A Healthy Lifestyle for Older Adults

Why is a healthy lifestyle important?

A healthy lifestyle helps keep the body fit and the mind alert. It helps protect you from disease, helps you fight disease, and helps prevent chronic disease (disease that doesn't go away) from getting worse. This is important as you get older and begin to notice twinges in muscles and joints and a decline in the strength and stamina you once took for granted. A healthy lifestyle includes good healthcare, good nutrition, weight control, recreation, regular exercise, staying active and safe, and avoiding harmful substances.

Good healthcare

• Have a physical checkup every year, including vision and hearing exams.
• If you develop symptoms, see your healthcare provider right away. Don't wait until the next checkup.
• Take medicines exactly as prescribed and keep your medicines in a safe place. Tell your healthcare provider if your medicine causes problems.
• Have a flu shot each year and a pneumococcal pneumonia shot when recommended by your provider.
• Take advantage of cancer screening or other health screening programs in your community.
• If you are a woman, examine your breasts every month.
• If you are a man, talk to your healthcare provider about the PSA test for prostate cancer. The current recommendations are that men age 75 and older should not be screened for prostate cancer. Younger men should discuss the benefits and harms of the PSA test with their healthcare provider before being tested.

Healthy diet and weight control

• Eat 3 or 4 small, nutritious, low-fat, high-fiber meals a day. Include a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain foods.
• Make sure you get enough calcium in your diet. Calcium, vitamin D, and exercise help prevent osteoporosis (bone thinning).
• If you live alone, try eating at your senior center when you can. That way you get a good meal and have company while you eat it.
• Try to keep a healthy weight. If you take in 3,500 more food calories than your body uses for energy, it will be stored as 1 pound of body fat. Fat is a lot harder to take off than to put on. Talk to your healthcare provider about weight control if needed.

Recreation

Recreation is not limited to sports and team events. It includes any activity that provides relaxation, interest, enjoyment, and exercise. Recreation provides an outlet for physical, mental, and social energy. It can give a sense of worth and achievement. It can help you stay healthy and young at heart as you get older.

We spend much of our adult lives working, getting to work, getting away from work, and worrying about work. Retirement, even if we've been looking forward to it, leaves a pretty big hole to fill. The way you fill that time can make a big difference in your health. You may also lose a sense of your importance when you quit your job. Recreation offers fulfilling ways to rechannel your time and energy and an opportunity to recover a sense of meaning in your life in new ways.

Physical exercise

You need regular but not overly strenuous exercise. It doesn't make sense to get too ambitious and put your back out or tear a knee cartilage. Try to walk at least a mile a day, or do some other form of exercise if you prefer. Many senior centers have organized walking groups, sometimes in shopping malls before the stores open. Senior centers often have aerobic exercise classes, swimming, and dancing, too.

Mental exercise

Mental and emotional health is as important as physical health. Keep in touch with friends and family. Stay as active as possible. Continue to learn and challenge yourself. Things you can do to stay mentally active are:

• Learn something new, like a foreign language or musical instrument.
• Play SCRABBLE or do crossword puzzles.
• Start a new hobby.
• Go back to school.
• Volunteer.
• Read.
• Keep up with world events.

Personal safety

Take care of your personal safety as well.

• Keep your home well lit, inside and out.
• Get rid of throw rugs, which can cause falls. Keep carpets in good shape. Make sure your floors are not slippery.
• Make sure that your smoke alarm has good batteries and is working.
• Install handrails by staircases and toilets and in bathtubs or showers.
• Use nonskid strips in bathtubs or showers and on staircases.
• Make sure you have a telephone by your bed for emergencies. Keep emergency telephone numbers written in clear, large letters by all telephones.

Avoidance of harmful substances

Smoking and heavy use of alcohol are major factors in diseases of the lungs, heart, and circulation; cancer; motor vehicle accidents; and home accidents. Talk to your healthcare provider if you need help quitting.