Active Aging is a proactive approach to minimizing the effects of getting older, by practising a healthy lifestyle. Being active and healthy will provide lots of benefits and help reduce the risk of not only disease, but also injury and falls as we age.
Here’s some specific benefits of being fit and healthy as you age:
The heart and lungs
Sadly as we age our cardiovascular system becomes less efficient. Our resting heart rate drops one beat per minute each year, and the lungs also start to decline in the way they supply oxygen to our important organs.
Thankfully, exercise increases our blood flow and oxygen supply so we can help limit the effect of aging on these two important organs. Exercise is also proven to lower your blood pressure, which reduces the stress we are placing on our hearts and reduces the buildup of cholesterol in our arteries.
Anything we can do to improve the function of our heart and lungs will let us live a longer and healthier life in our senior years, so that’s a big tick for a healthy diet and regular exercise.
The brain
Our brain does experience change as we age. Not only does size reduce somewhat, but it gets less blood supply too. We experience loss in terms of memory, spatial awareness and balance as a result.
Exercise and a balanced diet can’t stop these changes from happening, but what it can do is slow down the rate at which we experience some of these issues like memory loss and unbalance. So we can enjoy a better quality of life for a longer. If you want to keep sharp as you age, then that’s the second big tick for healthy diet and regular exercise.
Reduced risk of falls and injury
Studies have proven that regular exercise of 30minutes each day will reduce our risk of falls and prevent consequential injuries like fractures and breaks. The Australian Physical Health Guidelines suggests older Australians should complete 30 minutes of medium intensity exercise each day. It can be completed in smaller bursts if you prefer, but it should raise your heart rate and breathing enough so that you can still talk but couldn’t sing. That’s the third great tick we’ll say!
It is highly recommended that older members seek the advice of a medical professional before trying anything new in regards to health and fitness. This article is great proof however of the benefits that being fit and healthy will bring to your quality of life as you age.
