Achieve age-defying energy while working in your 60s
Health is wealth, so they say. With health comes sensational energy, and, of course, you are not your age, you are your energy. The first step to being sensational at 60 is ensuring you are functioning in total good, vibrant health.
As we get older, you might think the machinery of the body might slow down, but I would like to think that this is just an excuse, and we should aim to defy this thinking. The first place to start creating energy is naturally, with the diet. Modern farming methods have depleted vital nutrients in our soil, and in turn, our food, leaving us wanting for some of the fundamental nutrients that drive our energy in our cells (the individual building blocks of the body). Minerals like magnesium, selenium, chromium, or iron, for example.
Buy quality ingredients
Get food of the best quality you can – I am a big fan of organic. I appreciate that it’s expensive, but food is the single best insurance policy against degenerative disease, which can really interfere with our health and energy. Organic by all means is not perfect, but it is better than farming methods that leach the soil of all goodness. I also supplement with micro minerals, which are very small mineral elements that nowadays are difficult to find in the diet.
Balance the blood
The next from a dietary point of view is to balance the blood sugar, which means balancing key energy hormones in the body, through the food we eat. The easiest way to achieve this is by avoiding convenience food that is sweet, fluffy (like processed bread) and processed, bland food, which robs you of nutrients rather than giving you anything in return. Getting these fundamentals nailed and balancing the blood sugar is basic nutrition 101, and leads to a surge in stable energy – the type that lasts all day.
Try intermittent fasting
Once you have stable blood sugar, you can start to add in a little dietary fancy footwork, for example, intermittent fasting. There are lots of permutations of how to do intermittent fasting – but the easiest is just to move breakfast a little later, and move dinner a little earlier. You will notice that it is two meals rather than three – perhaps a good thing not to be working the digestive system all the time! The benefits are many, including helping to stabilise insulin (the hormone involved in blood sugar balance), weight loss, a sort of clearing out of debris in the body, and boost repair.
Many of us are approaching our last stretch working in corporate before inventing our third act, planning our next future, which might involve a new passion. Planning for a new future can be exciting – or intimidating if you feel knackered once you reach the finishing line – and you just don’t have the energy to make your plans come to reality. Once you’ve nailed your diet, you can focus on your lifestyle.
Prioritise sleep
A number one robber of energy is not getting sufficient sleep. As we age, it is possible that our deep sleep cycles suffer from a lack of good-quality sleep. Believe it or not, one of the most important ways to boost poor-quality sleep is getting enough daylight for a least one hour a day. This helps in the production of key hormones, such as melatonin – the starter gun of sleep. Boosting melatonin is important because at SIX-OH our melatonin production can be sluggish. Looking to reduce stress can be vital for good sleep, as of course, a restless mind can stop you from dropping off. At 60, we can have competing demands from adult children and aged parents, with us being the piggy in the middle that is trying to manage everything.
Get active
One way to reduce stress and promote sleep quality is exercise – which can be tricky to squeeze into a busy schedule! I love Qi Gong (which looks a bit like Tai Chi) as it’s powerful for the mind and spirit and needs really no special equipment or skill.
Limit caffeine
One final impediment to sleep is our massive addiction to caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant, which can be very useful to boost flagging energy, but too much can give us frenetic, jaggy energy which is artificial, and subject to crashes. Remember, caffeine has a half-life of at least 8 hours, which means that afternoon coffees might still be having an effect late into the evening, impacting sleep. Drink caffeinated beverages before 12 noon, if you want to benefit from a restful sleep so that you have brilliantly sensational energy!
About Kate Cook
Kate Cook is a wellness expert, international speaker, and author, specialising in nutritional solutions for both individuals and corporates. For the past 25 years, she has delivered entertaining but cutting-edge programmes and talks to some of the world’s best-known companies, including RBS, Skanska, Shell, and AXA, to name a few. Now, her attention has turned towards a forgotten segment of the workforce – those approaching 60+, looking to finish corporate careers with a flourish and invent a fantastic “third act”, accessing being sensational through Energy, Curiosity, Wisdom, and Purpose. In short, embodying being totally, amazingly SENSATIONAL at 60.
