It has often been said that your body is a machine. As such, like any other machine, you can sustain a degree of wear and tear as you grow older and become increasingly at risk of developing various age-related conditions such as cataracts and heart disease. With this in mind, what can be done to ensure that you enjoy a greater range of good health well into old age? Here are four tips for optimum physical health for seniors.
- Eat a healthy diet
You are probably well aware of the importance of eating a healthy diet to ensure that you obtain the right nutrients for your body to remain physically fit. However, there are certain adjustments that you can make to your diet to support your body as you age. For instance, a diet that is high in saturated fat can increase the risk of developing heart disease, which can be a debilitating condition as you grow older, so seek to cut down your consumption of saturated fat. To support brain health and supple joints, increase your intake of oily fish such as mackerel and salmon. This could help reduce your risk of developing cognitive conditions like dementia and help in retaining flexibility.
- Keep physically active
It is important that you remain physically active even as you become older to ensure that your body is strong and retains a good level of fitness. Although you may no longer be able to carry out intense workouts without doing some physical damage to yourself, you can still maintain a high level of fitness with gentler exercises. You could, for instance, take an exercise class for seniors specifically designed to support and improve age-related conditions, such as maintaining flexibility and increasing balance. Alternatively, swimming provides a great form of exercise for older people, as it is gentle on the joints while providing a whole body workout.
- Move to a retirement village
There may come a point when you require a bit of extra help with carrying out your daily tasks; for example, you might physically struggle to complete chores such as vacuuming or need to start searching for the best hearing aids as you struggle hearing like you once did. If this is the case, why not consider moving to a retirement village? Here, you will get daily assistance from experienced carers while maintaining your independence. As an additional benefit, you will be part of a community with whom you can socialize at the village’s communal facilities and events. Look for retirement living St. Louis homes for more information about a retirement village in your local area. In communities like this, it is easier to maintain physical health, and you might even find yourself motivated to join others in their daily exercises, safe in the knowledge that there are carers nearby.
- Keep up-to-date with hospital appointments
As the body ages, it is inevitable that you will require more hospital appointments to ensure that any age-related conditions are kept in check. It is important that you keep up-to-date with these appointments to ensure that you can manage your health – you stand a better chance of making a full recovery if an illness is spotted early on.
