Healthy Aging –

Ways to Overcome Obstacles to Physical Activity

As you start thinking about ways to become more active, the obstacles might seem hard to overcome. Try these strategies:

I don’t have time to be physically active:

Use you calendar to schedule time for you to stretch, walk, go to an exercise class, watch a yoga video, etc… Time for you to take care of your physical form is critically important. Still not sure how to fit physical activity into your schedule? Maybe try a daily diary to help see where and how you use your time (See below for a physical activity diary from the CDC)

physical_activity_diary_cdcDownload

I’m so tired when I get home from work

Add physical activity to your workday by walking during your lunch break and taking the stairs when possible. You can download this 20 exercise booklet from NASA called DeskFit:

hq_deskfit_booklet_6.10.2020Download

Schedule physical activity for times in the day or week when you feel energetic.

Here is a video of how to incorporate physical activity into your daily routines from the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion:

I have so much on my “to do” list already, how can I do physical activity too? // I have small (grand)children and it’s impossible to have time to myself for physical activity.

This is where planning is of the utmost importance! Plan ahead. Make physical activity a regular part of your daily or weekly schedule by writing it on your calendar.

Walk when you are able.

Look for online activities to do at home, so you are not at the whim of the gym.

Trade babysitting time with a friend, neighbor, or family member who also has small (grand)children. When it’s their turn to watch the children, it’s your turn to be physically active.

~Betty Freidan

Regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health.

Get started and enjoy the benefits of better sleep, mental clarity reduced anxiety, and lower blood pressure now and the longer term benefits of healthy aging!

Healthy Aging

September is National Healthy Aging Month.

Aging is a gradual, lifelong process, although it may at times feel like it suddenly sneaks up on you. We know that healthy living throughout life contributes greatly to healthy aging in later years. We also know generally what happens to our bodies and minds as we age. And while advanced age is not guaranteed, there’s a general expectation that healthy aging is attainable.

I admit, sometimes I forget that the platinum-haired woman is me!

The numbers of people over 45 is growing every year. The attention used to be just on the baby boomers. But us Gen X-ers are elbowing our way in and have many of the same interests as the previous generation – stay active and vibrant as long as possible. There are over 76 million baby boomers today over 50 and the first of the 82.1 million Gen X-ers reached that milestone in 2015.

Celebrate Healthy Aging Month knowing it’s not “too late” to take control of your health, and it’s never too late to try something new.

Healthy Aging Tips

Here are some tips for healthy aging from Healthy Aging magazine, click here for the full article.

• Walk like a vibrant, healthy per­son. You can do it! Ana­lyze your gait, or have a professional guide you. Do you walk slowly because you have just become lazy or, per­haps, have a fear of falling? (Tip: Make a con­scious effort to take big strides, walk with your heel first, and wear com­fort­able shoes.) Take a Better Bones and Balance, yoga, or Pilates class to help build up you balance muscles.
• Stand up straight! You can knock off the appear­ance of a few extra years (and pounds) with this trick your mother (and chiropractor!) keeps telling you. Look at your­self in the mir­ror. Are you lifting up through the spine with a some tone around your middle? Do you have your shoul­ders back and chin parallel to the ground? Need a few more ideas for better posture, click here, here, or here for past blog articles and posture retraining exercises form my blog. You will look great and feel bet­ter.
• How’s your smile? Research shows peo­ple who smile more often are hap­pier. Your teeth are just as impor­tant to your good health as the rest of your body. Not only is it the first thing peo­ple notice, but good oral health is a gate­way to your over­all well-being. Studies have shown the gum disease has a link to heart disease, so be sure to check in with your dentist as one of your maintenance check ups.
• Connect with your community. Pick up the phone, land­line, or cell and make a call to do one or more of the fol­low­ing: Vol­un­teer your time, Take a class,  Invite some­one to meet for lunch, brunch, din­ner, or cof­fee. (Tip: Vol­un­teer at the local pub­lic school to stay in touch with younger peo­ple and to keep cur­rent on trends, take a com­puter class or a tuto­r­ial ses­sion at your cell phone store to keep up with tech­nol­ogy, choose a new per­son every week for your din­ing out.)
• Find your inner artist. Who says tak­ing music or art lessons is for young chil­dren? You may have an artist lurk­ing inside you just wait­ing to be tapped.  Have you always wanted to play the piano, vio­lin, or tuba? Have you ever won­dered if you could paint a por­trait or scenic in oil? Maybe throw some clay on a potter’s wheel? What about work­ing in wood? (Tip: Sign up now for fall art or music classes and dis­cover your inner artist!)
• Make this month the time to set up your annual phys­i­cal and other health screen­ings. Go to the appoint­ments and then, hope­fully, you can stop wor­ry­ing about ail­ments for a while, or, you can create a plan for healthier living.

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Moving throughout the day, time spent in peaceful rest and relaxation, and enjoying a nourishing meal with your family and friends are the foundations of healthy living and healthy aging. Adding a few of the tips above with strengthen your healthy foundations. What is something new you’d like to try? There’s no time like the present!

Healthy Aging Tip #1 = Lower Stress

Long-term stress often keeps our internal alarm system – the sympathetic nervous system – activated. This wreaks havoc on the body in the short term by affecting our sleep and recovery time, our energy levels, our mental and emotional acuity. Prolonged stress can lead to chronic inflammation and that can lead to ANY of our chronic lifestyle diseases: obesity, high blood pressure, GI distress; heart / artery disease; diabetes, brain fog – memory problems, even cancer.

Lifestyle Changes That Help

Some of the more common preventative measures listed below. These can help minimize your stress reaction and support you while you regain your health:

• an anti-inflammatory diet (more fruits and vegs; less processed foods…)
• body work like chiropractic and massage
• acupuncture
• regular, restful sleep
• time in nature / being outdoors
• regular moderate exercise
• mindfulness – meditation
• nutrient balancing and supplements like adaptogens to support adrenal glands
• weighted blanket

Evening Meditation

Consciously making regular choices that support your body’s ability to care for itself will lead to a healthier life, at any age.

Talk to your health care practitioner about healthy aging and what you can do to support your journey.