4 Self-Care Tips You Need to Thrive in Your 40s

byShu Rin Hoe

Jul 23, 2025
6 mins

Turning 40 is a significant milestone. For some, it's a time to slow down; for others, it's an era of full-speed advancement. In either scenario, you may feel more fulfilled and confident, enriched by a diverse array of achievements in both your professional and personal life.

At this pivotal point, the importance of self-care escalates — encompassing physical health, mental well-being, and financial management. Grasping its benefits is key to elevating your quality of life. Here are various considerations and tips to make your 40s among the most rewarding years.

The Benefits of Regular Self-Care

In your 40s, regular self-care is crucial for maintaining well-being. Physically, it enhances cardiovascular health, aids in weight control, and strengthens the immune system through balanced nutrition, exercise, and sufficient rest. Mentally, engaging in mindfulness, hobbies, and social interactions significantly reduces stress, fostering a happier and more content life. Regular self-care also sharpens focus and boosts overall productivity in both personal and professional areas.

Additionally, these practices are essential to healthier ageing, reducing risks of chronic diseases and ensuring the sustained quality of life. Beyond mere indulgence, self-care is necessary for your future health and happiness.

Self-Care Tips for Adults

1. Improve Your Well-Being

As you enter your 40s, it's common to notice changes in physical health and fitness. You might experience reduced stamina during activities like running or sports or find it harder to handle late nights. Therefore, enhancing your overall well-being, which includes both physical and mental health, becomes crucial. Key to this is adopting healthy habits: balanced nutrition, adequate sleep, and consistent exercise.

Try these:

Aim to clock in 7 to 8 hours of sleep daily and establish a consistent sleep/wake schedule. To ensure quality of sleep, avoid screen time at least an hour before your sleep time and instead, try meditating or reading a book to calm your mind.
Incorporate short mindfulness or meditation sessions in your routine, even for just 5-10 minutes a day, to enhance mental clarity and reduce stress.
Drink at least 8 glasses of water daily, as recommended by the Health Promotion Board (HPB). However, note that this is an estimated figure, and the required amounts may vary based on your needs and activities.
Maintain a balanced diet. For a start, you can refer to HPB’s guideline, which suggests ¼ plate of wholegrains, ½ plate of fruits and vegetables, and ¼ plate of protein.
Schedule important health checks such as for diabetes, high blood pressure, or high blood cholesterol. Females in their 40s are advised to screen for cervical cancer every 3 years, as well as breast cancer annually, while men can consider adding prostate health checks to their routine. More comprehensive lists for recommended health screenings in Singapore can be found here.
Aim to do 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every week.
Invest in a fitness tracker, which many today can help to track your sleep patterns, water intake and activity level.

2. Pick Up New Hobbies and Skills

With the stability often found in your 40s, now is an ideal time to explore new hobbies or revisit past ones, from engaging in sports, learning a musical instrument, and coding to creative writing or even transforming a hobby into a business venture. These activities not only diversify your interests but also enhance mental agility and social connections. Additionally, pursuing these hobbies acts as a stress reliever and an effective way to broaden your social and professional circles.

Try these:

Ask yourself – what have you always wanted to try or what did you used to enjoy doing but had to give up due to life commitments or other reasons? It could also be identifying areas that you would like to see self-improvement in.
Join your loved ones in their personal interests. For example, accompany your family member/friend for one of their Zumba classes, photography expeditions, or cooking classes, to name a few.
Look out for new skills to learn. There’s a wide selection of courses and tutorials ranging from sports to cooking to guitar lessons that will challenge your personal growth and development.

3. Set a Routine and Stick to It

Once your essential tasks are organised, integrating them into a cohesive routine is crucial. In an era where work-from-home is commonplace, distinguishing between work, relaxation, and family duties becomes even more vital. Establishing small, daily rituals, be it a morning exercise routine, dedicated reading time, or an evening skincare ritual, can be instrumental in grounding yourself, managing stress, and addressing typical self-care challenges such as time management and motivation.

Try these:

Create a flexible routine that allows for unexpected changes in your day, making it easier to maintain consistency in your self-care practices.
Make a schedule or checklist of what you’d like to achieve for the day or week. Try to keep things realistic so you don’t stress out over rushing to complete your tasks.
Allocate some time for self-care, whether for reading, meditation, or catching up on shows. Basically, anything you love to do!
Set goals! Sign up for an event or activity to be more motivated to commit to it, or set a goal to read one book a month.
Utilise apps for routine planning and reminders. Tools like habit trackers or calendar apps can help keep your routine structured and on track.

4. Review Your Finances

Last but not least, it is crucial to remember that your financial needs inevitably evolve as you age. Whether it's contemplating upgrades to your home or vehicle, planning for your child’s higher education, or strategising for retirement, these financial milestones highlight the importance of periodically reassessing your financial situation to stay well-prepared and secure.

Try these:

Regularly reviewing your financial plan can help address the challenge of adapting to changing life circumstances and financial goals.
Revisit the risks and volatility of your portfolio. Your commitments and risk appetite have likely changed over time, and you may not want to be as overly aggressive in your investment portfolio and prefer to deal with less risky assets.
Plan for the prime of your life with Income’s Gro Retire Flex Pro II, an insurance savings plan that lets you enjoy a steady stream of income during your retirement years. You can look forward to receiving monthly cash payouts¹ during your retirement, providing an illustrated total yield at maturity of up to 4.08% p.a.^2,3. You can choose your premium payment terms and payout period to suit your budget and retirement needs. You may even choose to adjust when your cash payouts¹ begin by up to 5 years^4,5 if you decide to retire earlier or later.

Self-Care Challenges and Solutions

Embracing self-care in your 40s is an empowering journey, though it comes with its share of challenges. These may include balancing time among work, family, and personal needs or finding consistent motivation. However, these obstacles can be transformed into opportunities with the right approach. Incorporating brief, manageable activities like 10-minute meditation or brisk walks can effectively fit into a busy schedule.

Additionally, choosing activities that rejuvenate and relax you can combat stress. If motivation wavers, setting small, achievable goals can spark your enthusiasm and provide rewarding milestones. It's important to remember that self-care need not be time-intensive; even small steps can lead to significant, fulfilling results.

Embrace Your 40s, Make It The Time of Your Life!

Now that you're in your 40s, it's a pivotal time to focus on self-care, acknowledging that this decade is a vibrant and significant period of your life. Embrace the abundance of opportunities to broaden your horizons and enrich your experiences. While cherishing these moments, also remember the value of strategic planning for your future to safeguard your accomplishments and ensure a graceful progression through the years ahead.

To find out more about how you can take better care of yourself financially, connect with an Income Insurance advisor today!

Important notes:

¹ The cash payout consists of a monthly cash benefit and a non-guaranteed cash bonus.

² This is for illustration purposes only. The total yield at maturity is not guaranteed and is based on the assumption that the Life Participating Fund earns a long-term average return of 4.25% per annum for a male non-smoker, aged 40, who chooses a retirement age of 70, a payout period of 20 years and pays a single premium. It is also based on the assumption that all cash benefits and non-guaranteed cash bonuses due for the entire policy term are paid out to the policyholder. Based on the illustrated investment rate of 3.00% per annum, the total yield at maturity will be up to 2.97% per annum.

³ The figures in the illustration are not guaranteed and are illustrated based on the assumption that the Life Participating Fund earns a long-term average return of 4.25% per annum in the future. Returns are illustrated based on estimated bonus rates that are not guaranteed. The actual benefit payable will vary according to the future performance of the Life Participating Fund. The calculation for the illustrated total yield at maturity also assumes that all cash benefits and non-guaranteed cash bonuses due for the entire policy term are paid out to the policyholder.

⁴ The policyholder may choose to shorten or extend the accumulation period, by up to 5 years, in multiples of 1 year.

The request to exercise this option must be made on a date:
a) At least 2 years after the policy entry date; and
b) At least 2 years before the end of your original or revised accumulation period, whichever is earlier.

Other terms apply for this benefit. Please refer to the policy conditions for further details.

⁵ Please note that your policy benefits (including cash benefits, death benefit and surrender value), bonuses (if any) and riders (if any) may change if you change the accumulation period and/or payout period. You may request your financial advisor representative to generate the policy illustration for a different accumulation period and payout period to understand the changes in the policy benefits.

This article is meant purely for informational purposes and does not constitute an offer, recommendation, solicitation or advise to buy or sell any product(s). It should not be relied upon as financial advice. The precise terms, conditions and exclusions of any Income Insurance products mentioned are specified in their respective policy contracts. Please seek independent financial advice before making any decision.

These policies are protected under the Policy Owners’ Protection Scheme which is administered by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC). Coverage for your policy is automatic and no further action is required from you. For more information on the types of benefits that are covered under the scheme as well as the limits of coverage, where applicable, please contact Income Insurance or visit the GIA/LIA or SDIC websites (www.gia.org.sg or www.lia.org.sg or www.sdic.org.sg).