Seniors experience several changes as they age, requiring them to alter their habits and lifestyle to stay healthy. However, getting older doesn’t always mean you will have a poor quality of life or a range of medical conditions. In fact, if you take good care of your health, the later stage of your life can be a rewarding experience.
You become more confident and patient than your younger self and gain more wisdom. Although your hair starts turning gray and you can see more fine lines, you can still embrace aging with a healthy body and mind. Even if you have never paid attention to healthy habits in your entire life, it is never too late to start taking preemptive measures to improve and maintain your health.
To help you with that, in this article, we will discuss the five habits and lifestyle changes that will help you better manage your mental and physical health.
- Regular Checkups
The foremost and the most important tip to age healthily is to get regular checkups by visiting your healthcare professional and keep track of your overall health. Most people don’t realize that regular checkups help detect and prevent diseases and usually wait for symptoms to appear before visiting their doctor. This is particularly true for older people with chronic diseases, which normally go unnoticed or undetected unless the situation becomes serious.
For instance, if you have been exposed to asbestos previously in your life, you may not feel the effects immediately, but the exposure can lead to serious damage over the years. Regular checkups might result in earlier detection and more treatment options. However, if you or a friend have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, seek legal help along with medical aid immediately by visiting www.mesotheliomahope.com and booking consultations with reliable professionals.
Similarly, ensure regular health screening for other issues as well, including an eye exam, checking blood pressure, fall risk, and vaccination discussion. Also, get checks for depression, dementia, or obesity, as these are some common precursors for other serious health issues like high blood pressure.
- Healthy Eating and Walk
Unsurprisingly, maintaining a healthy diet as you age is vital for living well. As you may know, your digestive system slows down with age, making it more important to incorporate high-fiber foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and vitamins into your diet. It will not only help in maintaining a healthy diet but also lower your risk of developing major health issues like heart disease or stroke.
With that, aim for at least 30 minutes of walking every day, or if you find it too much, you can also break it up into shorter strolls. Remember, regular walking offers great health benefits, like keeping brain cells healthy by ensuring sufficient delivery of oxygen and blood. Also, it helps boost your mood, control your weight, sleep better, and make you less likely to suffer from heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and high cholesterol.
- Medication Management
While it is a no-brainer, we must mention that you should always take your prescribed medication exactly as directed by your healthcare provider. Over time, it is also important to discuss with your healthcare professional if you should continue with all your prescriptions. Moreover, consider possible drug interactions and keep track of any side effects or new symptoms, such as drowsiness, allergic reactions, or loss of appetite, as soon as you change or start any medication.
Remember, the more drugs you take, the harder it will be to remember how and when to take them all, leading to a higher risk for adverse reactions. Thus, while you should not stop taking any drug without your doctor’s consultation, it is better to be proactive and ensure proper medication management.
- Get Proper Sleep
Insomnia and frequent waking is a common issue among seniors; thus, it is highly important to maintain a regular sleep cycle or schedule to ensure optimal health. For this, you can adopt ‘sleep hygiene,’ which refers to a set of healthy sleep habits that can improve your ability to fall and stay asleep.
For instance, simply going to bed and waking up at the same time can help you sync your internal clock to your daily schedule. Similarly, stay away from caffeine or alcohol during the day and avoid taking naps during the day. You can also try turning down the evening lights to spur drowsiness while ensuring your bedroom is cool, comfortable, and quiet.
As per The Sleep Foundation, those aged 65 or older should get around seven to eight hours of sleep every night on average. However, if you suffer from acute or chronic insomnia, you should speak to your doctor to determine what’s keeping you awake and get advice on possible solutions.
- Socialize and Stay Connected
The one thing that is most often neglected by seniors yet negatively impacts their health is isolation or even the feeling of being lonely. While isolating oneself is detrimental to mental and physical health, the situation becomes more severe if you constantly feel alone, even when you live with someone or have many friends. It means you are at a high risk of developing depression and dementia. In that case, consulting a therapist is the best way to go before the situation worsens.
Moreover, older people who report feeling isolated and left out struggle more with everyday tasks like climbing stairs and bathing, let alone having higher levels of stress hormones that cause swelling or inflammation linked to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and arthritis.
Thus, seniors should take advantage of many opportunities to socialize and stay connected, such as volunteering in the surrounding community or attending a local senior center. Also, try spending more time with your grandchildren or family, as it always helps combat loneliness. Call them over on weekends or holidays, especially if you have mobility issues that keep you from getting around. Having these visits is an ideal way to feel more positive and increase your willingness to stay active.
The Final Words
Many limitations may be inevitable in old age; however, by following the tips above and creating a routine that benefits your mental and physical well-being, you can easily enhance your old age experience while building self-confidence. The above-outlined tips will not only help you start on the right track for healthy aging, keeping diseases at bay, but it will also help you promote independence and stay active in your later stage of life. Most importantly, don’t forget to encourage the same healthy lifestyle behavior among your friends, even if they’re much older. After all, it is never too late to start! Good luck!