September is Healthy Aging Awareness Month. It’s a great time to think about the positive aspects of growing older by embracing the best habits possible. Whether you’re just entering middle age or are an octogenarian, it’s never too late to reevaluate your lifestyle and make a few changes.
Try something new. Usher at your local theater. Learn a new instrument, language or card game. Make a new friend or participate in a new group activity. The world is bigger than ever, and offers a gazillion things that can help improve your overall outlook, health, and quality of life.
If your physical or mental health, social connections and everyday practical living can use a recharge, take some time to consider the suggestions in this newsletter. Remember, it’s never too late to reinvent yourself and enjoy a new, rejuvenated YOU.
1. Sleep Well
This is so important it can’t be emphasized enough. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 3 adults in the United States reported not getting enough rest or sleep every day.1 Lack of sleep can result in your feeling irritable, forgetful, depressed, and more apt to have accidents and falls. The brain actually cleans itself during sleep. Sleep helps remove beta-amyloid plaques (a culprit in Alzheimer’s disease) and other waste from the brain. In fact, a 25- year-long study of almost 8,000 participants found there is a higher risk of late-onset dementia in 50, 60, and 70-year-olds who get six hours or less of sleep.2
Good quality sleep is associated with lower rates of insulin resistance, heart disease, and obesity.3 It can also help support blood sugar levels, and your creativity and decision making skills.1
If you have trouble falling or staying asleep, please consult with a health care practitioner to discuss strategies that can help.
2. Nourish Your Body with Whole Foods
There’s been a lot in the media lately about avoiding highly processed foods. Eat a whole foods diet that includes plenty of fruits and veggies, lean protein, and healthy fats including olive or avocado oil, and walnuts that contain antioxidants. Shop on the periphery of the grocery store and try to reduce your visits to the inner aisles that contain cookies, soft drinks, candy, and chips.
3. Move!
Exercise is crucial to good health and reducing stress. It helps keep our bones and joints flexible and strong, helps maintain muscle mass, bone density, healthy weight, and boosts mobility and balance, as well as supporting cognitive function. It also improves sleep quality by reducing daytime fatigue. You don’t have to join a gym and work on the machines. If you’re 65 and older, some health insurance companies provide you with a pass such as Silver Sneakers to join a YMCA, and local park and recreation centers for FREE. So check on that. One of the best benefits of going to a recreation center is the socialization it affords.
You don’t have to do anything fancy, as long as you’re active at least 150 minutes a week doing moderate exercise or 70 minutes of aerobic activity. It’s not necessary to cram it all into one or two sessions. Breaking it up into shorter intervals is fine. Walk with a neighbor, get a dog so you have to walk outside, dance in your living room as if no one is watching, take a class online—there a hundreds of them. Garden, mow the lawn, swim, do strength training using hand weights. Check with your doctor first if you have any questions about what type of exercise is right for you.4
4. Protect Your Skin
It’s the biggest organ in your body. Photoaging is premature aging from the sun so in order to maintain your skin’s suppleness and avoid wrinkles, you need to: wash your face twice a day with warm water and a mild cleanser, slather on sunscreen with a broad-spectrum protection of at least SPF 30 every day before going outside, wear a hat, drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, and apply moisturizer every day. Use a humidifier if you live in a dry climate, get restful sleep, and check your skin for new or unusual changes, i.e. a mole that’s changed in size or color, or a flaky scab that doesn’t go away. It’s crucial that you stay away from tanning beds and sunlamps, and refrain from smoking.
5. Avoid Loneliness
If your family lives on the other side of the country, make time to connect regularly on Zoom. Volunteer! Senior centers offer lots of activities, exercise classes, group discussions, and even meals where you can socialize. Check your local paper for outings, hikes, bird watching, etc. Most communities offer transportation for seniors, if that’s an issue. Online virtual platforms offer group discussions, cooking and knitting classes, book clubs, etc. And speaking of book clubs. You can even read a free book online through your local library via Libby or Hoopla. All you need is a library card and an internet connection.
6. Beware of Scams
Seniors are an easy target for scammers so be savvy and on the alert for emails asking for your personal information and/or money. The three most common lies that scammers tell: #1 Someone is using your accounts, #2 Your information is being used to commit crimes, #3 There’s a security problem with your computer. If something doesn’t seem right ( i.e. a misspelling) don’t panic and DO NOT click on the email. Delete it. If you get a request from your bank, insurance company, telephone or internet provider, or social security office, double check with the company by calling them directly before you provide any information.
7. Take Nutritional Supplements to Boost Your Immunity & Overall Health
As we age, our immune system naturally weakens. Bones weaken, the prostate gland enlarges, the gastrointestinal system could use a boost. As extra insurance, consider taking these supplements: a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement. Turmeric is a wonderful antioxidant that helps reduce inflammation. CoQ-10 supports heart health. Calcium and magnesium are important for bone health. Beta-sitosterol and Saw palmetto support prostate health, and probiotics help maintain a healthy balance of the good bacteria in the gut.
8. Keep Up with your Annual Doctor Wellness Visits & Tests
It’s advised that men regularly check their prostate health, and that women follow the recommended guidelines for getting mammograms. Everyone should follow guidelines for colon care.
Overall
It’s possible to make the “golden years” enjoyable if you embrace a healthy lifestyle. Staying active, maintaining social connections, and eating and sleeping well can make all the difference in making your senior years a fulfilling time in your life.
