If there’s a time people feel unstoppable, it’s when they’re in their twenties. They go through life eating, drinking, and doing whatever because they know they’ll bounce back like invulnerable titans. We get it. Youth is exhilarating. But the thing most people don’t know is that your habits in your youth will determine that’ll determine how old age will go for you (or if you’ll even get there at all). These 4 Nigerians we spoke to revealed the healthy habits they adopted in their twenties so as to not reduce their quality of living later in life.
Tubosun, 33
I had to learn was how to sleep on time. Not just sleeping on time but actually getting enough hours of sleep. Because back then, I used to take pride in how long I could stay up every night doing things that could’ve been done any other time. I’d stay up to cook beans, watch TV, clean the bathroom, work out, etc. It’s like I was a witch who was determined to do everything at night. But then my workouts weren’t having the desired effects (I wanted to get bigger) and I was seemingly tired all the time with a recurring headache. I went for a checkup and realised that my lack of sleep had caused my blood pressure to rise, which was shocking to the doctor because I was 24 at the time. Also, my lack of sleep was directly tied to my workouts not doing what they were supposed to. Because the muscles grow while you sleep or something. Who knew? Lol
Gladys, 39
Food portion control was a thing I had to learn. I was plus-sized and fine with my size but my doctor informed me that my weight was slowly becoming a problem. After a long talk about the dangers I faced (heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, etc), my doctor linked me up with a nutritionist who let me know that while eating healthy is great, portion control is also important. I’ve been doing this for three years now. I’ll be honest and say that I haven’t mastered it sha oh. I still fall off the rail sometimes. But I am losing weight because I’ve been more consistent than not.
Kolawole, 44
The first time I exercised was when I was 28. Before then, I didn’t like stress. I didn’t even run around as a child. I would rather just sit in one spot and read a book/play with toys or something. My body started to “weaken” in my late twenties but I assumed that was how everyone felt so I never did anything about it. It wasn’t until I opened up to a friend of mine — who’s also a doctor — that I found out that that’s not how I was supposed to feel. He made me sign up at his gym, we started working out together, and I soon began to feel stronger. We’re still friends, btw. He has japa’d now but we still work out together virtually from time to time.
Darlington, 56
It’s true what the young people say these days; drinking water and minding your business will do wonders for your health. Lol. I hardly ever drank water. I was really big on soda and processed fruit juice until my blood sugar levels started to spike. I did a full physical exam and when the results came back, I was informed that the persistent headaches I’d been having, fatigue, indigestion, and some other things were a result of dehydration. I was advised to drink more water than anything else, and not just when I feel thirsty. So I became more intentional with water drinking and I have no regrets.
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