No matter how old you are, it is essential to take care of your health to prevent diseases and live a better life. However, the moment you turn 65 years, things change, and something as simple as common cold or flu can progress fast and lead to a wide range of complications that you didn’t expect.
This usually includes secondary infections such as bronchitis, pneumonia, sinus infection, and even ear infection. If you have any chronic condition such as respiratory illness, diabetes, or asthma, you need to be even more cautious of your health.
Therefore, it is critical to make healthy choices to strengthen your immune system and lower your risk of contracting diseases as a senior.
This guide discusses the top five healthy tips for seniors. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know.
1. Be Physically Active
Physical activity is a significant immune booster. The more you move, exercise, and keep yourself active, the more your body can fight a wide range of infections and inflammation.
Being physically active doesn’t necessarily mean engaging in strenuous activity. You can still embrace low-impact exercise and reap the numerous health benefits of being active.
Some of the physical activities that favor seniors include walking, biking, low-impact aerobics, and swimming. If you feel like you are still strong, go ahead and engage in moderate-intensity exercise for approximately 30 minutes every day.
The primary target should be to accumulate at least 150 minutes of physical exercise every week. You should also strengthen your muscles by lifting weights or doing yoga.
2. Make Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Making healthy lifestyle choices starts with eating a balanced and healthy diet. As you get older, you must get smarter about eating better to boost your immunity and body strength.
Typically, your dietary requirements will change as your energy demand tends to decrease. You want to feed more on minerals, vitamins, and proteins. Consume more fruits and vegetables, fish, poultry, meat, and dairy products such as yogurt and milk. Reduce your fat intake and drink plenty of water.
Ensure you get enough sleep so that you can get up feeling refreshed and more energized to face the day. You will feel stronger and energized to engage in physical activities that boost your immunity when you get enough sleep.
Dreams and quality sleep are essential for your brain to form valuable memories and links. It plays a critical role in helping you remember and process things faster and better. Your body will get sufficient time to repair and restore itself with enough sleep.
3. Keep Your Mind Active
Generally, an cognitively and socially challenging environment facilitates and enhances your cognitive performance. On the other hand, an environment that provides little to no stimulation results in boredom and cognitive decline.
Therefore, as you age, you shouldn’t be afraid of new experiences and make use of the resources around you to keep your mind active and functioning at its best. Try new things, learn new skills, read books, engage in social activities and puzzles.
These activities will help keep your mind sharp and clear, which is essential as you age. Additionally, they also help reduce the risk of developing conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
4. Take Supplements
As you age, your body requirements change, which should reflect the kinds of vitamins you take.
Typically, seniors are recommended to take multivitamins as well as vitamin D supplements. These supplements help replenish your vitamin stores and improve bone health by increasing calcium absorption in bones. Just be careful not to take too much vitamin A and iron as they can be harmful.
Seniors are also advised to take omega-3 fatty acids supplements, which reduce inflammation levels in their bodies. Additionally, you should consider taking probiotics that help keep your gut healthy and promote intestinal integrity by reducing bloating and constipation.
You can also consider taking green tea supplements as green tea contains components that have been linked to boosting immunity and improving your overall health. In fact, there are plenty of other supplements you should consider taking if you feel like they would be beneficial to your immune function.
5. Quit Smoking and Drinking Alcohol
Smoking and drinking alcohol even in moderation are associated with increased mortality risk. This is because they can increase your blood pressure, weaken your immune function, and speed up the effects of aging. So, if you are a smoker or drinker, quit immediately to keep yourself healthy as you age.
6. Get Enough Sunlight Exposure
Generally speaking, moderate sun exposure is good for your health as it helps your body produce vitamin D. However, you should avoid excessive sun exposure as it can lead to skin damage and increase your risk of developing skin cancer.
Ideally, you should aim to get about 15 minutes of unprotected sun exposure per day. This will be enough to help your body produce sufficient vitamin D.
7. Wash Your Hands Frequently
Washing your hands frequently is another excellent way to stay healthy throughout the year. Disease-causing germs and viruses tend to stay alive on surfaces for up to 48 hours.
Therefore, it is possible to become ill if you touch a virus-infected surface and contaminate your hands, then proceed to touch your face or mouth with the same hands.
Always wash your hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds as many times as you can in a day. Avoid touching your nose, mouth, and eyes with your hands to minimize the risk of contracting diseases.
If you don’t want to wash your hands frequently, make sure you purchase an antibacterial sanitizer that you can use in place of washing. You should also frequently disinfect surfaces around your home to keep germs, viruses, and harmful bacteria at bay.
8. Schedule Annual Physical Examination and Screening Tests
It is important to get annual physical examinations and screenings tests done as you age. This will help your doctor track your health progress and identify any potential health concerns that you may have.
Some of the tests you should consider getting done include a mammogram for women over 40 years old, a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test for men over 50, and a colonoscopy screening if you are over the age of 50.
Keep in mind that conditions such as high blood pressure can go undetected until they become worse. However, regular physical examinations and screening can help your doctor diagnose such conditions early enough.
9. Look After Your Teeth
Ensure you brush at least twice per day and floss once each day to keep your teeth and gums healthy as you age. Dental problems such as bleeding gums, tooth loss, and gum disease can make eating a challenge for seniors.
Also, if you cannot afford professional dental care, look into getting a pair of dentures or a set of false teeth. This will help you maintain your ability to eat and speak properly.
10. Maintain a Healthy Body Weight
Being overweight can increase your risk of developing metabolic syndrome, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. Fortunately, it is fairly easy to maintain a healthy body weight as an adult by exercising regularly and eating well.
You should aim to lose about 10% of your current body weight to improve your health. This may seem like a daunting task, but it can be done by eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly.
Exercising does not have to be expensive or time-consuming. In fact, you can get plenty of health benefits by engaging in activities such as walking, biking, swimming, dancing, and yoga.
Final Thought
Seniors should focus on eating a healthy diet, staying social and engaged, and exercising regularly to stay healthy as they age. Disease-causing germs and viruses tend to stay alive on surfaces for up to 48 hours, so it is essential to wash your hands frequently with warm, soapy water.
Additionally, seniors should consider getting an annual physical examination, and screenings tests are done to help their doctor track their health progress.
Finally, it is beneficial for seniors to maintain healthy body weight by eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly. This will help reduce their risk of developing metabolic syndrome, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer.
Do you still have any questions about senior health? Contact us today to speak with one of our experts who will help you further.
