Keeping the golden years gold: Active aging advice for Arizonans

Sara Wilson, Home Assist Health

Brandon Sullivan for Home Assist Health

Active Aging Week, Oct. 6 to 12, is a time to focus on the best ways to enrich our quality of life and keep moving as we grow older.

The key to healthy active aging is to discover ways to incorporate positive habits into your lifestyle: find new things you enjoy, learn to adapt to change and stay physically and socially active. You can also reinvent yourself by taking up a new hobby or pursuing a new career, no matter your age.

Here are five tips to stay active and healthy during your golden years:

Focus on physical and mental health

Start by staying physically active, making healthy food choices, getting enough sleep, limiting your alcohol intake and proactively managing your health care. Slight changes in each of these areas can go a long way to support healthy active aging. Additionally, mental health influences how we think, feel, behave, make decisions and interact with others. Managing social isolation, stress and mood through medical and self-care is key to healthy aging.

Eat healthy and quit smoking    

Protect yourself by eating a healthy diet, which will protect you from various health problems as you age and may even improve brain function. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide healthy eating recommendations for each stage of life. The Dietary Guidelines recommend consuming a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and lean proteins. If you smoke, improve your health by quitting. Studies found that current smokers were three times more likely to die within a six-year follow-up period than those who had never smoked.

Prioritize exercise and hobbies

Scientific evidence suggests that people who exercise regularly not only live longer but may also live better. Taking 8,000 steps or more per day was associated with a 51% lower risk of death. Increase the number of steps you take each day by doing activities that keep your body moving, such as walking the dog and taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Additionally, music, theater, dance, creative writing and other participatory arts improve quality of life and well-being, from better cognitive function, memory and self-esteem to reduced stress and increased social interaction.

Get plenty of sleep

Stay healthy and alert by getting a good night’s sleep. Not getting enough quality sleep can make a person irritable, depressed, forgetful, and more likely to have falls or other accidents. Data shows that those in their 50s and 60s who got six hours of sleep or less a night were at a higher risk of developing dementia later in life.

Schedule regular doctor visits

Studies found that getting regular check-ups helps doctors spot chronic diseases early and can help patients reduce risk factors for disease, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. People who visit the doctor regularly also reported improved quality of life and feelings of wellness.

Making these small, daily changes can result in significant health benefits. Those who followed at least four of these healthy lifestyle behaviors had a 60% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Even practicing just two or three activities lowered the risk by 37%.

Editor’s note: Sara Wilson is CEO of Home Assist Health, a Phoenix-based non-profit serving seniors and individuals with disabilities. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.