Senior Citizens Day: Maintaining a Physically and Mentally Healthy Life

In honor of National Senior Citizen’s Day, NARA wants to help make sure that as adults age, they maintain their physical and mental health. Keeping yourself healthy can not only prolong your life but also make it more enjoyable. With a few quick tips, you can keep yourself fit in both mind and body.

Keeping your mind sharp as you age is no easy task. One of the biggest things you can do to combat those “senior moments” is by continuing to learn. No, this doesn’t mean you need to sign up for college courses tomorrow. However, by incorporating challenging tasks that stimulate your mind, you can actually build and maintain brain cells.

• Work on your recall: A great way to stimulate your mind is test your memory. Write down your grocery list. An hour later, how many items can you remember? Continually trying to memorize things will greatly stimulate your mind and boost those neural pathways.
• Pick up a new hobby: Learning how to play chess or crochet is a great way to keep your brain muscles moving. By continuing to motivate your mind, you maintain those brain connections that tend to deteriorate without stimulation.

Another way to maintain a fit life is make sure you stay active. Maybe you were once an avid runner or perhaps you never cared for exercise that much. There is no better day than today to try again. The benefits of exercising as you age are seemingly limitless: it reduces the risks of falls and bone fractures, lowers risk of blood clots and heart disease, and can reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety.

• Walk and talk: Simply going for a light walk can greatly benefit your health. Just 20 minutes of walking around the neighborhood can increase hip and leg strength and improve overall balance. Even better, having a friend with you can dramatically bring down stress levels for a happier, healthier you.
• Sit and build strength: It’s also important to note that not everyone can get up and out of the house. Thankfully, there are plenty of exercises you can do from the comfort of your bed or chair. Work on upper arm strength by simply curling a dumbbell or heavy object. You can also work your hip flexors by doing sitting knee lifts.

Whether it is National Senior Citizen’s Day or not, it’s important to maintain both mental and physical health. From picking up new hobbies to taking a lap around the block, there are easy ways you can maintain your health well into old age.