Exercise and healthy eating is an important practice to maintain at any stage of your life. Starting these habits young will make it easier to continue as an adult and into later in life. And, as a senior, having a healthy and active lifestyle is more important than ever before.
There’s no need to do anything too strenuous; it can be harder for seniors to recover from injuries, and seniors tend to have more health problems than those who are younger. However, that doesn’t mean you still can’t maintain a solid level of activity for your health level. If you’re wondering about how you should get started or why it’s important, we’ve got some great tips:
1.) Exercise is beneficial to your mental health and cognitive function.
Not only does exercise get your body moving, it also gets your brain working! Good, solid exercise has been proven to help fight off mental health disorders like depression and reduce stress in your everyday life. It also can help slow the progression of other cognitive issues, like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Combined with a healthy diet (especially one that contains a good amount of omega-3 fatty acids, which also helps with cognitive function), you might be surprised with how much exercise can help.
2.) Those who exercise together, stay together.
Too often, the excuse for not going out to get a little exercise is that it is such a boring activity all by yourself. Some people are fine with simply plugging in headphones and taking a walk on the treadmill, but if you’re someone who needs company, it can be a little difficult to get up and at ’em on your own.
Instead of sitting on your own, dreading to go out to exercise by yourself, make it into a group outing! Grab brunch here at our Madison Heights independent living facility before you head down to the fitness center together. Or, if that isn’t really your style, find somewhere fun to go to just get walking! You’d be surprised at how much moving around you’ll have to do in an art museum or at the mall.
Turning exercise into a social activity can make it seem much less like a chore and more like a gathering with friends. Plus, with fun activities on the calendar like Tai Chi, cycling, and yoga, you can exercise with a large group of friends instead of on your own – benefiting both your health and your social calendar.
3.) Your heart won’t skip a beat!
While this one has been stated by doctors all across the world for what is likely hundreds of years, having a good exercise regimen can reduce your risk of heart disease and greatly improve your cardiovascular health. Not only does it get the blood pumping, but doing consistent cardiovascular workouts will give you the additional energy you need to make your way through your day.
While exercise can’t prevent underlying causes, such as genetic heart disease or abnormalities, it can help you stay in shape and lead a more active lifestyle, allowing you to get out and do more with friends or family. You can take that beach trip or go to Disney World with your family, knowing that your heart will be able to keep up with you.
4.) You can stand firm on your own two feet.
There’s a reason why things like LifeAlert exist: it’s primarily for seniors who live on their own, because if they fall, it could potentially be deadly. However, whether you’re alone or not, falling is still a huge health risk for seniors. Things like arthritis and osteoporosis lead to inflamed joints and brittle bones, which makes seniors such a high fall risk.
However, practicing good exercise habits, even if it’s for a short time each day, is proven to improve your balance and strength. Even just that simple balance boost can have a major impact on seniors: if you can keep your balance, you’re less likely to fall, and if you’re less likely to fall, the lower your risk is of obtaining a serious injury – or worse.
In fact, an active lifestyle can even help you build back your bone strength, helping to prevent the damage from a fall in the first place. The more you know!
5.)Being active can help you maintain your body weight.
Did you know that as you age, your metabolism ages along with you? When you get older, your metabolism actually slows down, making it more difficult to maintain your weight, especially because most seniors do not tend to be as active as they age.
This makes exercise – along with a healthy diet – more important than ever before. At our Madison Heights independent living facility, we have healthy, restaurant-style meals to start your day, prepared by our in-house chef. Eating these healthy meals along with being active helps you to maintain a good, natural body weight. If you add more cardio and strength training to your workout, it promotes muscle growth and can actually boost your metabolism, aiding in additional weight loss!
Okay, you’ve convinced me. What now?
Lucky for you, we’ve got just the thing for you here at the Reserve at Redrun. Our Madison Heights independent living facility has only the best to offer seniors who are looking to lead a more healthy and active lifestyle. On our grounds, we not only have a state of the art, brand new fitness studio, but we also have personal trainers who can help tailor an exercise plan to suit your individual needs.
If you’re not quite up to visiting the gym, then that’s not a problem at all. Getting up and active can be as easy as taking a stroll around the grounds to be outside for a while. Take a jaunt down the hall to visit a friend, or grab a group together to take an after dinner walk.
With all of the opportunity, and a little bit of motivation, you can’t go wrong.
