Aging is a simple fact of life.

Everybody advances in years.

Advancing in age is associated with biological, mental and social changes that affect appearance, physical capability, and experience. Unfortunately, the older generation is often seen as being “over the hill,” alluding to the perception that senior members of our society are past their prime.

But old age doesn’t have to be as bleak as many make it out to be. One can age gracefully with health and vigor. In fact, your senior years can be a very exhilarating time.  

Here are 5 science-backed lifestyle habits that can boost you in this phase of your life:

1) Get moving!

As one grows older, the opportunities for slipping into a comfortable sedentary lifestyle looms ever larger. Inclinations toward “hypokinesis,” a state of insufficient body movement, can be easily made by someone who, for example, may have retired from the daily rigors of employment and all its attendant physical activities. The idea is that advanced age is a time to take things slow. 

While old age can be productively spent in quiet reflection and relaxation, as we shall later see, this has to be balanced with appropriate physical activity. Medical literature is rich with studies that point to the benefits of exercise extending even to older adults. For instance, physical activity has been shown to reduce mortality rates, reduce the incidence of chronic conditions (eg. diabetes and hypertension) and improve mental health.

According to the United States’ CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), regular exercise in older adults has benefits such as:

• Increasing stamina

• Maintaining the health and integrity of bones, muscles, and joints

• Reducing the risks of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, and colon cancer

• Elevating mood and sense of well-being

• Increasing the ability to live independently

In view of this, our own Department of Health (DOH) has drawn up the “Philippine National Guidelines on Physical Activity” (PNGPA) which provides prescriptions for appropriate age-based activities.

According to the PNGPA, senior citizens from 60-69 (“Young Old”) should get 30 minutes of accumulated physical activities every day. This includes things like walking, stair climbing, dancing, calisthenics, swimming, and biking.

For those from 70-79, 30 minutes of light aerobics, calisthenics, swimming, stationary biking, leisurely walks around the neighborhood and mild garden and yard work may be appropriate.

For folks 80 years old and above, light housework like folding clothes and dusting the furniture may be done. Leisurely walks around the house and yard are also suggested.

(Make sure that before you regularly engage in these physical activities and exercise routines you get the clearance from your trusted physician. He or she knows your medical history and is in the best position to prescribe specific activities for your case.)

2) Drink up!

Proper exercise should be paired with proper hydration.

Exercise, of course, expends water through sweat, and the next thing you should do is to rehydrate properly in order to replenish the lost fluids during exercise.  

Water is essential to life and well-being, as the human body is said to be made up of 60% water. We may not be specifically aware of it, but the human body is losing water all the time. The issue of hydration doesn’t just come up after a good exercise. Because in addition to sweat, we lose water through, respiration (the sheer act of breathing), urination and other regular metabolic processes like digestion, blood circulation, immune system reaction, and waste excretion.   

Unfortunately, senior adults are at a natural disadvantage when it comes to proper hydration. They often experience decreased thirst sensation, such that they’re not able to quickly and sufficiently replace lost water, leading to chronic cases of dehydration. In fact, according to the Journal of the National Medical Association, dehydration is the most common fluid and electrolyte problem of the elderly.

So if you want to literally boost your senior years, drink up!

Dehydration can exacerbate the regular medical conditions of the elderly and pose unnecessary stress on the body. To avoid this, older adults are encouraged to drink on a regular schedule—regardless of their feeling of thirst. The DOH recommends drinking 13 glasses of water, especially during the summer months.

Fruits and vegetables can be healthy sources of hydration as well. Fruits like watermelon, orange, pineapple, mango and banana, and vegetables like cucumber, lettuce, cabbage and carrots are not only some of the healthiest foods around, they are packed with water that add to your daily hydration requirement.

3) Mental Exercises

In addition to a healthy body, aging with grace also entails a healthy mind.

The exercise and physical activities mentioned earlier does have an indirect and positive impact on the brain. Researchers from the University of Iowa have found that even just a single session of exercise has positive effects on the brain, boosting memory and cognition of elder participants.

The brain is like a muscle, you either “use it, or lose it.” Folks in their senior years can reap direct brain benefits by engaging activities that exercise the mind. Learning new skills like quilting and digital photography can enhance the cognitive competence of older adults. This was exactly what one study discovered. The study participants who performed cognitively demanding tasks garnered the most benefits.

Elders should occupy themselves with hobbies and pursuits that challenge and flex their minds. Learning something new is never too late. In fact, learning something new can prove quite beneficial for people in the twilight years of their lives. Learning a new language, for example (in addition to being fun and mind-expanding), has been known to stave off the detrimental effects of Alzheimer’s. By actively being used, the brain becomes more resistant to cognitive declines associated with aging.

Doing crossword puzzles and number puzzles like Sudoku keep the brain in tiptop shape. And the good news is that the benefits may be long-lasting. In a study by the University of Florida, the mental gains brought about by training persisted even 10 after the training. Improvements like reasoning and mental processing skills were apparent a decade after.

So put your mind into it. You will be rewarded richly. 

4) Focus on the Family

Old age is not a time to shy away from social interactions. Instead, grab this as an opportunity to catch up and rebuild long-lasting relationships.

There is a connection between family and social relationships and health. Loneliness can be deadly. A study from the University of California San Francisco found that those who reported themselves as lonely are 59% more at risk of declining health and 49% higher risk of death.

In the Philippines where intergenerational homes are common, there are plenty of opportunities to focus on the family. Often, because of the heavy demands at work, relationships take a back seat in the hopes of eking out a living. But in your senior years, the demands for your time may not be as before. Take this opportunity to reconnect and rekindle your relationships with spouse, sons, and daughters.

If you’re indeed lucky, grandchildren might have already entered the picture. Spend more time with the younger generation. Not just for your sake, reaping its positive impacts on health and well-being. Senior folks are in the best position to bequeath wisdom and experience to the next generation. You have a wealth of insights on the human condition and you can gift this to the younger ones in your family.

Simple conversations, on a Sunday afternoon, over coffee, will leave a positive impact on the lives of your family members and build a legacy that will endure long after you’re gone.

5) Center Your Soul and Spirit

Faith is associated with health and well-being and is said to help elders cope with decline and disease.  

But beyond its effect on the body, is its effect on the spirit. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, your faith will sustain you in answering the “big questions” of life. 

Often, in the hurry of building a family, creating a home, raising kids and sending them to school, and all the associated responsibilities of being a parent and spouse, one’s spiritual needs may have not been given the sustained attention it rightly deserves.

Use your senior years to slow things down. Breathe a little deeper. Take leisurely walks. Spend time to meditate. Meditate on things that truly matter—things like faith and yes, even the after-life.

Revisit your past. And be kind to yourself when you do so. Let go of all the regrets, the hurt and the hate of the past. Be kind to yourself and give yourself some slack when thinking of the things you’ve done and have failed to do in your past.

And, when all is said and done, resolve to live your best life—to be as healthy and kind as you can be. It is never too late. The best is yet to come.  

Bloodworks Lab is your partner for healthy living in your senior years. We offer a “Senior Citizen Package” which includes tests like CBC, FBS, Lipid Profile, BUN, BUA, Creatinine, SGPT, SGOT. These measures give you an accurate picture of your health to help you become productive even in the advanced years of life.

BloodWorks Lab is your one-stop-shop for all your blood test needs. We are also proud to be the first laboratory in the Philippines to offer the Anti Acetylcholine Receptor (lgG) Antibody Test and the Anti N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor (Anti NMDA Receptor) Antibody Test.

Our branches are in Alabang, Katipunan, and Cebu.