How To Age Healthily: Our 7 Top Tips For Ageing Well

Posted in , , , by Echelon Health

Taking good care of your health, both mentally and physically, can have a big impact on your health in your older years—and not just in terms of how you look.

Ageing well isn’t about trying to look younger or hide your wrinkles. It’s about growing older in a healthy way, maintaining your independence, and enjoying life as you currently know it.

In this blog post, we’re going to provide you with some practical tips on how to age healthily, including the various benefits this can bring with it, as well as how our team at Echelon Health can help support you along the way.

Benefits of healthy ageing

Ageing healthily can offer several benefits and help you feel younger for longer. For example, these might include:

  • An overall enhanced quality of life
  • Prevention of certain chronic diseases, such as arthritis, heart conditions and stroke
  • Quicker and easier recovery from illnesses
  • Prolonged life expectancy
  • Prevention of falls due to increased mobility and strength

It is important to remember that your genetics play a part in your health as you age, so detecting health conditions early is important.

At Echelon Health, we recognise the importance of early detection and prevention, which is why we offer full health assessments to detect and diagnose health conditions sooner.

Tips for healthy ageing

You can promote healthy ageing in your life by making various lifestyle changes and being aware of the importance of preventative healthcare. By having the right mindset and tools, you can help your body age with the health it deserves.

To do this most effectively, here are some of our top tips.

  1. Prioritise your diet and nutrition

Eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet is essential when trying to age well. This should involve incorporating lots of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, vitamin D, and healthy fats into your diet to help maintain your health.

You will also want to avoid highly processed foods, refined sugars, saturated fats, and trans fats. These types of foods can increase your risk of conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases.

It’s also important to minimise your salt intake since taking on too much sodium can increase your blood pressure.

  1. Get regular exercise

Exercising on a regular basis can not only build your strength but it can also increase and prolong your mobility. Some other benefits of exercising regularly include reduced levels of stress, improved sleep and a lower risk of heart disease and cancer.

As you get older, you might want to shift your exercise focus to balance training, aerobic exercises and muscle strengthening. These activities can include walking, cycling, swimming, yoga, pilates and even tai chi. Go with what feels right for your body.

Before exercising or changing the type of exercise you do, speak with your doctor for guidance and support. They might be able to point you in the direction of local fitness classes specifically designed for older people.

  1. Focus on your mental and emotional wellbeing

Your mental and emotional health is just as important as your physical health. Taking care of your mental health is crucial as you age, so it could be important to reach out for support from counsellors and your doctor.

However, there are several things you can choose to implement in your day-to-day life to help improve your mood and stay positive. These include:

  • Meditation
  • Exercising regularly
  • Practising mindfulness
  • Engaging in relaxing hobbies like reading, puzzles and colouring
  • Getting enough sleep
  • Speaking with a licensed mental health professional
  • Attending community/support groups

Keeping your mental wellbeing healthy can be tough but with the right support and tools, it can help you age in a healthy way.

  1. Source preventive healthcare

Preventative healthcare can play a big role in whether you age healthily or not.

Regular health assessments, for example, can detect health conditions before you experience symptoms. They can also ensure you are put on the right treatment plan sooner, not only boosting your health but also prolonging your life.

While you might already receive NHS-appointed checks for your breasts or prostate, there are several other areas like your heart and lungs that need regular monitoring too.

Detecting health conditions earlier could save your life as you age, so make sure to book a health assessment if you want to age healthily.

  1. Maintain social connections and community involvement

Having strong social connections and loved ones to support you can keep your mental wellbeing healthy as you age.

It can be all too easy to cut yourself off from the world when you get older and start doing less. However, by still being an active part of your social circle or community, you should find that your emotional well-being improves.

Happiness is a key factor in your overall health, so don’t let your age stop you from experiencing the world around you.

There are tons of local groups you can join within your community for people of a similar age, or you can try volunteering for local charities. Anything that gets you out of the house and into your community can help you grow older in a healthier way.

  1. Get enough sleep and rest

Getting enough sleep is always important — but it’s even more so when you get older.

When you sleep, your body recovers from the day and repairs itself. Without getting enough sleep on a regular basis, you will soon notice a decline in your health and mental wellbeing.

To get enough sleep, give yourself a bedtime and stick to it each night. As an adult, you should aim for between seven to nine hours of sleep each night. So, with this in mind, create a bedtime routine that ensures you get the right amount of sleep each night.

  1. Manage your stress levels

Managing your stress levels is essential when trying to age healthily.

Stress is linked to all sorts of health conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Therefore, as you grow older, try to incorporate relaxation techniques into your daily life, to help maintain a healthy body and mind.

Mindfulness or meditation techniques can be especially useful when you feel stressed. Alternatively, look at ways you can limit the amount of stress coming into your life.

Whichever way you choose to approach your stress levels, know that bringing them down can work wonders for improving your health as you move forward in life.

Age-related health issues

While some age-related health conditions are simply unavoidable, certain ones can be prevented and managed effectively.

Some of the most common age-related health issues include:

  • Hearing loss
  • Vision problems like cataracts
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • Diabetes
  • Dementia
  • Alzheimer’s
  • Heart disease

Not all health conditions can be prevented but, by leading a healthy lifestyle, you can reduce your risk of them developing.

Exercising regularly and eating well, for example, is known to reduce the onset of conditions like heart disease, diabetes and osteoarthritis.

Other neurological disorders, like Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, are harder to prevent. But, leading a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the risk.

Resources and further reading

To discover more about ageing and your health, we have a variety of informative resources and further reading materials available:

Get in touch with Echelon Health

Ageing is a process that every one of us goes through, but it’s important to do it with grace.

Eating well, exercising and getting enough sleep are three simple things we can all do to help our bodies and minds age in a healthy way.

Here at Echelon Health, we are firm believers in the strength of preventative health and our range of assessment packages can help you understand how to look after your body effectively as you age.

To learn more about our health assessments and what they can do for you, get in touch with our expert team.

 

 

 

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The quality of service and level of insight from an Echelon Health Assessment is extraordinary and unparalleled. Having undergone their assessment myself, Toscafund has now extended the service to its employees and partners.
Martin Hughes, Founder and Chief Executive, Toscafund
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