Can we stop ageing?

Let me share an incident from Japan with you. One day, after finishing work, some colleagues and I went to an Indian restaurant for dinner. Two of us were Indian and three were Japanese. One of the Japanese women who was dining with us jokingly asked my colleague, “So, what do you think my age is?” Since she had asked about her age herself, my colleague guessed and said that she must be around 35. She started laughing heartily and said, “I’m 55!” We were quite surprised because, by any measure, she didn’t look a day older than 38!

I was intrigued by this. Not just her, but we met numerous Japanese people during our time there and they all seemed to appear much younger than their actual age. It’s something you can easily observe about the Japanese nationals: the age we estimate based on their appearance is always younger than their actual age. So, what allows them to achieve this youthful look?

Two years after this incident, I finally got my answer during one of our conversations with my Japanese friends. It’s an answer that all can use as an ‘anti-ageing principle’.

This principle says, “You only age when you’re inactive.” That means, when you’re active, ageing pauses. So, when you sit in one place for a long period, that’s when you age and if you keep yourself physically engaged, your ageing pauses for that time. This is the principle around which the Japanese lifestyle seems to revolve. They focus on integrating physical activity into their daily routines: whether it’s going for a walk, cycling or cleaning up a cupboard, they constantly stay active. Every day, they plan their routines around the idea of staying physically engaged as much as possible. This is their secret to looking younger.

If you, too, want to look younger, you can try incorporating this simple technique into your life. It’s guaranteed to show results. You can implement this by making small changes like parking farther away to force yourself to walk, ironing your clothes instead of sending them out, cleaning your room, wiping down the fan, washing your clothes, etc. If you engage in physical activity like this, you will start to look younger! Isn’t that great news?