Healthy life with aging:
Maintaining good health and feeling that you are in your best is a very important thing at any age stage. And, with aging the person faces an increasing number of changes in life including physiological changes, retirement, loss of loved ones and bodily changes. Handling such changes properly is considered the key of staying in good health.
False Beliefs about Aging:
Aging means poor health or disability: There are some diseases becoming more common as we age; however the aging is not automatically associated with poor health as many older persons enjoy good health, and mostly far better than many younger people. And by adopting preventive measures such as eating healthy food and controlling stress, we can reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases or injuries in the future.
Loss of memory is not inevitably associated with aging, since the person can train the brain and learn new things at any age. That is to say, there are many things that you can do to maintain the memory.
Important tips to maintain good health with aging:
Regardless of your age, dealing with change is difficult, and the greatest challenge facing those over 50 years of age is the huge number of changes and transformations that begin to happen, including loss of relatives and friends, end of your career, decline of health and loss of your independence.
What does healthy aging mean?
It means finding new things you enjoy, learning how to adapt to changes, staying physically and socially active and communicating with your society.
Find the activities you enjoy such as:
- Practicing a previous hobby or trying a new one.
- Playing with grandchildren and favorite pets.
- Learning new thing (foreign language or new game).
- Engaging in your community (volunteering or attending local event).
- Joining a social or health club.
- Traveling to new places.
- Spending sometime in nature.
- Enjoying arts like visiting a museum.
- Writing diaries about your life experiences.
Staying in good health through humor, laughter and play:
Laughing is the effective medicine for both body and mind; it helps you to stay active and healthy at any age.
Staying in good health through communication with others:
One of the biggest challenges of aging is to stay connected with the community as you grow older even for those who always have an active social life. As such, career changes, retirement, illness, death and moving houses could distance them from their close friends and family members.
It is important to find ways to connect and communicate with the others, since being in connection with the community could support you when you grow old, and protect you against the feeling of loneliness, depression and disability.
Staying in good health by maintaining your body and increasing vitality:
It is true that aging includes physical changes, but that doesn't mean, lack of interest and comfort and disability. This means that taking care of your body have enormous benefits that will help you stay active, sharpen your memory, boost your immune system, control your health problems and increase your energy.
Staying in good health by eating healthy food:
Having fiber-rich fruits, vegetables and whole grain is very important as we grow in age since the digestive system movement may slow down. As such, the fiber intake is very important for regulating its movement and making you more active.
Making a point of drinking a lot of fluids even if you don't feel thirsty to prevent dehydration as the elderly is more prone to dehydration.
Staying healthy by exercising:
Exercising regularly helps you to maintain good physical and mental health and improve your self-confidence through the following:
You should consult your doctor before commencing any sport program.
If you are new to exercising, you'd better start gradually and increase it slowly.
Walking is wonderful way to begin the exercise.
Staying in good health by getting good sleep:
Many adults complain of sleeping problems as they age including insomnia, sleeping during daytime and waking up frequently during the night.
Making sure your bedroom is quite, dark and cool, and your bed is comfortable.
Try using an eye mask to help blocking the light.
Turning off the TV and electronic devices at least one hour before going to bed.
Staying in good health by maintaining the health of your mind:
Renewing the activity of your mind may help prevent memory decline and cognitive problems.
Doing something new every day like solving crosswords or complex puzzles to maintain the memory.
Learning new skills such as learning a different language, computer skills, and the golf game.