Any age-related decline is often a concern, but it doesn't need to be if you take good care of yourself. It's impossible to avoid the effect of age entirely. Yet, you can lessen its impact quite a bite and continue living a meaningful life into retirement. Here are a few ways to maintain strength, health, and coordination as you age.
Hire a Personal Trainer to Structure an Exercise Schedule
Sometimes, you may find that it's not a lack of willingness preventing you from exercising. Often, it's that you're not sure what to do, and you'd rather avoid the discomfort of planning. An easy way to remedy this situation would be to hire a personal trainer and ask them to develop a routine for you. They can design a low-impact routine that won't strain you excessively if you've already aged a bit. Then, it shouldn't be as much of a challenge to stick with the program, increasing your odds of sticking with it.
Don’t Stop Moving; Try Travelling More
As you age, it becomes increasingly more important to not stop moving. It is important to feel excited about your life and to plan for the future. This can include travelling to places that you have always wanted to visit or even look into retiring someplace completely new. This can help with aging healthy as you enter your golden years. Remember, when you are moving your body every day, it greatly helps your health even if it’s just a walk.
Adopt a Mediterranean Diet and Reduce Consumption of Other Foods
You might've heard about the benefits of a Mediterranean diet and how it can lessen the ravages of time on TV. It turns out that there's truth to these claims related to the omega 3s in their diets. You tend to get much more of them if you follow a diet like this since it's full of nuts, fish, and legumes. If you can limit your consumption of processed foods, it would be even better. Often, people eat foods loaded with saturated fats, and this may cause high blood pressure. A diet high in healthy fats can also lower your cholesterol, and it may benefit your heart health as well.
Maintain a Regular Sleep Schedule
Don't waste your youth by avoiding sleep as if it were the plague, no matter how enticing. Sleep is the time when your body repairs itself, and this can impact the aging process massively. By adopting healthy sleep habits when young, you won't notice as much of a decline in cognition with age. Focus on limiting light exposure later in the day, as this may disrupt your sleep at night. Try to get in bed at the same time each night too, and you shouldn't have as much trouble drifting asleep.
Visit the Doctor if Something Feels Wrong
Nobody usually wants to go to the doctor, but it's the best thing you can do. If you notice something and it's bothering you, make an appointment with one. They'll see if it's a cause for concern, and they can tell you what to do to fix it. Plus, if you go to them regularly, health problems won't have a chance to progress. As such, you shouldn't develop as many health problems, and that makes age more enjoyable.
Get 30 Minutes of Aerobic Activity at Least 5 Times Each Week
From 20 to 40, the body doesn't lose much muscle, but things change once you get older. After the age of 40, most people begin losing 1% to 2% of their lean body mass each year. That correlates to a yearly decrease in strength of 1.5% to 5%, significantly affecting life. By sticking to a good aerobic schedule, you can reduce how much muscle and strength is lost with age. Get at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity five times per week. Anything less than that, and you will begin losing strength and coordination.
Partake in Yoga, Tai Chi, or Pilates for Two Hours Each Week
Even though cardio is great for muscles, other activities work best for coordination. You can maintain much of yours by getting involved with yoga, tai chi, or pilates. All these exercises force you to pay attention to the body in space. As a result, you don't lose the mind-body connection, and it's easier to control your muscles. For the best results, make sure to participate in these activities for at least two hours each week. This can promote the production of dopamine in the brain, and your brain won't atrophy as fast either.
Staying Healthy as You Grow Older
Age doesn't need to be something you're afraid of, and it's not as bad if you take care of yourself. Going to the doctor, eating a healthy diet, and exercising benefit your health. So, make sure that you're doing all that, and old age shouldn't be too bad.
