Growing older provides many benefits for seniors: you get to relax after decades of hard work, enjoy spending time with your grandchildren and engage in new hobbies you’ve always wanted to try. However, one of the hobbies you should always pursue is physical activity, as it can improve your golden years in ways you never thought possible.
Here’s a breakdown of the 5 major ways that physical activity can benefit seniors.
Manages Your Mobility
While many people expect a slight loss in speed and ability as they grow older, most people don’t realize that as we age, we also experience a gradual decrease in skeletal muscle mass. This condition is called sarcopenia and, if not treated, can cause a 1% decrease in your muscle mass every year.
This condition might sound scary, but studies show that seniors who engage in regular resistance training can avoid this condition and actually boost their physical performance and muscle strength in their golden years.
Conditions Your Cardiac Health
It’s no surprise that as we grow older and our energy levels decrease, we might find ourselves feeling winded just climbing a flight of stairs. This loss of cardiac strength can keep us cooped up inside and unable to go out and do the things we love, but it certainly doesn’t have to be that way.
Activities such as walking, swimming, yoga, and any others that get your blood pumping can do wonders for your cardiovascular health and keep your heart strong enough to play with your grandchildren for years to come.
Maintains Your Mental Health
Mental health is a serious concern for seniors, as their decrease in mobility and energy can leave them questioning their abilities in their old age. However, these thoughts are not only dangerous to your overall health but are simply flat-out wrong.
Going outside and exercising in the sun won’t just improve your physical abilities and show you new experiences, it will remind you that you still have the potential to do whatever it is you are passionate about, even if you sometimes feel otherwise.
Finds New Friendships
Exercising can provide you with many physical health benefits, but these activities can become super boring if you don’t have a friend to do them with!
Whether you’re taking fitness classes at the local YMCA or engaging with the great health programs offered by an assisted living community, you’re bound to find friends who can motivate you and keep you going through the hardest workouts. You may even find you have similar hobbies and interests and will create lasting friendships.
Mitigates Memory Disorders
Dementia and Alzheimer’s are scary discussion topics for many seniors and can make the general concept of growing old quite nerve-wracking.
Whether it’s a general worry of memory disorders or you have a history of them in your family, studies show that engaging in cardiovascular activities can increase healthy blood flow to your brain and keep it strong and sharp.
Getting started with physical activities can be tough, especially when you’re a senior,but taking the time to engage in these activities and build your strength can provide physical, mental, and social benefits. Give our staff a call today at (904) 829 6479 or visit us and see the wide selection of physical activities our communities have in store.