10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Midlife

Are your best years ahead? Midlife is notoriously known as a time of crisis. Seize the midlife moment and make new choices for your health.

Ways to get the most out of these midlife years

1. Cultivate mindfulness and optimism. Notice and pay attention to what is happening in the present moment. Enjoy and be grateful for all the good things in your life.
2. Focus on family bonding. Often midlife crises for women are not an age phenomenon but rather due to the very significant changes that occur in the lives of our growing-up children and our maturing partners.
3. Spend more time with your partner. Rediscover why you fell in love in the first place.
4. Rev up the love life. You are free to go on dates with your partner—real dates!
5. Reevaluate your choice of birth control. The second-highest rates of unplanned pregnancies occur in midlife.
6. Worry more about you. It is important to establish de-stressing routines, including setting aside time to exercise and connect with friends.
7. Cut down on salt, reduce caloric intake by 100–200 calories per day and boost your calcium and vitamin D intake. By midlife, most are at high risk for high blood pressure and heart disease.
8. Embrace your desire to sleep. Now is the time to develop good sleep habits to prepare you for the next stage of life.
9. Do something you thought you would never have time for. Take up a new hobby or go back to an activity you love—knitting, dancing, learning, kayaking, tai chi, or volunteering.
10. See your doctor. You have always made sure everyone else in the family gets a yearly check-up, but what about you? Schedule yearly health screenings and don’t neglect your own health.