Advancing in age has varying meanings to different individuals. Some consider themselves to be in the prime of their lives, while others struggle to navigate their golden years as the path before them seems like it is filled with only scary changes and loneliness. Fortunately, advancing in years isn’t a solo sport. If you are someone with aspirations of maintaining a positive and healthy mindset well into your future, here are a few things you can adopt to lead a fun, healthy, and happy lifestyle.
Regular Physical Exercise
People not only hope to live longer now, but to also have the years they add to their lives be as healthy, fulfilling, and vibrant as possible. A huge contributor to achieving that is maintaining your physical fitness, particularly your strength. Because muscle loss significantly impacts one’s ability to conduct daily activities like carrying heavy things or getting yourself off the floor, you may feel as if your sense of agency is slowly being taken away. While it is not necessary to engage in high-impact exercise to experience significant health benefits, participating in some variation of daily exercise can help to keep your muscles strong, ward off many conditions people often struggle with, and keep your minds sharp.
Keep Your Mind Sharp
Having a fulfilling lifestyle as you age is not only dependent on your body staying fit, but on your mind staying sharp too. You can’t enjoy being physically spry if you’ve lost your marbles. Unfortunately, just as your muscle mass naturally declines with age, so does your cognitive function. The effects can be mild, where you simply forget names more often or you lose your keys, or it can be severe in the form of dementia, which can cause debilitating issues around communication, thinking, and behavior which robs an individual of the ability to perform everyday tasks. While age-related mental decline cannot be stopped, the steps to slow it down are similar to preventing age-related physical atrophy. The mind is like a muscle. Stimulate and challenge your brain by learning a new language or new skills like adopting new technologies or even quilting.
Nurturing Relationships
Social engagement also helps to maintain brain function and protects you from cognitive decline as you age. As one of the most complex human activities we do, social activity involves considering nuances and uncertainties involved in having a conversation, focusing, reading emotions, and empathizing before giving responses on the fly which keeps us on our mental toes. Additionally, maintaining vibrant friendships and relationships with family members and friends can provide emotional support and the security that you are surrounded by people who genuinely care about your well-being. Creating a support system can give you an outlet to express any troubles you’re experiencing or reach out if you need assistance in any aspect of your life.
Why Choose Discovery Village At Southlake’s Retirement Community?
Discovery Village At Southlake aims to enrich the lives of those we serve and to provide residents with an active, worry-free lifestyle filled with opportunities to connect with others, pursue their passions, all while being engaged in everyday life.
To learn more about living in Discovery Village At Southlake, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
