femalenetwork.com

At this stage of the game, you’re probably more concerned with catching the season premiere of Sex and the City than growing old. But if you think you’re too young to worry about aging, think again. Your daily decisions could shave years off your life and sabotage your girlish good looks. Sound crazy? According to a recent University of Chicago study, a seemingly harmless habit such as skimping on sleep can bring you and your metabolism to a screeching halt (which leaves you with the energy level of a grandma). And that’s just for starters. Now for the good news. You can turn back the hands of time. Here, signs you’re aging at an accelerated rate—and how to launch counter attack.

Aging Alert 1: You Get Killer Hangovers
If you can’t bound out of bed the morning after tying one on, you may want to put the brakes on your partying. “During your 20’s, the ability to spring back from drinking decreases,” says Shiela Blume, M.D., “and hangovers are a sign you need to cut back.”

According to many studies, imbibing too much alcohol can increase the level of free radicals (oxygen and molecules that “rust” your insides). The result: “a body that’s as much as three years older than it’s chronological age,” says Michael Roizen, M.D., author of Real Age, Are You As Young As You Can Be? (Harper-Collines, 1999). In addition to wreaking havoc on your health, drinking too often will cause your complexion to turn red and puffy. Not pretty.

Clock Stopper: Limit your intake to seven drinks for a week. But don’t become a teetotaler—studies show a glass of wine a day may actually protect you from heart disease. If you do over-indulge, pop some vitamin C—its anti-oxidant properties will combat the radicals.

Aging Alert 2: You Still Wear SPF 8—and Only in the Summer
Even if your face isn’t sporting freckles and tiny lines, that doesn’t mean the sun hasn’t left its mark. According to Arthur J. Sober, M.D., associate chief of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, photo-aging (the process that causes crow’s feet and other wrinkles) starts in your teens but doesn’t show up until your 20s. “What you do now can go a long way toward minimizing—or even reversing—the damage,” he says.

Spot Check: Compare your arms to your butt, which probably hasn’t seen the light of day since you were in diapers. If the skin on your arms is more than a few shades darker or varies greatly in texture or dryness from your butt, you need to scale back on the sun worshipping.

Clock Stopper: Wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen (SPF 30) that shields you from the UVA and UVB rays and contains microtine zince oxide or titanium dioxide—all year round. To undo the damage, apply skin products containing glycolic acid or vitamin C.

Aging Alert 3: You Haven’t Kissed Your Cigs Goodbye
Since you probably already know that smoking causes lung cancer, consider it from a vanity vantage point. “Smoking decreases blood flow to your skin and causes wrinkles and yellowing,” says Marsha Gordon, M.D., vice-chairman of dermatology at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. In fact, after sun bathing, smoking is the second-worst thing you can do to your skin. Plus, the puckering movement you make each time you take a drag causes fine lines to sprout around your lips.

Clock Stopper: Kick butt. And ask your dermatologist about getting a prescription for a product containing tretinoin—like Retin A—which increases the blood supply to the skin. Wrinkly-reversing products containing retinol or alpha-hydroxy acids are available over the counter.

Aging Alert 4: You’re an Angry Mama
You’re gridlocked in traffic, stuck in the slowest grocery-checkout line, waiting for your guy, who’s late—again. If those scenarios send you off the deep end, stop and think: There’s a reason they call those unsightly furrows in forehead frown lines. When you’re angry, you consciously contort your face, causing permanent creases to crop up.

Getting steamed also signals your body to pump adrenaline, which taxes your whole system by speeding up your heart rate and raising your blood pressure. “People who anger easily are at an increased risk of developing heart disease and high blood pressure,” says Virginia Williams, Ph.D., an anger researcher at the University of Tennessee.

Clock Stopper: Instead of going ballistic, blow off minor irritants by taking a few deep breaths, walking around the block, or thinking about something pleasant, like on the beach (slathered in SPF, of course). But if you feel truly wronged, don’t bottle it up. Express yourself, then let it go.

Aging Alert 5: You Yo-Yo Diet
If your size 6 summer wardrobe reaches to a 10 in winter, you’re setting yourself up for some serious health problems. Aside from being incredibly frustrating, weight fluctuations can contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease, breast cancer, and increased stress—even when the range is as small as five pounds. So what really matters is not how much often the scale swings up and down. Also, after years of constant shrinking and stretching, your skin loses its elasticity, leaving you with a double-chin, stretch marks, and sagging breasts.

Clock Stopper: The best way to lose weight—and keep it off? “Do it slowly,” says Debra Waterhouse, author of Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell (Warner Books, 1999). Shoot for shedding a pound a week and focus more on exercise than restricting your diet. In the long run, calorie-cutting doesn’t work, because it makes you feel deprived and increases the chance you’ll binge. Do at least 45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise three times a week, because “for the first 30 minutes, you lose glycogen and not fat,” Waterhouse explains, and train with weights twice a week. By increasing your lean-muscle mass, you’ll burn calories more efficiently, even at rest. Besides, there’s nothing more alluring than shapely arms, thighs, and buttocks, and pumping iron is the fastest way to carve those sexy curves.

Aging Alert 6: Your Toothbrush has Turned Pink
If your gums bleed when you brush, your pearly whites are in peril. Bleeding gums are a sign of gingivitis—inflammation caused by a build-up of bacteria-infested plaque (which also causes the yellowish tinge). “Gingivitis is the first stage of periodontal disease, which can lead to tooth loss and has been linked to heart disease and stroke,” says Steven Offenbacher, D.D.S., Ph.D., director of the Center for Oral and Systemic Diseases at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Shockingly, one study done at Emory University found that people with gum disease have morality rate up to 46 percent higher than those with healthy mouths.

If that’s not enough to convince you to brush every after meal and floss daily, hear this: Bacteria is the biggest culprit behind ghastly breath. And since you live with that offensive odor, you’re the last to realize it.

Clock Stopper: Brush your teeth and your tongue at least three time a day to get rid of bacteria. If you can’t brush after eating, wash your mouth with water. And floss everyday—it’s the single most important thing you can do to prevent gum disease—hate it or not.

Aging Alert 7: You’re a Stress Monger
Back to back meetings, deadlines and social obligations can have you pulling your hair out—literally. “Stress can aggravate all sorts of problems such as hair loss and acne to constipation and diarrhea,” says Georgia Witkin, Ph.D., director of the Stress Program at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. It can trigger bouts of dandruff, eczema and hives, making you look frazzled as you feel. And that’s just what’s on the outside. Stress also weakens arteries, raises blood pressure and impairs the immune system—making you more susceptible to viral infection.

Clock Stopper: Have a chucklefest! “Laughing reduces stress and physical tension,” says Witkin. And studies show it also boosts your immune system—even if you’re forcing yourself to crack up.

Another fun way to ward off stress: Teach your guy to give you a massage. It feels great and it may just shift your immune system to high gear, according to studies conducted at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

Finally, get busy in bed on a steamy basis. “Regular enjoyable sex is relaxing,” says Dr. Roizen. “It also continues to constitute a strong, supportive persona in relationships, which are an important factor in stress reduction. It can even save your life. One study show that people who had more than one orgasm a week actually live longer as per Doctor’s orders.”