Tips to Healthy Ageing
Exercising regularly has significant life improving and lengthening benefit at any age, from early childhood through to later years.
While there are natural parts of the ageing process that cannot be prevented, we are seeing more research indicating that many areas of ageing can be reduced or delayed with regular physical activity.As adults continue to live longer and remain more active, the need for exercise to improve health and activity becomes more important, with people, quite rightly, not willing to give up the freedom that goes along with an active life.
Exercising in older age is not just a matter of reversing the ageing process, but more about maintaining a level of health and fitness levels that is not seen population wide. The effects of inactivity are well known. The reduction in everyday function and the likelihood of lifestyle diseases accelerates over time. While the ageing process accounts for some of this decline, much of it can be attributed to long term inactivity.
You can’t out exercise old age but through regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle, you are certainly more likely to be able to keep up an active life.
Some important things for you to consider as you age:
Strength training
The
benefits of strength training are not just proven for those
who as a result remain active and injury free. There is
increasing understanding that exercise, including strength
training can benefit a range of specific health conditions
that are prevalent in older adults such as arthritis, and
Parkinson’s disease.
There are limitations for some of
the more sedentary older population, and those with specific
issues which make some exercises higher risk, but for adults
with a level of mobility (and medical approval), the
benefits far outweigh the risks. Current guidelines from the
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends from
between 2 strength training sessions, to a maximum of 4
sessions of 20- 45 minute duration per week. A registered
exercise professional can provide the appropriate advice and
guidance.
Keeping disease
away
Maintaining healthy weight, exercising
moderately, and regularly eating a well-balanced diet will
help with preventing high cholesterol, high blood pressure,
diabetes and obesity in the short term, and in the long term
reduce your dementia risk.
Just 30 minutes a day, five
days a week is all that’s needed to ward of a range of
lifestyle diseases and conditions, and is the minimum level
recommended to reduce dementia risk.
When we think of
exercise we should also include mental activity as well as
physical. By learning new skills, and also completing
mentally challenging activities can help keep you
alert.
Social contact is one of the benefits of group
exercise. Whether it’s walking with company, joining a
class, or heading to an exercise facility, getting amongst
like-minded people while getting active is a fantastic way
to keep socially active and healthy.
Pelvic
Floor
After many years of people simply
accepting incontinence into old age, there is more
understanding that pelvic floor health is something that can
be managed, both in younger years and older
adulthood.
Bladder weakness and continence issues are not
the most common health topics talked about, and can cause
embarrassment for sufferers, despite being common in
ageing.
The good news is that with the right advice and
education, pelvic floor weakness can be managed or even
better, prevented.
While you can’t out-wit ageing, you can certainly manage many of the symptoms through exercise, good nutrition, and a focus on your mental health and wellbeing.