Tips To Keep Seniors Healthy Throughout The Year

Tips for Seniors to Stay HealthyRegardless of your age, you need to take care of your body so you don’t get sick. However, seniors need to be especially careful since a small illness can result in big complications, especially if you already have a chronic condition.

Understanding What Staying Healthy Means

Seniors need to make healthy choices that enable them to strengthen their immune systems. Doing so will enable you to resist many illnesses. Fortunately, none of these things are difficult to implement in your daily living.

Get Active
Staying healthy means getting up and getting active. This doesn’t have to be a strenuous activity. The more low-impact exercises (e.g., walking, yoga, biking, swimming) you’re involved in, the more you can fight off inflammation and infections. Seniors should engage in 20 – 30 minutes of activity each day or 150 minutes per week. You can easily include these activities in your healthy living each day.

Take Any Necessary Supplements
Whether you’re concerned about preventive healthy living measures so you don’t get sick or you’re focused on staying healthy, seniors should take supplements (e.g., calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B6, or vitamin B12). Make sure you talk to your doctor first, especially if you’re on any prescription medications, and always follow the instructions on the label.

Maintain Good Nutrition
Another important part of healthy living is your diet. Staying healthy means eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. These not only boost your immune system but also protect you from harmful bacteria and viruses.

Seniors should also limit how much sugar and fat they consume because they’re known to trigger inflammation and lower their immune systems. Likewise with alcohol, especially if you’re on any prescription medications.

Practice Good Handwashing Habits
It’s important to wash your hands regularly regardless of what time of year it is. This is because viruses remain on surfaces for up to 24 hours. While you may engage in many other healthy living practices, if you touch a virus-contaminated area and then touch your face you may get sick.

If you’re concerned about staying healthy, you should frequently wash your hands with warm soapy water. When you can’t wash your hands make sure you use an antibacterial hand sanitizer.

Find Healthy Ways to Manage Stress
When your body is faced with chronic stress it produces more cortisol (a stress hormone). Too much cortisol disrupts various bodily functions such as your immune system. The best way to prevent this from happening is to get plenty of physical activity and sleep. You should also make sure to include relaxing and enjoyable activities in your schedule.

Maintain Good Sleep Hygiene
Healthy living also requires maintaining good sleep hygiene. This is because sleep reduces your stress level and repairs your body. Therefore you need to get an adequate amount of sleep each night to strengthen your immune system so it’s easier for your body to fight off illnesses.

Sleep is also important for seniors because it improves their memory and concentration. If you can’t get 7 – 9 hours of sleep each night, you should talk to your doctor. Your insomnia may be due to inactivity, too much caffeine, or a medical condition (e.g., sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome).

One More Aspect of Healthy Living

As you grow older staying healthy is more important than ever. Besides seeing your doctor each year for regular checkups, another part of healthy living is scheduling an appointment with us at Countryside Hearing Aid Services in Pinellas County, Florida. Getting your hearing tested ensures that you’ll continue enjoying life and hearing everything it offers, so make sure you visit us soon.

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