Healthy Aging

As we age, many of us are faced with challenges regarding our health. Our health greatly impacts our quality of life, and even more so as we get older. While there are certain things that are out of our control, there are still a lot we can do to improve our health and general wellbeing as the years progress.

Here are a few things you can incorporate in your life as you get older to promote health and wellness:

-              Active hobbies – Keep moving while having fun, whether it is gardening, carpentry, hiking or any other active hobby. It will promote your mobility as well as your mental health.

-              Stress management – Stress has a big effect on our overall health and wellbeing. Try to manage your stress with relaxation techniques such as meditation, journalling, etc.

-              Quality sleep – Prioritising quality sleep has a multitude of advantages for overall health and can reduce your risk of chronic pain.

-              Medical screenings – Make sure to go for all your check-ups, especially if you are already diagnosed with a chronic condition. Early identification of diseases can save lives and reduce the risk of serious complications.

-              Maintain relationships – Prioritising quality relationships with friends and family will promote your mental wellbeing and ensure you have a support system when you go through difficult times.

-              Balanced diet – Eating a balanced diet is not only important for weight management but can have a huge influence on overall health, immunity, inflammation and management of chronic conditions.

-              Strength training – As we age, we start to lose more and more muscle mass. If you don’t use it, you lose it! Focus on targeted resistance training and balance exercises to maintain muscle mass, support your joints, reduce your risk of falls and maintain your mobility and independence.

-              Cardiovascular exercise – Any exercise that raises your heart rate will be beneficial for your heart and lungs. This can include walking, cycling, swimming, dancing, playing tennis, etc.

-              Engage in community – Join a group or initiative in your community that promotes interaction with people around you. This can be a conservation group, a charity group or even a walking group.

As we age, our risk of falling increases due to various factors such as muscle weakness, poor balance, poor vision, chronic conditions, or extrinsic factors like hazards in your home. Falls can have serious complications such as fractures, head injuries and internal injuries. It can be especially dangerous if the person is not able to get back up and does not have help close by.

Follow these tips to reduce your risk of falling:

-              Do strength training and balance exercises to improve your physical health.

-              Review your medication list with your doctor if you experience any dizzy spells or vertigo.

-              Check your vision and hearing as this can also influence your risk of falls.

-              Reduce hazards in your home like clutter and loose carpets and install handrails in the bathrooms or next to stairs if needed.

-              Improve lighting in your house to make sure you can see obstacles.

-              Wear sturdy shoes with good grip to make sure they don’t slip off your feet and that you don’t fall on slippery tiles.

Many people will tell you that getting old is not for the faint hearted. The best we can do is to improve the things that are within our control to ensure we can live life to the fullest for as long as we can.