About Time: How to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle for the ElderlyBy Angelica Malin
The health of your body usually changes as you grow older. So, what does all that imply? As an aging individual, you need to understand changes in your diet, income, health, and physical activity.
The information in this write-up is for you if you want to live a healthy lifestyle as you age. You do not have to attain at the age of 65 years to begin taking practical steps. Taking care of your lifestyle is a non-transferable responsibility.
Healthy seniors can trace their good health traits from their better health habits when they were young. It is never too late to take appropriate action even at old age. You will still experience exceptional benefits as you keep proper health routines.
Below are healthy tips for the elderly to follow and improve to live longer:
1. Maintain a Healthy Diet
As one ages, the digestive system also slows. Does this sound like you? Therefore, take high-fiber fruits and vegetables. Drinking plenty of water will enable you to stay sharp and energized.
Focus on nutrient-dense food rich in minerals, vitamins, and proteins. Let’s see examples from the following list:
- Nuts and beans
- Fish, poultry and eggs
- Brown rice and oatmeal
Remember, not all the food is appropriate for an older person. Believe it or not, an aging person should avoid those with high calories and low nutrients like:
- White bread and pasta
- Sodas
- Solid fats at room temperature
An adult who is around 50 years and above ought to follow a dietary plan. The design will control the amount and quality of food you take to avoid deficiencies. You can also consult a specialist for more tips about better eating habits.
2. Physical Exercise
An older adult should exercise a lot to improve energy levels and memory refreshment. Furthermore, routine exercise alleviates depression. Long walks, as well as short strolls, will make keep you in a better health state.
Being physically active improves the rate of metabolism in your body. To maintain a good routine for exercise, follow these points:
- You can form a walking group with your colleagues.
- Visit a fitness center for more exercises.
- Pick your favorite activity and perfect on it like jumping.
Caution is necessary while doing some physical exercises. As an elderly, you need to observe some safety procedures to prevent further injuries. These tips are:
- Wear the correct pair of shoes.
- Desist if you experience pain.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Begin slowly as you increase for more intensive activities.
- Allocate more time for warming up before cooling down.
- Consult your health specialist on when to slow or increase your fitness activities.
3. Adequate Sleep
Most of the seniors experience frequent insomnias. It is common for them to encounter trouble falling asleep. Depression is the number one factor that reduces a healthy sleeping pattern of seniors.
Adequate sleep will keep the elderly in a better health state. You can try the following tips to improve your sleep:
- Stick to your sleeping schedule without deviating.
- Do not use stimulants and caffeine from the afternoon.
- Avoid overeating before going to bed.
- Perform some optimal exercises during the day.
- Avoid napping.
- Do some more quiet activities before bed to enable you to feel more tired.
Notably, some adults use some sleeping peels to induce sleep. Caution is vital since they can be habit-forming hence cause more harm if abused. You need a doctor’s guidance before you start using them.
4. Hearing, Vision and Dental Check-Up
For healthier gums and teeth, you need to brush them regularly. Let it be a routine to visit a dentist for more check-ups. The strength of your teeth weakens with age. Proper care of teeth will last for a lifetime.
When some categories of people attain age 50, their vision power starts to decline. To some extent, the eye problem may cause one to strain reading small prints. You can seek the services of an optician for further action.
Exposure to loud noise will automatically have some diverse effects on the elderly. Their hearing ability goes down, and they may require the doctors’ attention to action.
5. Make Friends
A senior will find comfort when he/she connects with other family members. If there are fellow seniors around, let him interact with them, and stay updated. Forming a social relationship with other acts like medicine to them.
You can observe the following to improve your social life:
- Intermingle with your friends you enjoy.
- Stay with your family members to maintain high spirits.
- Join a social group.
6. Manage Stress
Stress results in severe consequences, regardless of their source. Most adults get anxiety from family pressure and bad habits. High stress may reduce your body immunity, leading to serious health complications.
Some studies reveal that stress ages your body cells, leading to premature death. You can manage stress by involving in activities that cannot procure stress. One principle is staying joyful and happy always.
Go for physical exercises like yoga. Also, make more fun and friends. When you think positively always, the stress level will eventually diminish.
7. Maintain a Healthy Weight
You need to maintain a proper weight for your body to avoid such problems as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Make use of a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator to determine the optimal weight against your full height.
Eating proper diets will enable you to maintain the right weight. Exercise more often by taking plenty of water and avoiding sugary foods.
8. Using Comfortable Toilet
The height of a toilet is the most vital part that determines how comfortable using it for the elderly. A discomfort height toilet can considerably harmful for seniors and may cause leg, back, knee, hip, or joint problems. But using a comfort height toilets for elderly people better comfort and prolong independence.
9. Medical Screening
As you age, visit the clinic for a further checkup of your health status. For men, the doctor may screen you for prostate cancer. Women should also get tested for a possible health challenge like breast cancer.
In Conclusion
Taking care of your health as an elderly will enable you to enjoy that particular phase of life. You need to develop better life routines that will add value to your life. Most importantly, live a stress-free experience.
Older people require much attention since they may not perform obvious chores as earlier. Exceptional cases may prompt an excellent caretaker to manage their routines that will keep them healthy. The elderly serve as reservoirs for wisdom!