Growing Old Gracefully: It’s All About Lifestyle

When it comes to living longer, the news is actually good. Despite fast-food and sedentary lifestyles, people are living into their eighties and nineties at a greater frequency than ever before. What’s more, healthy lifespan is increasing too, mainly thanks to advances in medical technology.

Recently, the huffingtonpost.com asked Peggy Buchanan, an expert lifestyle and health coach about what she thought the secret to growing old gracefully was. Here’s what she had to say.

Dance, And Then Dance Some More

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Peggy points out the staggering fact that people who exercise regularly as they get older are more than 60 percent less likely to suffer from dementia than those that don’t. Exercise, she says, increases oxygen to the brain and helps clear out some of the gunk that can lead to the disease. Extra oxygen in the brain causes it to release special proteins that help repair and protect neurons, keeping thoughts clear.

But dance may be particularly effective compared to other forms of exercise she says. This is because it is a mind and body activity that requires a lot of thought and coordination. The fact that dancing is hard may be what makes it so protective.

Decrease Salt Intake

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One of the leading causes of strokes and cognitive decline is high salt intake. In your latter years, when your arteries aren’t as flexible as they once were, high salt intake can be dangerous. High salt intake can also be caused by declining sense of taste, leading older people to add more salt to their food to make it taste good. If you have a history of high-salt intake, it’s best to be on the safe side. Cut your salt intake by reducing processed food, and make sure that you have medical cover through a site like floridamedicareadvantageplans.com, just in case you run into complications.

Wear Supportive Shoes

As people get old, the fatty pads around their heels and the soles of their feet slowly starts to disappear. This can make walking and moving about more painful than it once was. The best way to deal with this is to use supportive footwear, says Peggy. You can do this by inserting supportive pads into your shoes and wearing thick, comfortable socks which extra padding and a wicking agent to keep feet dry.

Don’t Stick To The Routine

As we get older, life can become a lot more routine. The problem with routine is that it starves our brains of stimulation, leading to cognitive decline.

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You can introduce breaks in your routine in all sorts of ways. Meeting up with a friend to grab a drink and having a conversation, trying new food, writing poetry or a book or joining a local exercise class can all be beneficial. Salsa anyone?

Dine With Other People

If you’re struggling to keep your weight under control as you age, you might consider dining with other people. Studies have shown that individuals who eat with other people actually eat less than those who eat alone. The reason for this is thought to be a combination of factors. Subconsciously when you eat with other people, you feel as if you have a supporting tribe around you who will help you out when times get tough. If you’re on your own, you feel more like you have to hoard calories because nobody will come to your rescue and bring you food should you run out.

Eating more when we’re alone could also have something to do with eating for comfort because we are starved of human contact.

Use Walking Poles

If you’ve got a bad hip, then you might think that a walking stick is your only option. Fortunately, it isn’t thanks to the invention of walking poles – pieces of equipment that Peggy says offers far more flexibility than regular canes. Walking poles, she says, can be used in a much wider variety of circumstances, and can even allow elderly people to go on hikes when they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.

Get Rid Of Bad Fats

Not all fats are bad. Nuts, for instance, have been shown to reduce cardiovascular disease and help people to lose weight and live longer. But some fats are dangerous, especially those that come from animals, because of the inflammation they cause in the body.

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Older adults who don’t regularly consume Omega-3 fats are at a higher risk of dementia, Peggy says. Thus, they need to eat more fish oil, olive oils, nuts and green leafy vegetables to get their daily allowance. All of these foods reduce the amount of inflammation in the brain, reducing the chance of brain-wasting diseases in the future.