Holistic Wellness: What is your ‘real age’?

Recently, a nurse at Northern Lakes told me about a Web site called RealAge.com. In keeping with the holistic wellness material that the Learning Communities have been going over and will continue to go over, I was thoroughly impressed with this site because of its content.

There’s a section you can click on that lets you take a test which connects your real age to your current lifestyle (i.e., your weight, height, health factors, if you smoke, have diabetes, etc). In just a few minutes, with the information you provide, you find out your REAL AGE, which is the biological age of your body, based on how well you’re maintaining it.

Questions that determine your real age include: how many hours a day you sleep, height without shoes on, weight, resting heart rate, average blood pressure, how many times a year you see your primary care physician, maternal and paternal parent information, smoking history and various others.

I was shocked to find out my REAL AGE. I’m 28 years old with no health concerns at all but I am overweight with a very obese Body Mass Index and I do smoke. My family health fluctuates and I have four children, so I don’t sleep well all the time, but all in all, I thought I was doing okay (minus the fact that I smoke). So what’s my REAL AGE? 37!!! A whopping difference of 8.4 years!

This has motivated me to make HUGE lifestyles changes. The RealAge Web site has ways for me to check my health progress, helps me communicate with my doctor about what exactly I do want to change in my not-so-healthy lifestyle, exercises I can do to improve my energy during the day, tips to look young, eat smart and soothe stress.

Many articles are also available through this site about how to fight depression, relieve anxiety, help with weight management for busy lifestyles, and various others. Although this site does not take the place of seeing a licensed physician, it helps me promote independence in my life to at least try to make some changes. So, all in all, I think this is a wonderful site if you want to make even minor changes in your life.

Enjoy!