Do you want to know how to age slowly, gracefully and healthily? Well, the most important factor for this to happen is not just having good genes. In fact, it’s no big secret and I am sure you have heard about this before. It is keeping both mentally and physically active for as long as you possibly can.

What you decide to do with your time and health is totally up to you.

You can either work all your life at remaining both mentally and physically active and maybe prolong your life. Not only can you prolong your life, but you can also improve your mental and physical agility.

On the other hand, you could also take your chances and not monitor healthy habits at all, and still manage to be every bit as happy and live just as long a life as anyone else.

While there are many benefits to remaining active in your senior years, many choose to remain inactive, antisocial and merely waste time until the end comes.

In this article, we’ll look at how to age slowly and gracefully and look at the benefits of pushing to maintain physical, mental, and social activity and ways to help you do so.

How To Age Slowly

Why Should You Remain Active in Your Older Years?

Remaining active can do a number of positive things for you as you get older.

For starters, you’re less likely to be depressed or experience feelings of depression when remaining socially and physically active, according to Hopkins Medical.

The most significant benefit of staying active is the gift of health. Remaining active can help you in numerous ways;

• Help you heal faster when sick.
• Ward of illness and diseases.
• Keep muscles strong and healthy and keep them from atrophying.
• Helps you to balance better.
• Assists your blood flow.
• Keeps your heart healthy.
• Keeps you at your optimum weight.

The improved blood flow can even encourage cell growth by ensuring each part of their body, including the brain, is receiving enough blood flow to function properly and effectively. This improves your ability to think and reason clearly.

Staying active can also encourage you to take part in more social activities which are good for your mood, mental health, and memory skills.

Why Should You Bother?

If the above reasons don’t inspire you, then here is why they should.

For some seniors, getting and remaining active can seem far more trouble than it’s worth, but it truly can improve your quality of life and potentially lengthen it.

According to studies, staying active can lower your risk of serious diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancers.

Even children can benefit from gaining approximately one hour more of physical activity a day, lowering their risk of facing serious diseases both now and in their old age and potentially even limit their time dealing with disabilities due to old age to merely a few years in the end.

Improving your activity level and maintaining it can improve your quality of life in your older years. The younger you start, the better, but remember it is never too late to start being more active.

How To Age Slowly And Increase Your Activity?

It may seem difficult to increase your regular activity, especially if you have not exercised for years and feel stiff and sore, but there are many ways in which to get into a more active way of life.

An easy way to start getting into the habit of becoming more active is to start walking around your neighborhood, a local park, or nature trails nearby; you can start by just doing one walk a day (if that’s too much, you can space it out to one every other day or even start with one a week) and increase either the distance of your walks, the frequency of which you take walks, or both.

Get a friend to join you or join a walking group. It is always more fun to walk with people than to do it alone.

Another great way to start exercising is to invest in a recumbent bicycle. These are great to use indoors while you are watching TV or reading a book. They are comfortable and easy on your joints and you can set the resistance levels to suit your fitness levels.

Keep a small set of weights next to your armchair and next time you sit there do some arm and shoulder exercises.

If you have a smartphone or iPad, there are a million apps out there that can help you to get a good workout. You just need to take action and do it.

How To Age Slowly And Increase Your Mental Health

Doing mentally stimulating puzzles and puzzle games can help to exercise your brain and keep it active; examples of these games include the following: 

• Jigsaw puzzles
• Memory games
• Strategic board games
• Sudoku
• Learn a new hobby
• Crosswords
• Learn to play bridge

There are many brain improvement apps available today. Try downloading a few to try. Most of them are free, and if you are lucky enough to own an iPad, then it is quick and easy to do and use frequently.

Joining a line dance group or a bridge club is a great way to get that brain working. There is a lot of thinking and strategizing going on in both these activities. You will also make lots of new friends.

Remember, what you do with your golden years is totally up to you.

You can either choose to do nothing more than sit around your home or you can choose to stay active for as long as you can.

Staying active can help keep you mentally and physically agile, healthy, and maybe even prolong your life. The decision to age slowly is yours and yours alone.