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| Health Tips: Tips for older adults |
Eating healthy and regular physical activity can keep you young at heart. Here are some tips for older adults.
You can benefit most from a combination of aerobic, strength, balance, and flexibility activities. Build up to 30 minutes or more of aerobic activity on most days of the week. Try to do balance and flexibility activities daily as well. Work toward doing strength exercises on 2 or 3 days a week.
| Aerobic activities - walking
- swimming
- housework or gardening
- active play with children
| Regular aerobic activity can help you to: - Lose or maintain your weight by burning calories
- Lower your risk of heart disease and stroke by strengthening your heart and lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol
- Keep your joints moving and reduce your arthritis pain
- Lower your stress and boost your mood
- Have more energy
- Meet new friends by joining a class or walking group.
| Strengthening activities - lifting weights
- push-ups or sit-ups
- household or garden tasks that make you lift or dig
| Doing strengthening activities regularly can help you to:
- Keep your muscles and bones strong as you age
- Increase your strength and independence
- Reduce your need for a cane
- Reduce the risk of bone fractures and other injuries, or recover faster if you are injured
- Maintain or lose weight because muscle burns more calories than body fat.
| Balance activities - walking heel to toe in straight line
- standing on one foot
- standing up from a chair and sitting down again without using your hands
| Doing balance activities regularly can help you to:
- Stay steady on your feet
- Avoid falls.
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| Flexibility activities | Doing flexibility activities regularly can help you to:
- Maintain the movement of your muscles and joints
- Prevent stiffness as you age
- Prevent injuries
- Lower your stress.
Many activities give you more than just one benefit. For example, doing chair aerobics using hand weights gives you aerobic and strengthening benefits. Yoga combines balance, flexibility, and strengthening benefits. You do not have to do four separate types of activities each week. Choose what you like to do and round out your activities from there. Remember, any amount of physical activity you do is better than none.
| Work physical activity into your day |  There are plenty of ways to be active without setting aside a special time for "exercise." The tips below can help you to add more activity into your everyday life.
- Take short walks throughout your day. Try a 10-minute walk before breakfast, at lunchtime, and after dinner.
- Ride your bike to visit a friend who lives nearby.
- Clean your house or garage, or wash your car.
| Be good to yourself
| Due to loss of loved ones, health problems, trouble paying bills, or other reasons, many older people feel lonely, sad, or stressed in their daily lives. Feelings like these can cause you to lose energy, not feel like doing anything, not eat enough, or overeat. Being good to yourself can help you to cope with your feelings and improve your energy level, eating habits, and health. Here are some ideas for being good to yourself:
- Get enough sleep.
- Stay connected with family and friends.
- Join a walking group, or other social group.
- Surround yourself with people whose company you enjoy.
- Volunteer or get active with groups in your community.
- Try a part-time job at a place you would enjoy working for a few hours a week.
- Watch a funny movie and laugh.
- Take up a hobby such as playing cards, gardening, cooking, or dancing.
Remember, it's never too late to improve your eating plan, be more physically active, and be good to yourself for a healthier life.
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| Tips for older adults | - Eat breakfast every day.
- Select high-fiber foods like whole grain breads and cereals, beans, vegetables, and fruits.
- Have three servings of low-fat milk, yogurt, or cheese a day. Dairy products are high in calcium and vitamin D and help keep your bones strong as you age. Or take a calcium and vitamin D supplement.
- Drink plenty of water. You may notice that you feel less thirsty as you get older, but your body still needs the same amount of water.
- Ask your health care provider about ways you can safely increase the amount of physical activity you do now.
- Fit physical activity into your everyday life. For example, take short walks throughout your day. You do not have to have a formal physical activity program to improve your health and stay active.
- Get enough sleep.
- Stay connected with family, friends, and community.
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