Often people after their 50s think their life is no more fun and exciting and start believing that they are old and advanced in years. A droning mentality towards life makes us feel uninspiring and lackluster!! Instead, what one should do to make things work more interestingly and extraordinarily and enjoy their 50s like their 20s and 30s? Well, there are several ways to stay healthy and be active while you are the age 50 or older. Today in this article, we will know about some supreme tips to keep oneself healthy at the elderly stage and know some real benefits of physical activity. If you think that you are old and should be doing physical activity or performing strength training at this age, you are completely wrong. Exercise and eating the right kind of food have many health benefits, and age has nothing to do with exercise and eating habits.
Consuming the right food source keeps the body healthy and fills the energy to stay active for the whole day. Adding more green vegetables to meals increases the natural source of potassium, magnesium, Calcium, and iron and decreases deficiencies; it also maintains the body’s blood pressure level and reduces joint pain to an extent.
Know the Dazzling Benefits of Physical Activity to Stay Healthy and Active at Age 50 or Older:
Regardless of age, keeping the body active with regular practice of a physical activity is really helpful to stay healthy and avoid problems such as weight gain, heart disease, and high blood pressure-related problems.
Every year the US Department of Health and Human Services publishes the physical activity guidelines for Americans providing extensive tips and knowledge-based information to Americans regarding the types of physical activity; how much exercise is needed per day to keep the body physically fit and healthy?
Eating right and regular physical activity has a lot to do when it comes to a nourishing and healthy lifestyle. Physical activity is essential for muscle and bone strengthening, so it’s better to keep your body moving instead of relaxing, sitting still, and doing nothing.
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The practice below listed physical activities to stay healthy even after your 50s
Although after the 50s and 60s, you might have turned your hair grey and got wrinkles on your face, this in no way guarantees a mind-numbing and monotonous life. Instead, keeping oneself healthy even after the second half of life can be more exciting and out of the ordinary thing. Here we list some physical activities that one can perform even in the second innings of their life and still keep themselves hale and hearty.
1. For Best Nutrition, Eat Healthy Food: To avoid risking life and stay away from diseases such as cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and major weight gain, one can maintain the appetite. Today people are very prone to fast food that is high in carbohydrates, which are very unhealthy and harmful to the body. So it’s better to stick to healthy food habits, eat less fatty food, avoid salt and sugar, and, most importantly, avoid packaged foods.
2. Try Strength Training: Research has found that physical activity is essential for a healthy lifestyle, and age doesn’t restrict any adult or older adult from staying fit and active. To avoid any kind of injuries, begin with moderate and low-intensity exercises and gradually increase with time and body strength.
3. Travel Breaks are a must to Stay Energetic: Time has changed completely, and people no more want to think they are old and stay back at home growing with grey hairs and wrinkles. Celebrities have made aging a trend with more complimentary fitness awareness and gracing beautifully in their 50s and 60s. So take a break from the hectic life and travel around to explore and feel energetic. Get inspired by several people and further become an inspiration for others.
4. Go for Regular Walks and Jogs: On average, a 30-minute walk can be beneficial for maintaining a healthy weight, and if you feel discomfort while breathing, it’s ok to take breaks and continue again. Doing brisk walks and jogging helps control weight, make bones strong, deliver good sleep, and decrease heart-related problems, balance cholesterol and high blood pressure issues.
5. Fuel up the Body with Fiber Intake: Recent articles have said a lot about the benefits of eating healthy and taking balanced diets. Including fiber-rich food and fruits will fill the body with more energy for a longer period of time. It also helps cut down cholesterol levels and reduces the possibility of heart attacks, diabetes, and other major health problems. Include nuts, broccoli, avocado, black turtle beans, lentils, beans, pears, and other fiber-rich foods to stay filled and jam-packed.
6. Quit Smoking to Reduce Health Risk: Tobacco has some real harmful effects on the body and causes heart disease, lung disease, cancer, and many other health problems that can have serious end results. Men who smoke cigarettes have been found to be more prone to cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, different kinds of cancer like colon, oropharynx, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), etc.
7. Have High-Quality Sleep: Older adults have a common problem of Insomnia, and it’s very hard for them to sleep for a significant time; therefore, a few tips can be really helpful for them to get proper sleep and stay healthy. Try to limit the use of mobile phones and TV and switch to dark rooms; both men and women should avoid too much intake of caffeine and alcohol. Keep yourself busy in the daytime so that you can have a long sleep at night, and get prescribed the doctor about sleeping pills, but remember it is an option, not the solution.
8. Stay Positive and Enthusiastic: When we are young and fledgling, time flies too fast, but with aging comes too many downfalls related to the body’s functioning, age effects, and much more. To avoid gloomy thoughts, think positively, and keep yourself busy doing something productive and expedient. So it’s better to stay in touch with friends and family to gather positive thoughts and stay optimistic.
9. Add Multivitamin Supplements: As one gets older, the body doesn’t work out much, so as such, there is no need for extensive supplements and vitamins. Some essential vitamins and minerals such as Calcium, vitamin D, C, B12, and B6 are a must for better health.
What are the physical activity guidelines for Americans?
Depending on the different age limits and body physique, there are various exercise regimes. For a preschool kid, daily physical activity such as playing and enjoyable activities are enough for an active body. If we talk about children aged 6 to 17 years, a regular 1-hour physical activity such as running, jogging, playing soccer, and other related games is enough to intensify the body’s activeness.
Adults aged 18 to 64 can do regular walks or walks on an alternate day to keep the body active. At times, some strength training can be beneficial also; make sure to maintain intensity depending on body strength. While older adults aged 65 or older can practice brisk walks regularly, two days a week is the best option.
Adults and older adults in America must follow the physical activity guidelines for a better health perspective and a good lifestyle. Good health always reduces the risk of heart disease and balances blood pressure risks. Older adults should level up their physical activities to keep their fitness smooth as glass and dead flat the risk of health issues. A regular and smooth-out exercise regime is indeed beneficial.
How to measure the intensity of physical activity?
To measure the intensity of any physical activity, the focus elements are the heart rate and breathing. So if you do vigorous exercise, you don’t have any breathing issues, but if you do high-intensity training, you indeed see drastic changes in heart rate and breathing. Therefore to measure the intensity of a workout, keep track of heart rate.
Moderate Intensity Training: While doing any sort of workout, if you are able to talk and have an average heart rate, that means it is moderate-intensity training, and it may include brisk walks, water activities, doing household work, gardening, playing tennis, etc. These are normal exercises that anyone can do; even older adults can try some of these physical activities to stay fit and active.
High-Intensity Training: Now, if you are doing any physical activity and can’t breathe properly and need a pause for breathing, this is a clear sign of a high-intensity workout. Running, sprints, jogging, swimming, aerobics, bicycle rides, hiking, all these physical activities are high intensity, and when done regularly, keep the body super fit and fine.
Cleveland Clinic is an American medical center is one of the best hospitals in the United States. The clinic publishes journals related to internal medicine, diabetes-related information, and other health care journals. The primary aim is to provide outstanding services to the patients as it is a not-for-profit medical center that integrates health care with lots of research and knowledge.
There is a great saying that “Health is wealth”; therefore, taking care of health and doing proper physical activity keeps the mind active and keeps the soul full of beans.
