age healthy, age happy

by Elizabeth Martyn

age healthy, age happy | help and info

Our lives are getting longer. By the time you've read this article, your life expectancy will have increased by five minutes. By this time tomorrow, you'll be due almost another five hours on the planet. And, as swift medical advances tame killer diseases, life expectancy will continue its rise.

© stockbyte

What's important, though, is not so much the years in your life, as the life in your years. After all, there's precious little point carrying on to 110, if you spend your final years in a state of frailty and illness. To a certain extent the genes we were born with dictate the staying power of our muscles, hearts and brains, but there's a great deal we can control so that we can extract the maximum out of our later years, and make them as enjoyable and stimulating as possible.

love your body

Make taking care of your body your mantra, and remember that it's never too late to implement changes to improve your health.

• If you do just one thing, take exercise. Regular exercise is good for your heart, circulation, immune system, bones and for weight control. It's also good for your brain and your emotional wellbeing. But exercise must be regular, and it must be the right kind. Pick and mix different types to get all the benefits you need - think of walking, swimming, cycling, tai chi, pilates, keep fit, badminton. How much exercise do you need? Experts say that 2.5 hours a week, taken in 30-minute chunks, is enough to keep you in good health.
• Cut down – or, better, give up – on smoking, the habit that can wreak most destruction on your health.
• Keep alcohol intake to no more than one to two units per day.
• Drink plenty of water to keep physical and mental systems functioning properly.
• Get a good night's sleep. If you find it hard to drop off, limit daytime naps and never doze after 5pm.
• Keep an eye on your weight and don't let the pounds creep on. Obesity worsens most of the major health problems of advancing age.
• Spend time in the fresh air, daily. Expose your skin to the sun (using an appropriate sun screen) on as many days as possible during the summer. It's the best way to get vitamin D, which enables the body to use calcium, and is also a powerful tool for lifting depression and staying in touch with the wider world.
• Eat a minimum of five portions of fruit and veggies daily and cut down on highly processed, refined foods.
• Think prevention: improve lighting and fix loose carpets, trailing flexes and dodgy wiring to help you avoid falls and other accidents.
• Visit a dentist and optician regularly, and see your GP when necessary. Don't let minor ailments drag on.

top ^

train your brain

To keep your brain in trim you need to keep your body fit as well as flexing your grey matter regularly. There's plenty of evidence to show how powerfully exercise affects the brain. It's possible that the brain changes in response to exercise, producing chemicals which improve existing neurological connections and even create new ones.

• A 2004 American study that followed 20,000 women for 20 years found those who regularly walked for at least 1.5 hours a week did best on general cognition, verbal memory, sorting and attention.
• A 10-year study of men born between 1900 and 1920 concluded that even medium- to low-intensity exercise postponed cognitive decline.
• Start that exercise habit early. Another study showed that people who exercised twice a week in midlife were less likely to develop dementia or Alzheimer's disease 20 years later.
• As well as physical exercise, keep your mind active. Soon to arrive in the UK is Nintendo's Brain Age, a package of computer-based cerebral workouts aimed at the over-45s. Claimed to improve mental agility and even slow the onset of dementia (a claim which not all experts accept), it's been hugely successful in Japan.
• Mental activities that demand intensive concentration, such as playing a musical instrument, reading or dancing, can also help to reduce the risk of dementia.

Although these strategies may help prevent mental decline, there is also a genetic element in dementia, which means this disease can't always be avoided. What's really important is to enjoy the sheer pleasure and satisfaction you gain from keeping your brain running like a well-oiled engine.

top ^

nurture the feel-good factor

Moving happily into later age isn't just about keeping your physical and mental health up to scratch. Happiness depends just as much on having good relationships, living a full and active life, and taking a positive, can-do attitude towards day-to-day living.

• Being happily married is a great predictor of contentment in old age. It seems there's no substitute for a warm, close intimate relationship – but make sure you keep a level of independence as well. Couples whose lives are too closely intertwined suffer all the more when one of them becomes incapacitated or dies.
• Strong friendships and good family connections are also important. Nothing bolsters positive feelings more than being part of a circle of people who care about you. Get involved part in a range of activities outside home and choose some that will bring you into contact with people of different ages.
• Moaning Minnies don't fare well in old age. Learning to adapt to change and handle whatever life throws at you constructively are valuable skills for every age group. Those who give up at the first hurdle, or have a tendency to sink into depression, find it hard to bounce back as they get older.
• Cultivate a positive attitude. One simple method is to keep a 'gratitude diary'. Every day, spend ten minutes thinking about things that have happened during the day that you're grateful for. No matter how small – a sunny afternoon, a chat with a friend, hearing a piece of music you love – write them down. Review and reflect on your list frequently.

And finally, make a positive effort to do the things you enjoy. It's easy to talk about things, or put them off until tomorrow. Identify the pastimes you love, and do one or more them every day. The more life in your life, the better.

(March 2006)

Read on for details of relevant websites and books.