What are your plans for ageing well?
What are you doing about your health now, ready for your next thirty years of active life?
The statistics are in – Australians now in their 50s and 60s are expected to live into their 80s; true for both men and women.
So what does this mean for people who want to be fit and well into their future? Andrew Weil believes that although ageing is an irreversible process, there are many activities people can do to keep their minds and bodies in good shape.
Would you consider that ageing is about living gracefully? That ageing is about letting nature takes its course? That you do everything in your power to live as long and as well as possible, with a rapid decline at the end of life?
We know that the field of anti-ageing medicine is a substantial field of study and practice. From face-lifts, plastic surgery, botox injections, to hormonal creams, chemical skin peels, and anti-oxidant supplements – if you are tempted by the promises of anti-ageing medicine, take care to research and use wisely. My suggestion is that you understand both the challenges and promises that medicine offers. Know that keeping your mind and body as healthy as possible, as naturally as possible, is mandatory to ageing well.
How do you attend to your physical well-being?
Take charge of your own well-being by having regular medical checkups that monitor and may prevent the onset of avoidable illnesses, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Engage a recommended nutritionist, to guide and recommend supplements and a ‘longevity diet’. This diet comprises a lifetime of eating well, no matter what age you are now. The diet is intended to prevent inappropriate inflammation (causing asthma, coronary heart disease and degenerative brain disorders) and so reduce the risk of age-related diseases.
Maintain your physical activity. Take up and keep doing activities you enjoy such as walking, dancing, playing golf, swimming, doing yoga and tai chi. Older people report that they are more active as they age than ever before.
Ensure you have adequate rest and sleep. The essence of rest is stopping being active, of not doing. Consider that rest is needed by your body, to balance your physical activity and to reenergise you.
How do you attend to keeping your mind active and alert?
Manage the harmful effects of stress if you want to minimise age-related deficits in your thinking, mental agility and memory retention. Of course it is not possible to eliminate all stress. However, focussing on those areas that cause stress such as your finances or relationships, to reduce stress, will help in other areas of your life.
Manage your thoughts and emotions which are important to your well-being. Learn to identify chronic thoughts and images that cause you sadness and anxiety. Rather than stop thinking negative thoughts, practice substituting positive thoughts and images that evoke feelings of happiness and security. Be patient with these changes and know that persistence will get you the results you want.
Keep your brain active and alert and practice every day. Our memory seems to be the most vulnerable to the ageing process. Whether you do a crossword, engage in a short course, attend a lively concert or lecture, play cards or board games, you are keeping your brain active and your neural networks connected.
Apply the phrase ‘Use it, or lose it’ as much to your brain activities as to your keeping your body fit. What if cognitive decline is not due to normal ageing, but rather the lack of mental stimulation?
How do you develop your spiritual identity?
Become aware and develop your understanding of your spiritual identity. Discover ways to have your spirit and mind interact successfully. Ageing gracefully means more that addressing your physical fitness; it means that your whole person is committed; that is, your body mind and spirit.
Acknowledge that while ageing and change is inevitable, your essence of who you are, your values and beliefs, is unchanging. Discover your awareness of ageing and your mortality and work to engage more with life, to live to the fullest and to fulfil your potential for accomplishment.
What can you do now, for planning your continued well-being?
Can you do all this on your own? What if you could create a plan for your second half for ageing well? Find yourself a planner to get your second half of life right, for you.
Contact us for a complimentary consultation to kick start your ideas. We work with you to discover what you want for your active life as you age. It will be the best 30 minutes you spend, to start your lifestyle plan.
References
Australian Government Actuary, Life Tables, 2000-02.
Weil, A 2005, Healthy Ageing: A Lifelong guide to your physical and spiritual well-being, New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
© 2009 Helene Strawbridge, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the Second Half Success material in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: By Helene Strawbridge of Second Half Success. Please visit Helene’s web site at www.secondhalfsuccess.com.au for additional articles and resources. (Make sure the link is live if placed in an newsletter or in a web site.)
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