How to Take Care of Your Senses as You Age

As we age, it’s essential to take care of our senses. Our vision, hearing, and smell all decline as we age, so it’s important to take steps to protect them. This blog post will discuss the best ways to take care of your senses as you age. We’ll cover how to protect your vision, keep your hearing sharp, and keep your sense of smell strong. Read on for tips that will help you keep your senses sharp!

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Vision

The first sense we’ll discuss is vision. As we age, our eyesight naturally begins to decline. This is due to several factors, including the hardening of the lens in our eyes and the thinning of the retina. While there’s no way to prevent this from happening completely, there are steps you can take to protect your vision.

One way to do this is by getting regular eye exams. These exams can help catch problems early on before they cause severe damage to your vision. In addition, if you wear glasses or contact lenses, update your prescription as needed so that your vision is as straightforward as possible. It would help if you also tried to eat foods that are good for your eyesight, such as leafy greens and carrots. And finally, be sure to protect your eyes from the sun by wearing sunglasses when you’re outdoors.

In addition to these tips, blue light reading glasses found here can also help protect your vision. Blue light is a type of light that comes from screens, such as computers and phones. This light can harm your eyesight, so limiting exposure to it is crucial. Reading glasses that filter out blue light can help reduce the amount of damage that blue light does to your eyes.

Hearing

Hearing loss is another common issue that comes with age. Approximately one in three people over the age of 60 have some form of hearing loss. There are many causes of hearing loss, including damage to the ear from loud noises and changes in the ear’s structure as we age.

You can do a few things to protect your hearing as you age. First, avoid exposure to loud noises whenever possible. If you’re going to be exposed to loud noise, wear earplugs or other hearing protection. Additionally, it would help if you got your hearing checked regularly by a doctor or audiologist. This will help you catch any signs of hearing loss so that you can take steps to mitigate them.

Smell

Our sense of smell also deteriorates as we age. This is due to several factors, including the loss of nerve cells in the nose and changes in how our brains process smells. Unfortunately, as with vision and hearing loss, there’s no way to entirely prevent this decline in our sense of smell. However, there are steps you can take to reduce its impact.

To keep your sense of smell sharp, you can avoid strong fumes and odors. These can irritate the nose and make it harder for you to smell other things. You should also try not to smoke, as smoking damages the nerves in the nose responsible for smelling. If you have any nasal allergies or sinus problems, treat them so that they don’t exacerbate your sense of smell.

Taste

Your taste buds can diminish as you age, making food less enjoyable. Although you cannot completely avoid this natural process because of changes in your saliva production and nerves, you can take steps to slow it down.

To keep your taste buds in tip-top shape:

Brush your teeth regularly and floss to avoid gum disease, which can cause changes in your sense of taste.
Quit smoking. Smoking not only dulls your sense of taste but also dries out your mouth, making food less flavorful.
Eat a healthy diet. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein helps keep your sense of taste sharp.
Limit or avoid alcohol. Alcohol consumption can cause changes in your sense of smell and make it challenging to taste subtle flavors.
Stay hydrated. Drinking plenty of fluids helps keep your mouth moist, which is vital for tasting food.
See your dentist regularly. Your sense of taste can be affected by problems in your mouth, such as tooth decay, infection, or dry mouth.

As you age, it’s essential to protect your senses. This includes things like getting regular eye and hearing checkups, avoiding strong fumes and odors, quitting smoking, and eating a healthy diet. Taking these steps can help keep your senses sharp for years to come.

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Lisa Ehrman

Lisa has been blogging since 2013, and loves sharing resources and ideas for living a simple life. To get free printables, bonus words, and more - sign up for the newsletter.