There’s no doubt about it: aging can take a serious toll on the mind, body, and spirit. Thankfully, putting the focus on wellness and healthy living can virtually turn back time, negating the impacts of aging. With that move, seniors can feel their best and truly enjoy their journey through the golden years. Wondering where to focus your attention? Here’s a look at everything you need to know.
Eat Well to Live Well
With decades of healthy eating behind them, it’s tempting for seniors to forgo a balanced diet in favor of sweet and savory treats galore. Loss of ability to chew forcefully and to swallow healthier options can drive them further from whole foods.
But although processed foods are easier to eat, they are also full of excess fat and sugar, and they lack vitamins and minerals. Occasional treats are fair game, of course, but seniors need to eat a well balanced diet full of whole foods to feel their best each and every day. Experts such as the National Council on Aging offer plenty of tips for healthy eating.
When selecting their daily foods, seniors can boost wellness by selecting nutrient-dense foods with lots of calcium and vitamin D to improve bone health. They should also fill their meals with fiber, vitamin B12, and potassium while limiting salt.
Beyond that, it’s important that they watch their caloric intake to keep obesity at bay, which can lead to many serious health conditions, including diabetes. One easy way to do that is by reducing fat intake, and replacing saturated fats with healthier alternatives, like using avocado oil instead of butter when sautéing vegetables.
Work It All Out
Aching joints, reduced muscle mass, and mobility issues can decrease the motivation to exercise, which ends up being a vicious cycle. Without targeted movement every day, all those issues tend to worsen, leaving seniors feeling worse and even less motivated to workout.
In order to continue feeling their best, seniors should aim to get moving about 150 minutes each week, or around 30 minutes per day, five days per week. Low-impact exercises are best, such as cycling, swimming, and walking, since they put the least stress on the joints. Yoga, Tai Chi and water aerobics are also excellent choices, and get seniors a little extra social time each week.
Seniors can modify their prior workouts if needed to work around their limitations, such as reduced mobility. Instead of full floor pushups, for example, they can switch to wall pushups instead. There are even exercises they can do while sitting in a chair or lying in bed.
Of course, no exercise can substitute for medical supervision, so seniors should make sure to schedule regular checkups with their doctor or neighborhood urgent care.
Social Life Matters
Upon reaching retirement age, the social lives of many people slow down considerably, from no longer seeing coworkers and clients on a daily basis. The lack of social outlets often worsens if seniors have mobility issues, lose loved ones, and generally withdraw from their other daily activities.
This all is really unfortunate because people need social support perhaps more than ever as they glide through the golden years. Positive interactions can help boost their mental health and even slow cognitive decline. In addition, maintaining strong social relationships can keep depression at bay and reduce stress.
Thankfully, all it takes to improve seniors’ social lives is regular check-ins and outings. Family members and friends can collaborate to create a phone call and visit schedule to keep their elderly loved ones chatting it up on a regular basis. They can also help them sign up for artistic workshops, fun retreats, and even volunteer opportunities in the community – a well established depression cure..
Bring on the Tech
Technology has the power to improve the wellness of seniors in many amazing ways. With just a smartphone, they can enjoy video calls with family, or chat with friends through messaging apps. They can also learn about new hobbies to try and watch videos on advanced techniques to master their skills.
Smartphone apps can make seniors’ lives easier by allowing them to turn on and off the lights, order groceries, and even get their prescriptions delivered straight to their door. And there’s even apps designed to help them remember to drink enough water, take their medications, and complete other important self-care activities. But rather than burden the phone with too much activity, it may also make sense to split these tasks out to separate devices made for the purpose.
Smart home technology such as wireless medical alert systems can also greatly benefit seniors, especially when it comes to safety. With a hub set in a central area, voice commands can adjust the thermostat, lock up the house, and even call for help. New technology advances are hitting the market all the time – so much so that the best way to select the right technology is to study the numerous review sites for specific gadgets..
Family and friends can also brainstorm with seniors in their lives to find which devices and apps will help the most, and then get them set up. Since many have intuitive interfaces and plenty of tech support, seniors usually only need a quick primer on their functions before they are ready to try them out on their own.
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