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Healthy Ageing and Growing Old Gracefully
Healthy ageing in retirement means looking after our physical and mental
health the best we can. We hear a lot about living a healthy lifestyle, but how
do we go about doing it?
We often hear that a healthy person is someone who:
- doesn't smoke,
- drinks sensibly
- eat healthy foods
- exercises daily
- sleeps well at night
- meditates daily
- interacts with other people
- have short breaks/vacations
- helps others
- laughs and jokes
But is it easy? The answer is NO.
Is it do-able? The answer is a definite YES.
Quite understandably, some may be concerned that their pensions may not
stretch far enough to allow them to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. This is a
myth. You don't need to be rich to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. However, you do
need a bit of discipline and patience to follow your health plans. Your progress
may not be as rapid as you would like but please be patient, persevere with
your health plans and enjoy healthy ageing.
Physical Health
In order to enjoy healthy ageing, it's important to maintain a good physical
health.
- Daily exercise is essential to good health. Regular physical activity of moderate intensity, such as brisk walking,
can bring about major health benefits. Increasing levels of physical
activity helps to reduce coronary heart disease and obesity, hypertension,
depression and anxiety. Even relatively small increases in physical activity
can protect against chronic disease and improve quality of life.
If you find it difficult to exercise 30 minutes a day in one go, then break it up
into 3 lots of ten minutes. You then focus the first 10 minutes on one part
of the body, say the upper part (neck, shoulders, arms). The next 10 minutes of exercise can be done an hour or so later, and you can focus on the middle part of the body (chest, stomach, hip, back) And the final ten minutes can be done later and you can focus on the lower part of the body (thighs, knees, ankles, hamstring). Mobility is the key to healthy ageing.
- Maintain a healthy and balanced diet. Eat plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables
and whole grains. It is recommended that
taking 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per person per day will help to
reduce the risk of some cancers, heart disease and many chronic conditions.
Drink lots of water to prevent dehydration. Water helps to reduce weight and
stops headaches and dizziness. Eat enough calories to maintain your healthy
lifestyle. Limit your intake of sugary and salty foods.
- Sleep is essential for healthy ageing and the well-being of an
individual. The benefits of a good night's sleep extend beyond how
well we're able to function the following morning. A good night's sleep
keeps your heart healthy and lowers your stress hormone levels. It also
helps to improve memory and control body weight by regulating the hormones
that affect your appetite. With regular exercises and an active lifestyle
you'll find that sleep will come easily and naturally at night.
- Quit Smoking Now. We all know
smoking is bad for our health. It increases the risk of developing serious
disease and health problems. Diseases associated with smoking include
cancer, diseases of the cardiovascular system, diseases of the respiratory
system, gum disease, brittle bones, eye cataracts, stomach ulcers, erectile
dysfunction, premature lines and wrinkles, and many more. Not only will your
health improve when you
quit smoking now, you'll also be saving yourself a lot of money which
you can use for your vacations. Get help to quit smoking.
- Excessive consumption of alcohol causes alcohol related diseases
(particularly liver disease) and can be fatal. Drink sensibly during
celebrations and avoid having a massive hangover the following day. You can
also save yourself a lot of money by reducing your alcohol consumption. Get help and advice on Alcohol treatment.
- Obesity affects the enjoyment of healthy ageing. Many factors such as
ethnicity, genetics, lifestyle, and personal habits should be considered in
the management of obesity. Obesity, if not properly managed, can lead to a
lot of health problems that may later evolve into life threatening diseases.
A daily exercise and healthy diet routine will help. Make an
appointment to see your doctor before you embark on a diet plan.
- Live a healthy ageing lifestyle and give yourself a lovely short break
away from the daily routines. A new environment, seeing new things, trying
out exotic foods, meeting new people, etc, will give your morale a big boost.
An occasional change in your environment can help you pick up new ideas and
broaden your outlook.
Mental Health
A good mental health is also essential for the enjoyment of healthy ageing.
- Daily meditation helps to calm the mind and reduces the stress level. It decreases your respiratory rate and leads to a deeper level of relaxation. Panic attacks are less likely to happen as meditation lowers the level of blood lactate. Due to a reduction in stress level when practising meditation, it's a healthy ageing way of ironing out some facial wrinkles.
- We often hear that "laughter is the best medicine" and it's true. Share a joke with your family and friends and have a good laugh. Laughing lowers blood pressure and reduces stress hormones. It dissolves tension, anxiety, anger, grief and depression by triggering the release of endorphins. Laughter builds relationship and helps to overcome loneliness.
- Helping others in need will help us forget our own problems. When we see others having bigger problems than ours, we tend to be thankful for having our "little" problems. By helping others, it gives us the confidence to tackle our own "little" problems.
- Daily workout of the brain helps it to stay sharp. After reading your daily newspaper, try the cross-word puzzle or sudoku sections.
- Go on the internet and play online games and quizzes. Play memory games online to improve memory.
- Playing darts or snooker with your friends will help with mental arithmetic.
- Other useful mental games include mahjong, chess and bridge.
Keeping your mind stimulated on a daily basis will help to enhance your healthy ageing.
If you have a health insurance, it is advisable to review its adequacy on a regular basis.
Make an appointment with your doctor for an annual medical
check-up. A clean bill of health is good news. If not, at least the health
problem is detected early enough for some medical treatment to be administered. Keeping your body and mind healthy will ensure that you enjoy healthy ageing in retirement.
You may also want to consider a colon cleanse to help promote both digestive and overall wellness. An
all natural colon cleanse utilizing herbal fiber can sweep the colon clear of impacted waste; stimulating
digestion and helping combat constipation. A colon cleanse has the added benefit of helping to rid the
body of toxins that may have accumulated within this major detoxifying organ. Consult your doctor,
then consider a natural cleanse.
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Prevent Stroke - Advice given by a stroke patient.
You can prevent stroke by living a healthy lifestyle, exercising daily and eating a healthy diet.
Retirement Stress - Tips to Overcome Stress In Retirement.
Retirement stress is inevitable but with proper retirement planning you should be better placed to deal with the causes of your stress in retirement.
Depression can be fatal if left untreated.
Depression is a common disorder and can happen to anyone. Seek help as soon as possible to overcome it.
Prevent lower back pain by doing daily stretching exercises.
Lower back pain remedies may include taking painkillers, doing regular stretching exercises, having chiropractic treatment or even having surgery.
Sleep disorders may be overcome by changing behavioural patterns.
Sleep disorders including insomnia, sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome.
Parkinson's disease is not easy to diagnose, so watchout for the symptoms.
Parkinson's disease symptoms include tremor, slowness of movements, rigidity, excessive saliva, headaches, joint pains, depression
Apply first aid techniques in emergency situations.
Enrol on a First Aid training course and learn how to deal with minor injuries, head injury, asthma attacks, heart failure, etc ...
Our body parts start to decline at 20 in the aging process.
Different body parts start to decline at different times, starting with the brain.
Dementia - How to reduce your risk of getting it.
Dementia risks can be reduced by engaging and keeping your brain active.
Alcohol addiction has negative effects on your brain and body.
Alcohol addiction and obesity raise the risk of cirrhosis and other liver diseases.
Walking exercise is a fun way to keep you healthy.
Walking exercise can reduce your body fat and give you a healthy heart.
Flowers have powerful health effects on seniors.
Flowers can uplift our spirits and ease our anxieties.
Stroke - an active lifestyle will to help reduce your risk of having a stroke.
Stroke can be reduced by exercising daily, eating a healthy diet, drinking responsibly and giving up smoking.
Boredom can shorten your life according to research by University College London.
Boredom can be the result of depression or a lack of interest in life.
Memory loss - there are memory techniques to help improve memory.
Memory loss may be slowed down or reversed by changing your lifestyle and diet.
The causes of insomnia are a combination of lifstyle and environmental factors.
There are many causes of insomnia including money worries, stress at work, change in environment, etc
Use stop smoking hypnosis to stop smoking now.
Stop smoking hypnosis can be used as part of your smoking cessation programme
Quit smoking before it's too late.
Quit smoking and enjoy healthy living.
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