10 Healthy Daily Lifestyle Tips for Elderly
They say health is wealth and taking it for granted can be detrimental. For individuals above the age of 60, taking care of your mind and body is crucial. This is because every organ needs special attention after a certain age. Maintaining their overall lifestyle is important for senior citizens as it can promote a long and healthy life. At times, when you might feel unwell, it makes sense to schedule home doctor visits for the elderly as well. Besides this, caregivers of the elderly should be aware of any changes or modifications made by the medical practitioner. This will ensure that the senior members of the family do not face any further medical issues. In order to have a healthy lifestyle for the elderly, every aspect of the daily routine should be planned in a systematic manner.
The following 10 tips for a healthy lifestyle can guide you through it:
1. Drink a Good Amount of Water
One of the most rewarding tips for a healthy life is drinking a good amount of water every single day. Now, there are some individuals who might have certain restrictions due to medical conditions related to the kidneys. In such cases, water consumption should be done only according to your physician. Senior citizens who do not suffer from such diseases should be drinking two to three litres of water. This will help in removing toxins from your body. Additional healthy living tips for the elderly revolving around hydration are drinking water and other liquids in the day time more than the night along with having a warm glass of water as soon as you wake up in the morning.
2. Consume a Healthy Diet
Eating nutritious meals three times a day is one of the best lifestyle tips that the elderly should incorporate into their routine. Vitamins and minerals are required for the proper functioning of your body. Hence, consuming vegetables and fruits should be done by senior citizens. Along with this, including a healthy source of protein such as tofu, paneer, soya, poultry or fish will further help in energising your body in an effective manner. Moreover, fried food items, aerated drinks, and red meat should not be eaten on a daily basis. Lifestyle tips for a healthy life should be taken seriously by the elderly as it will keep them disease-free in the long run.
3. Have an Exercise Regime
Just like the previous two healthy living tips, having an exercise regime is vital for the elderly. It is a known fact that as we grow older, our bones and muscles get weaker. But this does not mean that we cannot exercise properly. There are several balancing exercises for senior citizens that help in improving body equilibrium, muscle movement, and even mental cognition. To make an exercise regime, senior citizens can get the assistance of professionals or their family members. The idea behind such tips is to live a healthy life that is not sedentary in nature. You can begin by walking inside your house, balcony or garden for 30 minutes every day and then gradually include stretching exercises.
4. Take Out Time for Meditation
Among the best lifestyle tips for the elderly, dedicating some time to meditation is encouraged by health practitioners across the world. This is mainly because it is a disciplining activity that has positive effects on the mind and body alike. Although a lot of people are unable to concentrate easily, regular practice of meditation can improve their ability to avoid all forms of distraction. Out of all the 10 tips for a healthy lifestyle, seniors citizens are guaranteed to have a stress-free mind with the help of this particular tip.
5. Spend Time with your Family
In today’s times, our lives have become very fast-paced. There are days when you do not get to interact with your family members because of their busy schedules. Understanding the pressures of work and personal matters is important but losing touch with your loved ones is not the right approach. Therefore, it is advised to spend some quality time with your family often. If your children or grandchildren are unable to do so, then try to make them see the importance of healthy family life to the best of your capabilities. A good family bond will further encourage you to follow other healthy living tips too.
6. Focus On Getting Proper Sleep
Senior citizens who are serious about following healthy lifestyle tips should focus on improving their sleeping pattern. This is due to the fact that a good amount of sleep helps in repairing your body. This works the best during night time. So, getting sleep for at least seven to eight hours is highly encouraged. It can get a little difficult for individuals who feel restless at night. Using a white noise machine or mobile app can ease you into a sound sleep within minutes.
7. Avoid Unhealthy Lifestyle Habits
These tips for a healthy life only work if you discard certain habits from your routine. This includes excessive consumption of alcohol and tobacco-based products such as paan, cigarettes, and cigars. These unhealthy habits can harm your vital organs like the liver, the kidneys, and the lungs in a severe manner. If you are determined to adopt good lifestyle tips in a comprehensive way, then alcohol, tobacco and drugs have to be eliminated from your system immediately. For cases where the addiction cannot be managed alone, then seeking help from professionals is suggested.
8. Improve Social Interactions
Isolation is the worst enemy for the elderly. Being alone or limiting contact with your relatives and friends is the exact opposite of tips to have a healthy lifestyle. Instead, senior citizens should increase their social interactions in order to feel connected with other human beings. There are some elderly people who might not have a lot of social contacts. If you happen to be one of them, then do not feel sorry for yourself. You can still make new friends at social clubs, parks, meditation centres, etc. It is never too late!
9. Keep a Check on your Mental Health
When we talk about social isolation and stress, it would be unfair to leave out the most common mental health condition i.e. anxiety. People in all corners of the world are suffering from anxiety due to personal issues. At times, there might not be a reason behind this anxiety and yet you might still feel depressed. Speaking to a loved one about this feeling is beneficial for senior citizens as it can control the condition early on. Consulting a professional therapist or psychiatrist will ensure that your mental health is taken care of.
10. Maintain Personal and Household Hygiene
As one of the most helpful daily lifestyle tips, this one is centred around hygiene. Cleaning your body every day will make you feel refreshed. Thus, taking a warm bath in the morning or even before bedtime is good for the elderly. Along with this, maintaining proper hygiene of your surroundings such as your bed, closet, and other things in your room will help in uplifting your mood as well. As the world is hit by a pandemic, sanitisation has become a necessity in order to protect yourself from the virus. Regular mopping and disinfecting household items will make sure that your health remains intact.
A healthy life can be achieved with these healthy tips included in your daily routine. The key is to be motivated throughout this process. That is what we emphasize on at Emoha. For us, it is #EldersFirst
