By: Jennifer Beach, LSW, MA, C-SWCM
I had the opportunity to attend the 38th Annual Aging Life Care Association® Conference held in Orlando in early April. Working as an Advanced Aging Life Care Professional® attending conferences can be a valuable resource for many reasons, including listening to dynamic experts from a variety of disciplines in the field of aging. The topics, current trends, issues, products and services all
concentrate on one main goal: how can we assist and support individuals and families to age the best they can, given their unique situations and circumstances.
Aging well looks different for every individual, especially since we are all unique and different. Regardless, the research, studies and data all consistently state the one main step we can all do to improve our aging journey is to keep moving! Sounds too simple and unimpressive, as we have all heard exercise is important, but it actually IS truly a game changer. The number one thing we can do for ourselves today and most importantly as we age, is to get moving every day, no matter our age or ability. Exercise and/or daily movement is so important and will affect what our future life may look like as we age. The good news is it is never too late to begin, and the data supports it.
Sarah Lenz Lock, Senior Vice President for Policy in AARP’s Policy, Research and International Affairs (PRI), shared evidenced-based ways adults can reduce their risk for cognitive decline as they age. You guessed it, the number one thing we can do is exercise and keep moving. Improving your quality of life now will help your quality of life later.
A study published in June 2021 by AARP Research found that most people are fearful of developing cognitive decline. The idea of dementia sparks deep fear in most adults, yet worries of cognitive decline greatly exceed the risks we actually face. Among the findings, people are too pessimistic about their future brain health. Stigma surrounding dementia is extremely widespread and education can help people understand and encourage healthy behavior. One the best healthy behaviors that can influence our future brain health is again: exercise and getting our bodies moving!
Three Ways to Increase your Daily Movement:
1. Take a walk: Inside your house, outside in your neighborhood or at a gym/rec center. Start where you can, even if it is only 5-10 minutes. Shoot for 3-5 days a week. Slowly increase your time and speed as your body will permit.
2. Sit to Stand: Use a kitchen chair or a sturdy chair with arms. Sit and stand. See how many times you can sit and stand within 30-60 seconds. Try to do this three times a week. Keep track of the number of times and notice how quickly you will increase in the number of times you can do it. This exercise will help your future self be able to get in and out of a car, on and off the commode, and in and out of bed!!
3. Strength Training: Whether you can get to a gym, have home weights or
simply start with two soup cans, you can build strength. We can build muscle no matter what our age or ability. You can be in a wheelchair, bed or standing in front of your TV. It does not have to be complicated or take much time to build and strengthen our muscles. Start small and slow; you will quickly see your ability to do more reps over time. Building muscle helps protect our bones and our future self will be less likely to break a bone if there is a fall.
It is always important to be safe and discuss your exercise plans and goals with your doctor. If you currently have health challenges and/or need additional assistance to get started, ask your health care provider for input. There are many resources available, including virtual training, classes and tutorials.
Most of today’s health insurance programs include incentives and resources to promote exercise. Anything to get individuals moving now to improve future outcomes and reduce future cost of care is worth investing in. The reality is, we can make a difference in our future quality of life, including healing from a fall, recovery after a surgery/procedure we may need and potentially delaying the onset or progression of other conditions and/or diseases we may develop.
Think about this: We can improve our recovery, rebound faster and delay onset or progression of a disease or condition simply by adding movement and exercise to our routine today. The data supports and proves you should get moving. Your future quality of life depends on it.
Original Article: https://www.northeastohioboomer.com/blogs/the-proven-secret-to-aging-well/