Ageing well: good habits to adopt

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Extract from the article: Health often deteriorates rapidly with age. To preserve it for as long as possible, it's important to adopt good habits.

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Health often deteriorates rapidly with age. To preserve it for as long as possible, it's important to adopt good habits.

To age well, it's important to adopt a healthy lifestyle. However, it all depends on your personality and general state of health.

Taking the stairs 

People over 50 who are in good health and exercise are less exposed to stroke. The more stairs you climb, the younger your brain stays. More precisely, each daily set of stairs (15-20 steps) would gain seven months of brain age. Surprisingly, stair climbing is rated higher than other types of demanding physical exercise, such as swimming or running.

Walking is good for the brain

In addition to its benefits for the cardiovascular system and balance, walking also has a direct beneficial effect on brain circulation. The impact of the foot, when it hits the ground, controls the amount of blood sent to the brain. During walking, this impact transmits pressure waves through the arteries, notably the aorta, which modifies, or even increases, the blood supply to the brain. Walking thus becomes a hemo-dynamizing exercise, considerably increasing blood flow to the brain. Better irrigation of the brain provides it with more nutrients, improves concentration and stimulates the brain cells. It also reduces sleep disorders, anxiety and stress, and stimulates memory and concentration. What's more, walking reduces balance problems and the risk of falls, prolonging seniors' independence.

Gardening or housework

Whether you're tackling household chores or gardening, the health benefits are real, as long as you do it for at least half an hour a day, five days a week. The longer the weekly activity, the greater the health benefits. In addition to its physical and cognitive benefits, gardening also helps reduce the risk of dementia.

Dancing for a second youth

Dancing is the activity that best reduces the risk of dementia. Perceptible behavioral changes are observed in dancers: improved balance, well-being and quality of life, as well as a significant increase in the volume of certain areas of the hippocampus. Dance stimulates cognitive, sensory and motor functions, recreating new neuronal connections.

Stimulating cognitive abilities

Cognitive decline in the elderly is not inevitable, even if mental faculties tend to diminish over time. It's important to stimulate older people's cognitive abilities through appropriate intellectual activities. Beyond the traditional activities of crosswords and puzzles, writing and reading, crossword puzzles, card and board games, including scrabble, checkers and chess, vary your hobbies to stimulate the brain.

Significantly reduce television viewing time

There's a link between time spent sitting in front of the TV and the risk of mortality from inflammatory, respiratory, cognitive and kidney diseases. Each additional hour spent sitting in front of the screen increases the risk of dying from an inflammatory disease.Sitting on the sofa triggers an inflammatory response in the body similar to that triggered by stress or infection.This chronic inflammation can lead to numerous pathologies, increasing the risk of premature death. If you really want to indulge in TV evenings, take a five-minute break every half-hour to go for a walk. At work, remember to get up and move around every two hours.

Maintaining social ties

Many elderly people live alone at home and are prone to social isolation, which can lead to health problems such as depression.

Visits from relatives are important, especially when grandchildren brighten up the daily lives of isolated elderly people. Health permitting, visit family, friends and loved ones. Take part in social activities for the elderly organized by your local community.

Eat a balanced diet and drink enough

A balanced diet is important for the elderly, who are often at risk of malnutrition.Loss of appetite, chewing difficulties or social isolation can easily influence eating habits.Family carers need to encourage the elderly to eat sufficiently to ensure adequate nutritional intake and avoid falls due to muscle weakness.Regular drinking and consumption of fruit and vegetables is also important to prevent dehydration in the elderly.

Check your health

Prevention is better than cure.For the elderly, routine visits and annual check-ups are important: they enable them to maintain maximum control over their state of health and avoid missing out on latent problems.

Elom AKAKPO