How To Stay Healthy and Fit As You Get Older
How To Stay Healthy and Fit As You Get Older
Aging is a natural part of life.
Whether we like it or not, it’s coming for all of us. We can’t stop it or prevent it. What we can do, however, is slow it down and maintain a high quality of life well into our sixties, seventies, and beyond.
But how does one do that? Today, we’ll go over everything you need to know about staying healthy and fit as you get older.
Here are some steps on how to stay healthy and fit as you get older
Regular Physical Activity Is a Must
Regular physical activity is one of the most effective tactics you can use to maintain your health and fitness.
Being physically active helps prevent sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) and strength loss. Research suggests that maintaining a regular exercise routine allows us to retain a high quality of life and remain independent as we get older.
What’s more, regular physical activity helps us maintain better metabolic health, which is vital for preventing conditions such as diabetes. Better metabolic health also helps us burn more calories and prevents unwanted weight gain and visceral fat accumulation.
Being physically active also makes us happier and more optimistic. More and more research suggests that physically active people are happier, healthier, and less likely to suffer from depression.
The great news is, you don’t have to do a particular type of physical activity to reap these benefits. If you enjoy lifting weights - do that. Enjoy swimming or running? Do that instead. Prefer to hike in the mountains or dance? Those are also fantastic options.
There are many activities to choose from and all of them are beneficial for your health and fitness.
Take Good Care of Your Nutrition
Photo by Ella Olsson on Unsplash
“We are what we eat.” is an oldie but a goodie because there is a lot of truth to it. One of the most important things we need to do as we get older is to maintain a healthy diet.
A good diet fuels us, allows us to train harder, helps us maintain a healthy weight, and contributes to our well-being. A bad diet leaves us exhausted, hinders our athletic abilities, leads to unwanted weight gain, and can contribute to depression.
One of the best investments we can make in our health is to eat a healthy diet. But, what does that even mean?
There are many opinions on what healthy eating is but so long as we cover the basics, it’s a good start:
An adequate calorie intake (meaning, our weight remains mostly consistent and if we do want to gain or lose weight, we do so gradually).
An adequate protein intake (to support the body’s normal functioning and allow us to retain our muscle mass and physical capabilities better).
Heart-healthy fats that support cardiovascular health, metabolic functioning, hormonal production, and more.
Slow-digesting carbs that promote physical performance and recovery, cognition, and energy levels.
Dietary fiber for regular bowel movements and GI health
Plenty of vitamins and minerals.
A diet based on whole and nutritious foods will most likely cover all of these bases without you having to put too much thought into it.
Spend More Time Outdoors
According to some interesting research from the last couple of decades, spending more time outdoors is vital for our mental health and well-being.
More specifically, spending time in nature helps increase serotonin, dopamine, and oxycontin - a group of hormones that play an essential role in our overall happiness and life satisfaction.
On the other hand, staying indoors is linked to physical inactivity, a higher BMI, and an increased risk of depression.
One of the best things you can do to maintain your health and vitality as you get older is to spend more time outdoors:
Go on weekend hikes
Take regular walks in the park with your family
Get away from the city as often as possible
Maintain Your Mobility With Regular Stretching
Photo by Nicole De Khors from Burst
One of the biggest roadblocks people face as they get older is ever-increasing immobility. Once simple tasks and movement patterns now feel like a fitness challenge.
This is partially the result of living a sedentary life. By maintaining a regular fitness regimen, we can offset these effects and keep ourselves agile and mobile. Another reason why immobility occurs is due to the decrease in collagen production. Having less of this vital protein worsens joint health, makes our connective tissues less elastic, and reduces our ability to move about freely. It also increases our risk of injuries.
One of the best ways to stay active and nimble is to stretch regularly - for example, every morning, as you wake up. Get out of bed, stretch for five to ten minutes, and go about your day. While it may seem insignificant, this small habit alone can profoundly affect you in the long run.
Get Enough Sleep
Among the list of overlooked ways to improve our lives sleep is easily on the top. We often sacrifice sleep for the sake of doing more - entertain ourselves in the evening, finish work or school project, or something else.
Ironically, sleep deprivation makes us less productive, and the extra time we spend awake isn’t used fully. What’s more, sleep deprivation leads to cognitive decline, decreased athletic performance, low mood, and health problems.
The overstimulated world we live in today makes it incredibly convenient to sacrifice sleep for other seemingly more important things.
Sleeping for seven to nine hours per night is the best way to improve our health, maintain our fitness, feel better, remain productive, and lead a happier and more fulfilling life. Here are some tactics:
Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day
Avoid caffeine within six to eight hours of going to bed
Limit alcohol intake to no more than one drink
Invest in a quality mattress and pillow
Optimize your sleep environment - keep your bedroom cool, quiet, and dark
To Sum it up!
There are countless tips and tactics you can use to age more gracefully. The above five offer the highest return on investment especially if you make them a priority.
These tactics help you stay healthy and fit as you age and boost your happiness and fulfillment.
Each suggestion is beneficial on its own but by combining them, you create a snowball effect that makes you fitter, healthier, happier, and more fulfilled.