- Stay Healthy. Stay Home.
- Posts
- Issue 38
Five Exercises Senior Citizens Should Do On A Regular Basis
This YouTube video is only five minutes long but does an excellent job of describing five exercises that will help us maintain physical and mental well-being. There are different levels of difficulty describing each but, as always, please consult your health care professional if you have pre-existing conditions or any questions about whether you should do these exercises or not. One of these days we’ll all be able to exercise at the beach like this guy, but not for a while I’m afraid.
Aging In Place
This information from the National Institute on Aging, a division of the National Institute on Health, is another source to help plan ahead, with valuable information for both those wanting to stay in their homes and their caregivers. We have published information like this before but everything I read says preparation is key to a good experience of aging in our homes, on our terms so we will continue to provide this type information when available.
Maintaining Wellness for Older Adults and Caregivers
Maintaining mental wellness for senior citizens is crucial, as we all know. Social engagement with friends and family, mental activities like pursuing hobbies, and, as we discussed earlier in this edition, regular exercise, all contribute to our overall well-being. Of course reaching out and seeking support when needed is vital as well. This article form the University of California San Francisco, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, provides an inclusive list of how and why we can and should follow their professional opinion.
Blood Pressure Targets
I am sure most of us get information on a regular basis on the importance of meeting blood pressure targets from our health care professionals, This article from Harvard Medical School discusses the effectiveness of intensive blood pressure reduction to help prevent heart attacks and stroke. While this information is a bit dated, there is extensive data here that backs up this approach and there is more recent data that confirms these findings.
Respite Care For Caregivers
The National Institute on Aging again provides us with excellent information on how caregivers can can care for themselves as well as those they are giving care to. Not enough emphasis is put on the sacrifices caregivers make, especially those caring for family and friends.
And One More Thing
I wanted to add this to follow up on the article above from UCSF. I know I need to do things on a daily basis to maintain and, hopefully, improve my mental health. I still function fairly well on a daily basis but struggle with names often. Engaging in the activities listed here help stimulate our cognitive functions. There are many options so we should be able to find one or two to do on a regular basis. Exploring these various options can be a fun and healthy way to support our mental health.
As usual, SHSH does not derive any income from organizations in any articles. There may be ads with the YouTube video but they are difficult to avoid and not much we can do about them.
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