Tag: healthy aging

Healthy Aging – Safe Exercise

exercise-heart-surgerySAFE EXERCISE PRACTICES

  1. Obtain medical clearance to exercise.
  2. Stop exercising if you feel pain.
  3. Don’t exercise when you are injured, sick, or running a temperature.
  4. Don’t over_strain during exercise.
  5. Don’t hold your breath during exercise.
  6. Always warm up.
  7. Always cool down.
  8. Drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise.
  9. Avoid heavy meals for about 2 hours before energetic exercise.
  10. Use sun screen, hats, visors, and sunglasses during outdoor daytime exercise. Think safety at all times (for example, should you be wearing fluorescent colors? Is it too cold, too wet, too stormy, too polluted, too hot, and/or too humid for safe exercise?)
  11. Use the right equipment and wear the right clothes for exercise (dress in layers, wear fabrics that allow heat to escape, wear good shoes).
  12. Work at an effective, yet comfortable, intensity level. You should be able to carry on a normal conversation while working out.
  13. Use good posture during exercise.
  14. Stop exercise and consult your physician immediately if you experience any of the following:
  •  chest pain or tightness in the chest, neck or throat;
  • considerable difficulty breathing;
  • abnormal heart rhythm; nausea’ dizziness, light headedness, or visual
  • interruption; excessive cold sweat; or extreme or lasting weakness or fatigue (after exercise)

via Safe Exercising.

Physical Activity is Essential to Healthy Aging

As an older adult, regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health. It can prevent many of the health problems that seem to come with age. It also helps your muscles grow stronger so you can keep doing your day-to-day activities without becoming dependent on others.

Not doing any physical activity can be bad for you, no matter your age or health condition. Keep in mind, some physical activity is better than none at all. Your health benefits will also increase with the more physical activity that you do.

via Physical Activity for Everyone: Guidelines: Older Adults | DNPAO | CDC.

Healthy Aging

People in the U.S. are living longer than ever before. Many seniors live active and healthy lives. But there’s no getting around one thing: as we age, our bodies and minds change. There are things you can do to stay healthy and active as you age:

  • Eat a balanced diet
  • Keep your mind and body active
  • Don’t smoke
  • Get regular checkups
  • Practice safety habits

via Healthy Aging: MedlinePlus.

Older Drivers – How Aging Affects Driving

As people get older, their driving patterns change. Retirement, different schedules, and new activities affect when and where they drive. Most older adults drive safely because they have a lot of experience behind the wheel. But when they are involved in crashes, they are often hurt more seriously than younger drivers. Age-related declines in vision, hearing, and other abilities, as well as certain health conditions and medications, can affect driving skills.

via NIHSeniorHealth: Older Drivers – How Aging Affects Driving.

Healthy Aging: Benefits of Exercise

Like most people, you’ve probably heard that physical activity and exercise are good for you. In fact, being physically active on a regular basis is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself. Studies have shown that exercise provides many health benefits and that older adults can gain a lot by staying physically active. Even moderate exercise and physical activity can improve the health of people who are frail or who have diseases that accompany aging.

via NIHSeniorHealth: Exercise: Benefits of Exercise – Health Benefits.

Risk of Falling Increases With Age

Risk of Falling Increases With Age

Many people have a friend or relative who has fallen. The person may have slipped while walking or felt dizzy when standing up from a chair and fallen. Maybe you’ve fallen yourself.

If you or an older person you know has fallen, you’re not alone. More than one in three people age 65 years or older falls each year. The risk of falling — and fall-related problems — rises with age.

Falls Lead to Fractures, Trauma

Each year, more than 1.6 million older U.S. adults go to emergency departments for fall-related injuries. Among older adults, falls are the number one cause of fractures, hospital admissions for trauma, loss of independence, and injury deaths.

Ways to Prevent Falls

Exercise to improve your balance and strengthen your muscles helps to prevent falls. Not wearing bifocal or multifocal glasses when you walk, especially on stairs, will make you less likely to fall. You can also make your home safer by removing loose rugs, adding handrails to stairs and hallways, and making sure you have adequate lighting in dark areas.

Falls are not an inevitable part of life, even as a person gets older. You can take action to prevent falls. Your doctor or other health care providers can help you decide what changes will help.

via NIHSeniorHealth: Falls and Older Adults – About Falls.

Healthy Aging Over 50

Healthy aging is a hot topic for baby boomers everywhere. Whether you’re concerned about weight gain, sex drive or chronic diseases, the key to healthy aging is a healthy lifestyle. Eating a variety of healthy foods, practicing portion control and including physical activity in your daily routine can go a long way toward promoting healthy aging. Better yet, its never too late to make healthier lifestyle choices.

via Healthy aging – MayoClinic.com.

Healthy Aging: Over 50

Healthy aging is a hot topic for baby boomers everywhere. Whether you’re concerned about weight gain, sex drive or chronic diseases, the key to healthy aging is a healthy lifestyle. Eating a variety of healthy foods, practicing portion control and including physical activity in your daily routine can go a long way toward promoting healthy aging. Better yet, its never too late to make healthier lifestyle choices.

via Healthy aging – MayoClinic.com.