16 Ways to Stay Looking (and Feeling) Young

The years add up, but it doesn't have to show. There are a lot of ways to keep yourself looking—and more important, feeling—younger.

One way is to relax every day. This will slow the aging process and lower cortisol levels, which when elevated, put us at risk for high blood pressure, fatigue and muscle weakness.

Fats are great for your skin, especially the good ones like omega-3 fatty acids. They reduce inflammation, which leads to wrinkles and redness, and they give your body the boost to lose weight by signaling for fat to get pulled out of storage for fuel. Think salmon, nuts and seeds.

One of the best things we can do as we age is exercise. It helps everything from sleep issues to depression. Exercise also builds bones and increases muscle tone, which help us stay upright with good posture, and makes us look and feel younger.

Loving someone and being loved pays off in all kinds of ways, including feeling younger. Touch—and not just the sexual kind—releases hormones like oxytocin, which lowers stress and anxiety, and actually makes us feel good. Love is energizing, which gets us motivated to exercise, which itself boosts our immune systems and makes us feel great everywhere.

Wine has been found to have health benefits, but only if consumed in moderation (like most great things). The antioxidants in vino have been linked to preventing damage in blood vessels as well as preventing blood clots. One glass for women and two for men have shown to lower risk for heart problems.

Practicing yoga is a great way to stay flexible and keep muscles strong, both of which help keep the pains of aging at bay and prevent falls and breaks—key to staying young. Breathing techniques in yoga also have anti-aging effects. Some claim yogic breathing oxygenates the cells more efficiently, which helps carry away toxins and prevent illnesses.

Part of a good anti-aging strategy is eating the right kinds of foods. Go for the ones that are packed with nutrition, like fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables. One study found that upping vegetable intake by three servings a day changed the tone and radiance of skin after just six weeks.

Green tea often shows up on lists of superfoods and for good reason. It's packed with antioxidants, which, in addition to being useful in fighting cancer, help to regulate metabolism. Also, new research finds, antioxidants may prevent Alzheimer's and other cognitive impairment due to aging.

A good skincare routine, one that includes daily sunscreen and moisturizer, will do wonders for keeping you looking young. But what worked when you were younger might not be as effective for your skin now. Take the time to find a skincare system that's right for your specific skin type and stick to it. Your skin 10, 20 and 30 years from now will thank you.

Exercise is everything, but not just on a treadmill. To keep your brain young, you need to exercise it, too. This means learning new skills or working through the daily crossword or sudoku. Even brain-training video games have been shown to exercise the brain in healthy ways that keep it from suffering the effects of aging.

Lifting weights keeps muscles strong and rebuilds bone mass that starts diminishing in our thirties. You don't have to go to Olympic extremes in weightlifting to get the benefits. Focus on your core and lower body, and do a combination of squats, lunges and calf-raises.

Want to feel young? Then do the things you did when you were young (well, maybe not all of them). Download all of your favorite songs from your youth, re-read novels you loved or watch TV shows from that era. Going back in time, even for 30 minutes, puts you back in the state of mind from the truly younger years.

While it's healthy and important to acknowledge negative feelings—and to seek treatment for them if they become overwhelming and intrusive—it's also important to find ways to stay positive. "The goal is not to deny the less-than-pleasant stuff that is happening, but rather to focus on what's going well," says Elizabeth Lombardo, Ph.D., author of "A Happy You." Carefree, positive living isn't just for the young—they just know how to live it best.

Sugar is kind of the enemy of skin and wreaks havoc on all the processes that keep it from looking old. Cutting back (or cutting out!) sugar will bring noticeable improvements to your skin almost immediately. Less sugar means more elastic skin, more radiance and less inflammation. It's a sweet deal if you can make the change.

If you don't wear sunscreen daily, you should start now no matter what your age. Not only will it protect your skin from exposure to the sun, but a new study found it can reverse some of the damage that has already been done. Sunscreen also is our best protection against skin cancers, thereby increasing our chances for a long, healthy life.

If you want to look younger, you can almost instantly by correctly using concealer. It helps minimize dark circles and can make eyes appear wider and brighter. Find the color that's right for you, and learn the concealer technique that addresses your eye issues.