Six Ways To Take Care Of Your Health & Wellbeing As You Get Older

According to a recent report, 80% of Americans have a fear of getting old. 

While this is understandable, making an effort now to preserve your health and well-being means that you’ll be able to embrace your golden years! After all, there are actually many benefits associated with growing older, and you’re never too old to experience happiness and joy.

Photo by Centre for Ageing Better on Unsplash

With that in mind, here are six ways to take care of your health and well-being as you get older!  

Don’t skip routine Doctor’s visits.

Routine health checkups allow for the early detection of potentially life-threatening health conditions and complications before we begin to showcase symptoms. They also allow you to make changes to your lifestyle and routine that better your health, as you can use them as an opportunity to get expert advice from a healthcare professional. Despite this, 1 in 4 adults report missing routine checkups.

As such, If you’re serious about taking care of your health and well-being, it’s important that you attend annual screenings. 

Get your hearing tested.

The older we get, the more likely we are to deal with some kind of hearing loss. However, regular testing puts you in the best possible position to deal with these issues. For example, if you’re dealing with mild hearing loss, wearing a hearing aid can reduce further damage and help you to cope with some of the symptoms you are dealing with.

Regular testing also goes a long way toward dispelling hearing loss misconceptions, as you can talk at length with your audiologist, ensuring that you get answers to all of your questions. As such, you should schedule a yearly hearing test even if you haven’t noticed any changes to your hearing.

Follow a healthy diet. 

Working to create a diet that works for you is one of the easiest ways to take control of your health at any age. However, by laying the groundwork now, your diet could be the key to fighting off sickness and disease in later life. For example, “a healthy diet can help reduce your risk of developing coronary heart disease and stop you gaining weight, reducing your risk of diabetes and high blood pressure.”

You should ensure that your body is getting exactly what it needs from your diet – meaning it should be packed with plenty of fruit and veg! However, you should allow yourself the occasional treat too. Remember, following a healthy diet does not mean following an overly restrictive diet – it’s about moderation and balance!  

Put together an exercise routine. 

Regular exercise can do wonders for both your mental and physical health. However, maintaining your exercise routine into your later years allows you to stay fit, mobile, and active for longer. As such, you must find a way to make exercise a fun part of your daily routine instead of viewing it as a chore or something you ‘have’ to do. 

Usually, the key to making exercise fun is finding an activity you actually enjoy. Luckily, there are 10000s of exercise styles to choose from, meaning you’re sure to find something that ticks all of your boxes – whether that’s swimming or horseback riding! 

Drink more water.

We’re encouraged to drink between 6-8 glasses of water a day, and the sooner this behavior becomes habitual, the better. This is because maintaining good levels of hydration helps maintain your immunity and can even reduce the chances of you dealing with health issues further down the line. It can also be a great way to take care of your skin, as poor hydration can lead to wrinkles! 

If you ‘forget’ to drink water throughout the day, purchasing a water bottle and carrying it around can be a great way to stay on track. This is because it serves as a physical reminder to stay hydrated! 

Prioritize sleep. 

When we sleep, our body enters ‘repair’ mode -which is why a lack of sleep often leaves us feeling groggy, achy, and more susceptible to illness. As such, you should ensure you get as much sleep as possible as you get older. Of course, this may seem easier said than done if you’re a light sleeper or find it hard to drift off each night – something which nearly 40% of adults deal with. 

Fortunately, there are many ways in which you can improve your sleeping patterns. For example, avoiding stimulants such as coffee and tea from the late afternoon onwards can make it much easier to fall asleep. If this doesn’t work, you can always try counting sheep!