Let’s talk…Top 5 Wellness Tips for Seniors
We hear a lot about ‘wellness’ these days and it has certainly spawned a billion dollar industry, but beyond the hype, what’s it all about! Let’s take a step back and breakdown what the term ‘wellness’ means. There are a lot of different definitions to be found on google, but basically it is around practicing healthy habits on a regular basis that work towards the attainment of better mental and physical outcomes. It’s all about thriving instead of just surviving as we make our way through life.
The website https://www.pfizer.com/health-wellness/wellness/what-is-wellness talks about several key areas of your lifestyle that are considered dimensions of overall wellness. They include:
- Social connectedness
- Exercise
- Nutrition
- Sleep
- Mindfulness
These days many seniors are leading busy lives and many may be in the role of a carer, be that for a spouse, relative, friend or helping with the grandkids. If that’s the case, it is really important to build wellness into your life to enable you to maintain your caring role. While sometimes taking timeout can feel a bit indulgent when you are busy, it really is essential to give you the energy and vitality that you need!
With all of this in mind, these are our top 5 tips for maintaining wellness:
- Keep Active
Doing something to stay active and fit each day can help maintain your strength, balance, flexibility, and general health. Being able to stay fit can help you stay a healthy weight, as well as preventing illness and reducing stress levels. The more physical activity we do, the more easily our body can respond to inflammation and infections, even if the activity is lower impact. Walking, swimming or any low to moderate intensity can help, and goes towards the recommended 150 minutes of exercise a week. So why not give those endorphins a much needed boost!
- Eat Well
Although it sounds easy, eating well can be a little tricky, especially if you are prone to emotional eating when stressed or leading a busy life caring for others with little time to prepare meals. With benefits such as boosting immunity, keeping your mind sharp, having more energy, and let’s face it, being able to fit into your favourite clothes, it certainly is worth the effort. Some tips to keep in mind are pre-preparing meals and packing apples or raw veggies as a snack when you are out and about. There are also lots of on-line options that are worth looking at. Companies like Marley Spoon and Hello Fresh offer meal kits with delicious ingredients and recipes, delivered to your door, which means no shopping or thinking about what meals you are going to have – well worth a try!
- Staying Connected
Don’t let a busy life stop you from staying connected with friends and family. A 5-10 minute chat over the phone with a friend can do wonders to boost your mood and put a smile on your face. Or if you don’t have time for a phone chat, why not send a quick text to say hi. And while Facebook isn’t everyone’s cup-of-tea, it’s a great way to stay connected with family and friends and see what they are up to or even catch up with people that you haven’t seen for many years like old school friends. Nothing beats a good old face-to-face catch up though, so try and schedule those in on a regular basis. In addition to these tips, there are many other ways to maintain connection, from volunteering through to joining a local Probus club or exercise group. With benefits such as disease prevention, longevity and improved cognitive function and self-esteem it’s worth a shot to keep those connections flowing!
- Sleep
Nothing beats a great night’s sleep to put an extra spring in your step, and at the other end of the scale, everything seems so much worse when you are feeling tired! There are many tips to improving sleep, from avoiding caffeine after 12noon, to going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, avoiding technology before bed and including quiet and calm activities before sleep. If sleep is a problem it’s certainly worth exploring the many simple ways to begin your journey towards becoming a fantastic sleeper!
- Mindfulness
A great way to help you with your reactions to life’s stressful events, is by combining a bit of mindfulness into your life. While some people think it’s a bit ‘new agey’ it’s a great practice for your body and mind and is really quick and easy to integrate into your day. Defined as a conscious decision to pay attention, why not check out one of our previous articles which is all around mindfulness and how it can help to incorporate more balance, peace and happiness into your life. Click on the link to learn more https://anglicancare.com.au/lets-talk-mindfulness/