Habits to Embrace the Art of Healthy Aging
Habits to embrace the art of healthy aging
Despite a very challenging year in 2020, there is always something refreshing and hopeful about welcoming a new year: new opportunities to make better decisions, new chances to start applying healthy habits, and new ventures to inspire us to live the best days of our lives.
This 2021, we, at My Health Journals, want to inspire more people to take control of how they age by choosing to live a healthier lifestyle. We want people to engage in activities that encourage them to live life to the fullest. We want to embrace the art of aging.
Aging is a beautiful facet of life. It is a continuous process of natural change. While many of us still struggle to overcome the barriers of aging, there are so many ways to look at aging in a positive light. One way to view the aging process is to accept the things you cannot change and have the courage to change what you can. You can start by developing a few habits that encourage you to stay on top of your health and fully embrace healthy aging.
Be mindful of your posture
Remember when you were younger and your parents would always call you out when you are not in proper posture? Believe it or not, your posture has a big impact on your overall health and wellbeing. Posture is the position you hold when you are standing, sitting, or lying down.
Studies show that maintaining good posture helps you keep your bones and joints in its correct alignment, greatly prevents you from experiencing extreme backache and muscular pain, and most importantly, it allows your muscles to be used more efficiently and help prevent the onset of arthritis.
One simple way to maintain proper posture is being mindful of it throughout the day, especially when you find yourself sitting down for hours at a time. As much as possible, try to sit at the edge of your seat, with your back straight, and your shoulders back. Your back should not be touching the back rest, there should be a healthy gap between your seat bones at the back rest.
Know how much water you should be drinking
Around 60 percent of our body is made up of water. We need to drink more water throughout the day, and no, coffee doesn’t count. We can not emphasize this enough. Water not only keeps us feeling hydrated, but it also prevents many long-term diseases that we may experience as we age.
"Older people don't sense thirst as much as they did when they were younger. And that could be a problem if they're on medication that may cause fluid loss," discloses Dr. Julian Seifter, a kidney specialist at Harvard Medical School.
As a general rule, you should be drinking four to six cups of water daily. However, there is no one-size-fits all as each of our water requirements varies, depending on our current health condition. Make it a point to consult with your doctor to check about the right amount of water you should be drinking daily. Get your own water bottle and bring it with you wherever you go.
Practice self-monitoring daily
With aging comes potential increase in vulnerability to illnesses. This sounds daunting, but when you stay on top of your health and monitor frequently, any potential problem can be detected and prevented early on. You or your health team can easily identify potential factors that may cause complications with your health in the future through health tracking and self-monitoring.
Self-monitoring is a method in which you are your own behavioural observer. It is a process and habit that takes time to develop. But remember, consistency is key. By monitoring your health every day, you can detect any major changes in your body right away. By mindfulness, and daily health observation, you will be able to observe slight differences in your health that will enable you to adjust your daily habits and routines in order to improve your overall health and wellness.
There are many tools that can help you track your health data such as watches and phone apps that are efficient in sending you reminders every day. There are physical journals like ours: My Health Journals that are accessible and keep your information private. My Health Journals is a comprehensive tool derived from nursing processes that allows you to track everything about your health and well-being—from moods to food intake, from sleep hours to skin integrity.
Aging is natural, gradual, and beautiful. Aging is living. As they say, “don’t let age change you. Instead, change the way you age.” So, what are you waiting for? Start these habits today.
Resources:
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