make sure you have gorgeous, healthy hair in your 50s, 60s and beyond.
Tell us: What are some ways you’ve found balance in your life and built resilience in midlife? Share your top tips in the comments below!
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