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Maintaining our physical health as we age is a goal we all have for various reasons. Perhaps you want to look as good as possible for as long as possible, perhaps you’re managing a chronic illness or perhaps you simply want to feel young and energised well into your senior years.
Whatever your reason might be, looking after your health as you age is a great habit to maintain and there are plenty of things you can do to make sure you’re taking good care of yourself.
Your body and mind will both love you for making your health a priority, so here are nine ways that you can do so.
Be Smart About Safety
First of all, when you get older you’ll need to start being a little more aware of your safety. Older adults become more vulnerable and more likely to slip and fall and potentially hurt themselves.
If you’re living alone, this can be pretty dangerous. You can use a medical alert system to offer yourself and your loved ones some peace of mind that you’ll have access to help in the case of a medical crisis.
Another way to keep yourself safe at home is to install a really reliable home security system with a panic button that will have an armed response at your home ASAP in the face of a break-in or other emergency.
Keep Up With Your GP
When you get older, your annual general check-ups become more important, and you want to really focus on not skipping them. Your general practitioner will be able to monitor your health as you age, and detect and even help prevent any illnesses that might come on.
Book your appointments on time, remember to attend them and be sure to follow any medical advice you receive.
Remember All Your Check-Ups
Your general checks aren’t the only medical appointments you need to be making, unfortunately. Once you reach a certain age, it becomes crucial to attend various check-ups and screenings in order to make sure everything is as it should be.
These include hearing and eyesight checks, dental examinations, and check-ups on your reproductive health too. While these appointments are never particularly fun, they’re important for the early detection of cancers and other complications that might arise.
Be Consistent With Medication and Supplements
Of course, if you are diagnosed with any type of illness, chronic illness, injury or deficiency, you’ll probably be prescribed some kind of medication to help manage the problem. If this is the case, it’s important to be consistent with your intake and remember to take your meds every day.
Staying on top of this can be tough for some people, so if you struggle, set up systems that will help you to remember. This could include setting reminders on your phone, pill organising boxes, or placing your medication in a place you know you’ll look every day, such as next to your coffee machine or by your toothbrush.
Walk More Often
Fitness freaks who love the gym, running and other forms of exercise, often fail to remember the health benefits of simply walking. Walking has been proven as one of the best forms of exercise, weight management and stress relief for people of all ages.
It’s also a form of exercise that is easy for almost anyone to do. If your age has made exercise tough, don’t despair because a simple daily walk will do wonders for your strength and overall health.
Investing in a fitness watch will encourage you to work more often by tracking your daily steps, and it can also help you monitor other health markers such as your heart rate.
Try Include Regular Exercise
Walking is more than enough if you find that’s all you can do, but incorporating some other activity in your day will only help you to stay stronger, fitter and happier. Including a few cardio or strength workouts in your week will help you to maintain muscle mass, build a better metabolism, and keep up your energy levels for years to come.
Try out pilates, yoga, stretching, resistance training, swimming, cycling or any other form of exercise that brings you joy. But don’t forget that any movement in your day will be beneficial, even if that’s just gardening or cleaning your kitchen.
Focus on Your Nutrition
You are what you eat, and if you want to live a long and healthy life, your diet needs to reflect that. Try to reduce our intake of heavily processed foods, and instead focus on whole foods.
Try to consume a diet full of variety. Include a selection of lean meats, fish, beans and lentils, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and healthy fats like nuts and avocado. In this way, you’ll be able to keep yourself feeling satisfied and energised all day without feeling the need to overeat.
Stretch Regularly
Losing our mobility and flexibility are some of the reasons that aging can be so hard on us. Struggling to bend down, reach up, and move around the way we used to can make daily tasks much harder than necessary.
However, this is often caused by a lack of movement, and simply moving more can help us to maintain our mobility much longer. Implement daily stretches into your routine to maintain your movement and even help with aches and pains you might be struggling with.
Stay Social
It’s incredibly important to stay social as you age. Getting older can be a lonely experience if you don’t make a serious effort to stay in touch with those you love and maintain an active social life.
Spending time with the people we love might not have a profound impact on our physical health, but it plays a hole role in our mental wellbeing, which is necessary for overall health and wellness. Spend time with your family, invite friends over for coffee and keep in touch with those far away with a weekly video call.
