It’s Simple To Be Healthy In Old Age

Summary

I see many old friends who have weak hearts, arthritis and suffer pain from a myriad of illnesses, so it is important to ensure you enjoy good mental and physical health in old age.

If you are like 80% of the population who don’t exercise and don’t like it, the good news is that you don’t need a lot, especially if you do the right type.

Here is what Harvard Medical School says:

“Even the people who did only 15 minutes per week of vigorous physical activity had a 17% lower risk of death from any cause and death from cancer compared with people who were inactive. With about 50 minutes per week, death from any cause is reduced by 36%. The reduction in risk of death from all causes, and death from cancer, was greatest for a minimum of 40 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week. In contrast, death from heart disease continued to decline substantially with each additional minute beyond 40 minutes.”

Contrary to common opinion, genes contribute only around 7% to your health. Lifestyle does the rest.

There are 4 things that contribute to optimum health as we age. See References below.

Activity	Estimated Contribution
Physical activity	42%
Diet	28%
Sleep	10%
Other lifestyle choices	20%

‘Other lifestyle choices’ refer to drugs (e.g., excessive alcohol), smoking, vaping, etc. Moderate alcohol is OK and even beneficial. See References below.

The video below is relevant, particularly concerning genes.

Advantages of Good Health

Mental and physical health is essential for a happy life. As cited above, better health is available to anyone with some motivation, a sensible lifestyle, etc. The rewards are enormous.

Simple things: It is so easy to put off exercise, eat too many sweets, etc. Just try standing up straight, with your head and shoulders back.

Exercise

As we age, our bones become frail and muscles lose strength, our flexibility decreases and many of us develop heart problems.

The following is what I do every 2nd day.  Everybody is different but experiment with comfortable equipment settings. Get advice from a professional trainer if you are doubtful or just ‘listen to your body’. You should consult your GP, you must start slowly and then build up to a repeatable sequence and settings over time:

1. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). Do this by rapidly running on an elliptical trainer 3 times until you are heavily puffing at the end of each run. HIIT takes less time than moderate repetitive exercise and makes your heart stronger and healthier. Do a similar exercise on a gym bike.
2. Include a variety of weights for bone strength (arms and legs pushing and pulling in different directions).
3. Consult a physio to advise flexibility exercises or just ask Bard! If you are away from home or don’t have access to a gym, try running fast on the spot for HIIT and pushups, etc.

That’s just over 2 hours out of your week! Have fun too. Play tennis or golf (walk, don’t take a cart!) You will meet great people. If the above is too much, try walking to start. It is good exercise.

Arthritis

Most of us develop arthritis as we age and this is why flexibility exercises are important. Last year I developed a painful right hip and my physio recommended a series of exercises to loosen my hip after X-Rays showed ‘Severe Arthrosis’ in both hips. I was sceptical but I now do these every day. The pain has gone and freedom returned! Stretching creates flexibility. Exercise strengthens surrounding muscles, and allows blood to flow to the cartilage, keeping it healthy.

Diet

Eat a variety of fruit and vegetables and minimise processed food. A regular simple blood test will tell you if any health factors are outside limits. Your GP will alert you and recommend how to fix problems.

Don’t eat to excess. The old adage of ‘getting up from the table feeling you could eat a little more’ is an easy rule! Eat more protein (try 5g of creatine for bone and muscle strength. You will be less likely to fall and break a hip.

Sleep

Some people believe they don’t need much sleep. This is rare so ensure you sleep for between 7 and 9 hours. See References below for an excellent book by Matthew Walker of Harvard University. Mindfulness (slow deep breathing and relaxing each body muscle repetitively) can help you get back to sleep if you wake frequently.

Discipline

Turning your life around toward mental and physical health is not easy but with practice, you create your own rules.

Mental Attitude

Optimists tend to live 10-15% longer than pessimists. Don’t fret about issues you can’t change! The world is not coming to an end any time soon.

• A study of 69,744 women by the University of California, San Francisco, found that the most optimistic women lived an average of 14.9% longer than their pessimistic peers.
• A study of 1429 men by the University of Pittsburgh, found that the most optimistic men lived an average of 11.2% longer than their pessimistic peers.
• A study of 839 medical patients by the Mayo Clinic, found that those with a more pessimistic outlook were 19% more likely to die over a 30-year period.
• Optimists are more likely to take care of their health, both physically and mentally and are also less likely to experience stress. Optimists are more likely to have strong social support networks, which can contribute to longevity.

Happiness

Exercise will produce endorphins that flow through your brain and make you feel you can ‘take on the world’. I am fortunate that my family, children and grandchildren are very dear, close and loving. However, this may be out of your control.

But friends are important, so make a big effort to maintain contact, meet them for a coffee and join groups to meet new people. I have written a blog on ‘Happiness’. See References below.

As always, I love comments from readers and will try to answer them. Please make them below.

References

• Harvard Medical School
• American Medical Association
• Happiness
• Sleep
• The Good Life
• Mindfulness
• Alcohol