Aging Well With Vitality

Aging well requires optimizing physical health, cognitive function, emotional wellbeing and social relationships – as well as living an active and healthy life with appropriate tools and an optimistic perspective.

Principles of successful aging involve prioritizing mental, physical and emotional wellbeing as well as selecting a diet rich in nutrient-rich foods. Furthermore, living life with meaning and purpose is also important.

Physical Activity

As people age, their bodies change significantly in ways that can alter daily functions and quality of life. A healthy lifestyle that includes regular physical activity, social interactions, emotional support systems, nutrient-rich diets, and sound sleep hygiene practices can help seniors enjoy successful golden years.

Staying active is paramount to maintaining vitality as we age, according to studies. Regular exercise programs have been shown to prevent many of the changes associated with aging such as decreased grip strength, fatigue and suboptimal nutrition status.

Regular exercise can improve balance, flexibility and reduce the risk of falls and injury for older adults. Exercise also helps with weight loss, blood pressure reduction, cardiovascular health and strengthening immunity – with 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week as well as two days dedicated to muscle strengthening activities such as walking, gardening, swimming or yoga being recommended by medical authorities for elderly populations.

Regular exercise programs can increase strength, balance and endurance as well as help prevent osteoporosis and diabetes. They may also boost immunity while improving mood and cognitive functions – lacking physical activity may increase risk for depression and chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes.

Early life exercise programs may help stave off some of these conditions, while emotional and social support can greatly enhance vitality and happiness. Maintain a positive outlook about aging with supportive friends around you to maintain an optimistic view on aging; those who enjoy themselves as they age often enjoy better quality of life, quicker recovery from illness and improved resilience and vitality.

Stepping up to ensure a healthy retirement is an investment in yourself and future success. You can maximize the quality of life during retirement by prioritizing physical activity, building social connections, nurturing mental and emotional health, obtaining enough restful sleep, keeping a nutritious diet going and including daily relaxation techniques into your routine. Combining these efforts with medical screenings and checkups to detect issues early is even more powerful!

Social Connections

Social connection is an integral component of mental wellbeing in senior living environments, helping build emotional resilience. Research demonstrates how regular social engagement increases feelings of love and belonging while contributing to an enhanced sense of purpose and engagement.

Relationship building is essential to cognitive health, helping maintain mental agility. Studies have demonstrated that seniors who engage in cognitive activities such as puzzles, reading, hobbies and socialization as part of their routine will more likely retain their memory, attention spans and problem-solving capabilities as they age.

Lifelong supportive relationships may help slow the aging process by modulating inflammation in the body and reseting its epigenetic clock to an earlier state. This may explain why those who lead active social lives tend to have lower levels of interleukin-6 – an anti-inflammatory protein linked to cardiovascular disease and dementia – than others with shorter lives.

Many seniors face challenges with maintaining social connections due to mobility and access issues, but these barriers can often be overcome with community involvement, intergenerational programs, or services specifically tailored to meeting the needs of vulnerable seniors.

Family relationships provide seniors with vital social connections. Interactions among family members provide them with emotional support, a sense of belonging, and purposeful identities rooted in life purpose. Family members also serve as role models for healthy aging; showing us the value in loving oneself and engaging in life fully.

Connecting with lifelong friendships and participating in community and faith-based activities are vital parts of maintaining vitality as you age. Socialization helps stimulate the brain, maintain cognitive health and reduce the risk of depression and anxiety.

Everyone’s journey towards healthy aging varies, and understanding what factors influence it is essential. Our Vitality Programs offer personalized assessments and wellness plans designed to help you meet whatever goals are set forth for health and wellbeing you may have.

Mental Health

Mental wellbeing is an integral component of successful aging. People experiencing poor emotional health may suffer a reduction in quality of life, including an increased risk of illness and suicide. Conversely, those who enjoy healthy mental well-being tend to enjoy life more positively by managing stress more effectively, dealing with loss and other difficulties more readily, and finding meaning (Ayala et al. 2021).

Although mental health needs are universal, there can be vast disparities in resources available to meet them. Low- and middle-income countries generally devote less than 1% of their health budgets towards mental health services – leaving a substantial unmet demand and often inhibiting people from seeking help for mental disorders. Furthermore, stigma can prevent many from seeking help for these disorders.

As people age, their mental health needs may change over time; however, many of the same strategies that fostered resilience and well-being in young adults can help older adults adapt. Regular social interactions — whether engaging with friends, family members and colleagues, participating in clubs or activities or volunteering — can prevent loneliness and isolation while hobbies or meaningful pursuits help boost mood and self-esteem. Furthermore, spiritual engagement such as praying or joining a religious or spiritual community can bring comfort, hope and meaning that supports a resilient outlook on life.

Mind-body practices like meditation and yoga can improve both balance and strength while decreasing risk of falls, while also helping increase mental wellness by cultivating mindfulness, emotional regulation, and positive mood.

Reaching an optimal balance among nutrition, exercise and mental wellbeing is critical to living an active and fulfilling life. Unfortunately there is no universal approach; rather it requires finding your unique balance among these three pillars and finding ways to incorporate each into daily life that makes sense with your lifestyle and preferences.

Nutrition

An active diet is vital to keeping vitality high as you age. Focus on including more whole foods while cutting back on processed and sugary snacks. Take time each day for a balanced meal, drink lots of water and tea, and aim for at least seven to eight hours of sleep in order to promote good health and ensure your body stays strong as you age.

One study demonstrated that diet patterns were more closely tied to healthy aging than specific nutrients or individual foods. Adherence to AHEI, rEDIH, aMED, DASH and the American Healthy Eating Index was linked with greater odds of healthy aging, while increased trans fats, sodium consumption, total meats consumed as well as red or processed meat consumption was found inversely related to healthy aging.

Maintaining healthy nutrition as you age is vitally important, as diet has a direct link with many diseases associated with aging such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dementia and sarcopenia – muscle atrophy that affects 10%-20% of adults over 60.

Maintain a balanced diet by including lean proteins, grains, fruits and vegetables, nuts, legumes and low-fat dairy products in your daily meals. Limit consumption of salt, added fats and sugary beverages as much as possible and strive to hydrate with water or tea regularly.

Premise Health has put together an educational short film to demonstrate how nutritional needs change as people age, the vital role food and diet play in keeping us healthy, nutrition-related diseases and recent recommendations from the US Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines. Furthermore, food insecurity impacts healthy aging negatively and what steps can be taken to combat it.

At any age, it’s never too late to create a healthier lifestyle. Aging gracefully means celebrating each phase of life while remaining courageous enough to continue learning new things and expanding oneself. Living a full and enriching life offers opportunities to meet new people while deepening existing friendships while developing positive outlook.