Older people often tend to feel that they are too old to do certain things. They can frequently feel intimidation by younger people and think that they don’t have enough energy to make the effort to become healthier. They might also feel that it is too late for them to start making efforts to improve their health. However, the truth is that it is never to late to start working out and making changes to your lifestyle in order to become healthier and improve your life expectancy. Read on to learn how you can improve your health, no matter how old you are.
1. Exercise will extend the years of an active and independent life
You just need at least an hour per week for exercising. This will help to improve your mental wellbeing as well as the health of your body. This will result in an increase of the quality of your life as well.
2. Exercising does not have to be difficult and tough to get the resultant health benefits
Exercise doesn’t have to be painful or very difficult for you to gain plenty of health benefits. There are plenty of relaxation exercises and exercises that improve your balance and flexibility. These are low intensity exercises. Thus, you shouldn’t believe that exercising has to be physically tough for older people.
3. You must use it or you will lose it
A sedentary lifestyle is very unhealthy. If you spend most of your time simply sitting around and not being physically active, you will lose your muscle strength. As you get older, you should strive to develop strong muscles in order to avoid joint pains that are common among older people. If you don’t not use your muscles regularly and consistently, they will weaken. So stop doubting in yourself and start exercising. You can slowly increase the pace of your exercising so as not to put too much strain on your body.
4. Exercising may prevent a bad fall
A common fear among older people is the fear of falling down and injuring themselves badly. One significant benefit of exercising is that it improves your motor control and balance, which drastically reduces the likelihood of falling down by accident. Thus, consistent and regular exercising at your own pace will reduce the chances of your falling and injuring yourself.
5. Exercise will improve your health (even some serious conditions)
Exercising among older people has been known to improve their health and reduce the negative health effects of various conditions, such as diabetes, heart diseases, or Alzheimer’s, strokes, etc. Consistent exercises helps to reduce the risk of developing various illnesses that are common at an old age.
image courtesy of: cardiohigh.com.
