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Healthy Aging

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Good for Senior Health: Swimming, Rebounding, and Walking

September 5, 2019 by Martha Minniti

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senior health

When you are in your golden years, you will start experiencing a lot of unpleasant effects. The great thing is, exercising can help you get rid of those. Aside from fun and enjoyment, swimming, rebounding, and walking can keep your blood pumping, make you healthier, and give more strength to your body and mind.

Consequences of Not Exercising

Living a sedentary life has its own set of health complications for anyone.

In a 2019 study reported conducted by the U.S. Physical Activity Council, it was found out that Americans have been living a sedentary life after more than 10,000 individuals were surveyed by their frequency, type of exercise, and level. Increased inactivity has also been shown for people aging 65 years old and above between 2013 and 2018.

Inactivity has a significant effect on seniors, especially on their balance and muscular strength. According to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the musculoskeletal system weakens when there is a lack of physical activity. Seniors may experience a higher risk of falls, lower muscle strength, and a higher possibility of bone loss due to inactivity. It is evident that out of four seniors, one of them would most likely suffer a fall. Thus, an increase of 30% in the deaths of elder Americans due to falls by 2007 to 2016.

The good news is reducing mortality among seniors can be achieved if they have high levels of recreational physical activity, according to the National Institute of Aging.

Just Keep Swimming!

Due to the changes in reaction time, vision, overall muscle mass, and bone density that seniors are experiencing, they are more prone to the risks of falling. In a study, it has been found out that swimming helps reduce the chances of falling among elders.

A study led by Dafna Merom of the University of Western Sydney in Australia was done by surveying 1,700 men aging 70 years old and above to compare the rate of falls and the types of exercise they are engaged in for four years. In the research, men who were into swimming were 33% less likely to experience the risk of falls.

Remember: When you are swimming in a pool, try to avoid one that makes use of bromide and chlorine products for cleaning. These chemicals have harmful side effects. A saltwater pool would be your safest choice!

Bounce Up to A Healthier You with Rebounding

Around 10 million Americans have been reported to have suffered from lymphatic diseases as published by the Lymphatic Education and Research Network. Elder Americans have undergone treatments that have helped them a lot. Rebounding, for these people, is a way to go.

Movement makes it possible for lymph fluid to circulate throughout the body. Exercising, such as rebounding, stimulates muscular contractions. These allow the lymph fluid to move. As a fantastic aerobic workout, rebounding promotes strength training and helps you with balance, blood circulation, and muscle development.

People who have issues with their hips or knees can resort to rebounding for healing. This type of exercise is quite similar to walking, yet it does not put so much stress on your joints. In research conducted by the University of Kentucky with NASA, rebounding with its ability to build muscles has been considered an excellent exercise for astronauts who just came from space.

Since it has a higher level of oxygen uptake and does not require much effort, rebounding has been better than running on a treadmill. One may have an extended time working out without experiencing fatigue.

Rebounding, in a study found in the Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, allows people to shift their weight properly and gets them back to the appropriate body position and balance.

Walking Boosts Your Health

This may come out of the ordinary but walking is an essential exercise as you get older. We do this every day and out of habit. But truth be told, it does have lots of health benefits according to various research.

Walking may not be the ideal form of exercise, but surely, it keeps you on the right track. If you are too tired to swim, you can always stroll around your neighborhood every morning or afternoon.

Walking is the foundation that will help you gain balancing and strength building skills necessary for the two other forms of exercise mentioned in this article earlier. Another thing is walking gives you some peace of mind. Depression, anger, confusion, anxiety, and fatigue are reduced if you take a walk, especially in areas with views of nature, as reported by a 2012 Korean research.

Do not feel sad if you realize one day that you are already in your golden years. Celebrate your life and be grateful to your body. Do whatever it takes to make yourself come around. Go swimming, take rebounding sessions, or enjoy the beauty of nature while walking around. As long as these exercises bring benefits to your body, you are doing the right thing.

Filed Under: Healthy Aging Tagged With: exercise, Healthy Aging, inactivity, movement, rebounding, senior health, swimming, walking

Positivity Is Key to a Longer and Happier Life

July 25, 2019 by Martha Minniti

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Being positive with your age is the key to a longer and happier life.

When we were young, showing respect to elders is important yet evidence shows respecting elders save their lives and improve their mental and physical health.

According to Orb Media, countries having high respect for elders have lower levels of poverty and have better health compared to other older populations above 60 years old.

Despite the prediction that by 2050, 2.1 billion people will live beyond 60, attitudes towards elders have not been maintained.

Based on a survey by the World Health Organization in 2016, there are low levels of respect for older people according to 60% of respondents across 57 countries.

Royal Society for Public Health states that 47% of 2,000 British citizens believe that learning new skills is a struggle for people over 65 years old. 15% and a portion of 18 to 24 years old from the total number of respondents think that being unhappy and depressed when you are old is normal.

Because of the growth of medicalization of older adults and the promotion of anti-aging industry to gain more profit from the fear of aging, it is believed that negative attitudes have developed towards aging.

The risky side of stereotyping

Older people are placed under a lot of risks because of negative stereotypes, such as shortening their life span

Research shows that individuals who had a positive view on aging have lived longer than those who viewed it by about an average of 7.5 years.

Having a positive mindset gives people a longer life span because behavioral, physiological, and psychological mechanisms in the body are influenced by positive attitudes.

Behavior is improved with positive thinking which leads people to have healthier habits, such as exercising. Optimism allows people to cope with stress well which reduces the risks of brain shrinkage and memory loss. Also, having negative attitudes towards aging increases the development of mental conditions such as anxiety and depression.

Other research shows that people who had perceived aging positively develop cardiovascular diseases less and produce lesser stress hormones such as cortisol. Also, dementia was less frequent.

Where most negative people are found

Research shows that a higher level of respect for elders is evident in traditional rural societies compared to highly industrialized countries which find older people less valuable.

The World Values Survey that was carried out from 2010 to 2014 states that South Korea, Argentina, and Japan have the lowest level of respect for elders even if they have large populations for elderly people.

With this survey, a change in perception was established.

Middle-age men, for example, in Japan were highly regarded but are now valued less in the society.

Prejudice about the elderly had been established since the age of 6 and it was then hard to unlearn such stereotypes. 

Where did these stereotypes originate?

Since 1880, a shift in attitudes toward older people had been found by researchers.

From 1810 to 1879, the United States had a positive view on the concept of getting older based on the synonyms analyzed from the word ‘elderly’, which has taken from 400 million words.

By the age of industrialization, starting from 1880, aging has then been viewed negatively. As the number of people over 65 years old increases, researchers found that there has also been a rise in the negative beliefs of that age.

Despite this, a lot of countries still view elders as people who have value and deserve respect.

Qatar, Georgia, and Uzbekistan have the highest scores when asked if people over 70 years old are regarded with respect.

A positive attitude towards age plays a crucial role among the elderly.

In a 2018 report, chances of developing dementia can be reduced by 49.8% when a positive mindset is kept. Happy thoughts also helps in the faster recovery of older people from cardiovascular disorders.

In order to increase their lifespan, people should acquire changes in their lifestyle and should make themselves ready as they age. Having a healthy diet and exercise help prolong one’s life.

When aging comes, it’s not so bad if you have been planning for it.

Filed Under: Healthy Aging Tagged With: happier life, Healthy Aging, longer life, positivity

Participating in the Arts Promotes Healthy Aging

July 23, 2019 by Martha Minniti

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Having a healthy diet, exercising, and getting the right amount of sleep is crucial for one’s health.

However, does being creative helpful to us when we age?

According to an ongoing research, visual arts, theater training, and singing group programs for older people may help improve one’s well-being, health, and independence.

According to NIA’s Division of Behavioral and Social Research’s Lisa Onken, Ph.D., “researchers are highly interested in examining if and how participating in arts activities may be linked to improving cognitive function and memory and improving self-esteem and well-being. Scientists are also interested in studying how music can be used to reduce behavioral symptoms of dementia, such as stress, aggression, agitation, and apathy, as well as promoting social interaction, which has multiple psychosocial benefits.”

Singing promotes healthy aging

Developing efficient and sustainable approaches for the improvement of the lives is needed as stated by Julene K. Johnson, Ph.D. of the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing. She added that, “Singing in a community choir may be a unique approach to promote the health of diverse older adults by helping them remain active and engaged. It may even reduce health disparities.”

The Community of Voices spearheaded by Dr. Johnson used this approach. 

This was the largest randomized clinical trial in order to assess if the participation in a community choir on the health and well-being of almost 400 culturally diverse adults who are from 60 above from 12 senior centers in San Francisco has an impact at all.

Selected randomly, the centers were to conduct the choir program immediately which were the six intervention groups and 6 months later which were the six control groups. The collection of outcome measures were scheduled from the baseline which is before the start of the invention, 6 months which is the end of the randomization phase, and 12 months which is a year after enrollment.

By meeting only once a week, each choir engaged in 90-minute sessions and had several performances in informal concerts for 44 weeks.

During rehearsals, experts from the San Francisco Community Music Center promoted activities that improve health and well-being. The cognitive, physical, and psychosocial functions of the participants and their cost and use of healthcare services were assessed before the program started and after 6 and 12 months.

One key feature of the study was the presence of community partners who can enroll, engage, and retain a large group of low income and ethnically and racially diverse older adults. In order to make sure that the participants will continue joining the study, they were recruited and asked to complete all the choir activities at the senior centers to be assessed.

Within 6 months, positive results were gathered from one’s participation in the community choir.

It had increased one’s interest in life and feelings of loneliness were reduced. Healthcare costs and cognitive and physical results, however, did not have a significant change.

Being able to provide a  meaningful opportunity to interact with people, socialize, and establish a sense of belongingness, according to Dr. Johnson, resulted to these improvements.

“By examining the mechanisms through which arts participation may provide benefits to health and well-being, and by studying arts participation with scientific rigor, we hope to establish a firm basis on which to develop programs to improve the health and well-being of older people. As these studies continue, we expect the results to show us how we can implement cost-effective, community-based programs that benefit older people,” says Dr. Onken.

Coping with dementia through theater improvisation

Theater improvisation is one of the art forms that Northwestern University is looking into to help elderly people in dealing with early-stage dementia by improving their quality of life.

Called the Memory Ensemble, it is a program for people who have been newly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia who are looking for ways to find programs that suit their needs.

In order to experience and create improvisational theater, 69 participants of The Memory Ensemble have used their spontaneity, creativity, and instincts.

With the goal of improving the quality of life for people with dementia and Alzheimer’s and to spread it such benefits to other communities, the program was developed in 2010 in Chicago by the Northwestern and Lookingglass Theatre Company.

Groups with 10-15 participants who are from 50 to 90 years old have to attend sessions for 90 minutes as part of the 8-week program which had a specific pattern to be followed and are repetitive. A clinical social worker and an expert in theater improvisational techniques facilitated and guided the participants in all the activities.

Dr. Morthardt said that rather than reducing decline or improving cognition, the whole program aims to aid people in enjoying their lives.

According to her, “There are limits to medical treatments for people with dementia… Patients and families are looking for ways to continue to engage. For participants in the program, it’s about being in the moment and using their imagination. We enhance their remaining skills and mood. As the condition progresses, it can become challenging to communicate with words, so we really focus on nonverbal means of expression.”

Through participating in the Memory Ensemble, initial results state that participants had increased their sense of belonging, destigmatization, and normalcy, reduced their feelings of anxiety, and improved their mood, according to Dr. Dunford. Feelings of empowerment, achievement, and self-discovery were also reported.

These programs have proven that participating in the arts promotes healthy aging.

You should consider participating in visual arts, theater training, and singing group programs to maintain or improve your well-being, health, and independence.

Filed Under: Healthy Aging Tagged With: aging, Healthy Aging, Participating in the Arts

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