Healthy Aging in Gilbert & Chandler

Aging healthily shouldn’t start once you begin seeing grays or after a major event. This is something that you should strive to do, no matter your age.

September is Healthy Aging Month, a time dedicated to encouraging everyone to keep healthy habits as they age and to the benefits of doing so. While not every factor of aging healthily is in your control (genetics), there are several ways you can help yourself as you age. Even a small change to your lifestyle can help you live more easily and longer.

Read on for tips to manage your health as you age!

Tips for Healthy Aging

Eat Healthy

This doesn’t mean you need to stick to a strict diet; instead, try to focus on foods rich in nutrients. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, low-fat dairy, nuts, and seeds all have a lot of nutrients without empty calories. One nutrient to target in particular is fiber. Fiber helps lower cholesterol, your chance of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and colon cancer. After age 50, men should aim for at least 30g of fiber per day, and women 21g. Try to avoid those foods that have empty calories, such as chips, candy, baked goods, soda, butter, sugar, and other packaged goods. Eating like this can help you live longer and protect against heart disease, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Maintain Regular Physical Activity

Participating in light aerobic activity on a regular basis has many health benefits. To start, it helps maintain a healthy body weight and helps you avoid chronic health problems. Other benefits include boosting your mood, keeping bones and muscles strong, getting better sleep, and being less likely to develop heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Walking is a great way to do this. Aim for 30 minutes per day, which helps deliver more oxygen and blood to the brain. This may help delay or improve symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Another good activity is Tai Chi, which combines slow movements and deep breathing. This can help improve your balance and reduce your risk of falls. It can also help ease stress, strengthen muscles, increase flexibility, and lessen arthritis pain.

Keep Your Mind Sharp

Learning new things and keeping your brain active can help lower your chances of Alzheimer’s disease. Some activities you can do to boost brainpower include:

• Learning new skills
• Reading
• Playing board games
• Crossword puzzles
• Sudoku
• Enrolling in a class at a local senior center

Stay In Touch

Loneliness can be very harmful for older adults. You are more likely to get dementia or depression, which can lead to higher levels of stress hormones that cause inflammation and have been linked to arthritis and diabetes. Seniors who report feeling left out or isolated have reported more trouble with ADLs such as bathing and climbing stairs. The best way to avoid loneliness is to regularly connect with friends and family or even start attending group activities at your local senior center.

Cut Bad Habits

Another way to age healthily is to curb your bad habits. Cutting out tobacco and alcohol goes a long way to improving your health. Tobacco harms nearly every organ in your body and is found in cigarettes, chewing tobacco, and other nicotine products. It has been linked to causing heart disease, cancer, lung disease, and gum disease. A year after quitting smoking, your odds of contracting heart disease drop by 50%. Overindulging in alcohol also has many negative effects. It can harm your liver and cause certain cancers. It is advised that men should have no more than two alcoholic drinks per day and women one.

More That You Can Do

Here are a few more tips that contribute to healthy aging.

• Manage Stress
• Visit Your Doctor Regularly
• Maintain a Healthy Weight
• Prioritize Mental Health
• Do What You Enjoy
• Prevent Falls
• Try Vitamin Supplements
• Get Plenty of Sleep

Griswold Is Here

We at Griswold are here to support and help you age healthily. We offer many different Care Services that can help you age in the comfort of your home.

Through our Personal Care, Homemaking, and Companionship Care, our Caregivers can support you in your home. If you are a family Caregiver and need a break, our Respite Care might be exactly what you’re looking for.

If you or a loved one is currently living in Chandler, Gilbert, Higley, Sun Lakes, Ahwatukee, Queen Creek, Mesa, or the surrounding areas, give us a call. We’d be happy to put together a personalized care plan for you.