As I have said before, my wife and I are getting older – yes I know we all are. But we are feeling even more lately. I have it in my genes to live well into my eighties and perhaps even 100 or more. But how good is it to live that long of a life if you can’t enjoy it?
We talk often about life span but not enough about health span. Living a long time but being infirmed is not something I would wish on anyone. So, health span, not only living a long time but also being healthy for as much of that as possible, should be an included goal. Below are several suggestions about how to improve your health span.
- Work on your sleep – Getting enough sleep is the crucial to almost every part of your life: attitude, energy, and even a
more consistent appetite. You can’t make-up sleep that you lose, so try to be consistent with your sleep every day. Here are some suggestions to improve your sleep:
- Keep your room cool.
- Avoid electronics for at least ½ hour before going to bed.
- Remember that you bed is for sleep or sex not for eating, watching TV, catching up on Facebook.
- Finally avoid caffeine and heavy eating for several hours before bed.
Keep your brain active – Keeping your brain active is as important as keeping your body healthy. The saying, “old dogs can’t learn new tricks” is flat wrong. Your brain keeps growing your whole life. The technical term is neuroplasticity. But to keep your brain truly active, look for new and different things to learn. Yes, crossword puzzles are great but how about learning a new language. Different types of learning activate different centers in your brain and help to keep your whole brain healthy. Finally, don’t wait for something to come your way, seize the day and go find that new brain sharpener.
Stay active – Just like learning new things can keep your brain sharper, keeping your body moving can help you physically in many ways. Being physically active helps your mood, your attitude, helps control your weight, and helps you sleep better. While the recommendations vary, it doesn’t take a lot to get the benefits. 150 minutes a week of moderate activity can have significant impacts on your health. This should be the type of exercise you like to do. If you don’t like it you won’t continue. It doesn’t have to be at a gym, a brisk walk will do it. Add to that another couple of days of resistance exercise to keep from losing muscle and you will hold off the worse effects of aging – not being able to move easily.
Don’t isolate yourself – One of the leading causes of Alzheimer’s is losing touch with friends and family. If that doesn’t scare you enough, isolation can also lead to depression and stress. Things like reduced vision and hearing can lead to isolation so stay in touch with your doctor to keep your senses in good shape. Attending religious services, volunteering, attending concerts, plays and other public events are good ways to get out of your shell. Perhaps visit your local farmers market or Christmas tree lighting. There are endless options for getting out. You only need to get out of your chair and go!
Watch what you eat – One source says, “Eat like your life depends on it,” because it does. We all have habits from our upbringing that may not be the best. One of the less than intelligent things we did as teens was go to the local pizza place and order one large pizza for each of us. The loser was the one who couldn’t eat all their pizza or took the longest to eat it. The loser paid the bill. You remember being young and dumb – right? I shouldn’t have eaten that way when I was young and there is no way I could eat that way now. Also, as well intentioned as our parent were, having to eat everything on your plate was a dumb rule. I still fight that rule to this day. I don’t have the muscle mass I had in my teens and twenties and so I need to stop when I’m full, not when my plate is clean. Actually, it is better to stop at about 80% of being full. If that isn’t enough to get you thinking, remember the saying, “You can’t out train a bad diet,” by Ted Naiman. In other words, another 20 minutes on an elliptical won’t justify that extra donut!
Control your stress – Along with sleep issues, stress is one of the greatest causes of disease and shorter lifespans there are. Although some stress is required in our lives to force us to get things done, chronic stress is not a good thing, Chronic stress could be defined as, “stress that is constant and persists over a long time.” Chronic stress activates your survive mode which releases chemicals in your body related to fight or flight. It interferes with your sleep, leads to overeating, high blood pressure along with other issues. Multiple books, website, and seminars have been developed to try to help people reduce the stress in their lives but here are a few quick suggestions:
- Participate in an activity like Tai Chi or Qigong to take a mental break.
- Practice mindfulness and/or meditation to reset your mind and body.
- Identify and remove as many of the stressors in your life as you can. This may include changing your job or relationship(s).
- Get some professional help if it gets too bad.
I plan on living a long time but being healthy as I do. That way I can enjoy my life!
Resources:
https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/guidelines/adults.html
https://melissabphd.com/ep-74-five-secrets-for-successful-aging/