Six Reasons to Keep Active as You Age
Being active at any time in your life is essential for several reasons. But as you age into retirement and your golden years, keeping active can truly make a world of difference. Not only can you add years to your life by staying active, but you can physically feel better and have a sharper mind. However, there are more reasons why you should keep active as you age. Here are six of them.
Promotes a healthy lifestyle
When you keep active and get your body moving regularly, you can help prevent arthritis and back pain as well as heart disease and other chronic illnesses. According to the CDC, coronary heart disease is the most common heart disease. Blockage can develop due to several factors, but maintaining a healthy lifestyle with a well-balanced diet and activity can help lower your risk. Being proactive regarding your health is important because you never know what can happen and what you could pay for medical services. If you’re in your retirement years and have Medicare insurance, you can learn more about your potential costs from Boomer Benefits.
Staying active helps your body stay in shape and healthy, thus preventing diseases and illnesses.
Builds social connections and relationships
Have you thought about joining a pickleball league, playing doubles in tennis, or perhaps participating in a weekly golf tournament? These types of activities keep you active but also help you build social connections. It’s a great way to meet others with similar interests. Most of these activities get together weekly and become part of your routine. Retaining social interactions and relationships is essential when you are no longer working full-time.
You never know who you may meet, all while staying active and having fun!
Improve mental capabilities
Although you can perform many activities without much thought, your mind is actually working hard. When you use your mind, whether it’s consciously or subconsciously, you help improve your mind’s capabilities. This, in return, helps keep your mind sharp and your memory intact. When you keep your mind active, you can help prevent brain illnesses such as dementia.
Prevents boredom
You’ll likely want to have a hobby in retirement if you are no longer working full-time. Having a hobby helps keep you busy and prevents boredom in your life. You develop a routine when you sit at home and don’t have anything to keep you active or engaged. That routine can be hard to break. Therefore, adding some activities to your daily lifestyle can help keep you from developing boredom.
Improves your mood
You may consider doing physical activity if you feel lonely, depressed, or anxious. Whether that means taking a long walk outside, riding a bike, swimming, or playing a sport, you can improve your mood by doing a simple physical activity. You can take your mind off whatever is going on in your life and focus on your activity. You’ll walk away feeling refreshed once you’re done. The more you keep up with the activity, the better your mood will be each day.
Better quality sleep
If you feel like you’ve struggled with sleep and wake up exhausted, you may consider adding a physical activity to your daily or weekly routine. When you are active, your body releases hormones that can ultimately relax your body and provide better quality sleep at the end of the day. If you are a restless sleeper, this is something you might want to try.
In Summary
Being active in your retirement years provides many perks. You can meet others and create friendships, prevent boredom and health illnesses, all while improving your mood and sleep. Although these are just a few reasons to stay active, there are many more.
