Healthy and happy ageing is essential to a good quality of life. Just because you’re getting older, doesn’t mean you have to stop doing things that you love, or that you have to compromise on anything which makes you happy.
Taking better care of yourself and protecting your mind and body with means being more aware of areas beneficial to you, and taking precautionary measures where applicable to ensure your own personal safety.
Here’s how.
- Stay Physically Active
It’s never too late to concentrate more on your fitness levels, even if you haven’t had a particularly active lifestyle before now. Staying active in older age is essential to a healthy lifestyle, even if it’s simply walking to the nearest store instead of taking public transport.
You should consider the best form of exercise for your circumstance, too. Cardio exercise is essential for a healthy heart, but you also want to build strong muscles and healthy joints by increased movement.
- Prepare a Will
It may be something you don’t want to consider right now, and it’s never a pleasant subject to broach, but it’s essential to prepare a will at the right time to ensure that you protect yourself, your belongings and your loved ones. You can gain legal assistance for wills and probate to make sure everything is the way it should be, and be sure to ask questions and do your own research, so that you’re well informed before going ahead.
This means deciding how to share out any relevant assets such as property and belongings to family, friends or loved ones, and how best to put everything in order.
- Reconsider Aspects of Your Property
Your lifestyle may change when you get older, and your home therefore needs to change along with it. Perhaps you would prefer a property without stairs for ease of use – in which case, you could consider moving to a new property, or renovating an existing property – or perhaps you simply need to install certain assistive measures to help you move around more freely inside your home.
You should also consider security aspects of your property. If getting older for you means that your family has flown the nest, and you will therefore be living alone, you should make sure you take extra precaution with the security of your home. This can include investing in stronger locks, and any other measures you can put in place which would make you feel more comfortable and relaxed when spending time home alone.
The bathroom is also an important area to re-evaluate, as you need to make sure you can safely get in and out of the bathtub and prevent slipping, for instance.
- Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Sleep
The amount of sleep you need will change with age. Where you might always have been able to function happily off 7 hours of sleep in the past, you may find that you need more as you get older – and you should make sure that you get the required amount.
Don’t neglect your bed, and make sure it’s optimized for comfort and better quality of sleep. Consider an update of mattress if you’re finding your bed uncomfortable, or if your sleep requirements have changed as you have aged.
Also make sure that your bedroom is optimized for a better quality of sleep, such as soothing colors and fixtures and lack of distracting technology, such as a television.
- Always Attend Your Check Up Appointments
General health and check up appointments are even more essential as you get older. Keep track of your doctor, dentist and eye health appointments to make sure you’re always up to date. More problems can occur as you get older, so it’s essential that any issues are detected as soon as possible for the best treatment. It may seem easy to dismiss a health appointment for another few months, but those few months may be the crucial time frame to fix any problems.
- Eat a Healthy Diet
A well-balanced diet is key to healthy, older living. If you’ve never been much of a cook, or haven’t had a particular passion for creating meals, now is a good time to learn or do your research. It’s important to create healthy and balanced meals for yourself as often as possible, and implementing meal plans in advance is a great way to have a more structured eating routine,and ensure you aren’t tempted by quick and easy junk food fixes.