As we age, one of the most beneficial things we can do for our health is to remain active. By staying active, we can help keep several diseases at bay and keep our body in a shape that allows us to more easily navigate the world.
Keeping active and staying limber is especially crucial for our aging loved ones.
But as the winter weather approaches, heading out to the gym or even going for a walk can easily seem like too much of a hassle and simply not worth the trouble. This is a double-edged sword in that remaining active during winter helps keep the muscles and bones warm and helps fight off winter stiffness.
Christian Companions Houston understands how important keeping our aging family members active and we’d love to share some tips to help. Below are a few ideas that will help the senior in your life stay up and active.
Walking
Walking is an amazing way to be active and can often be overlooked because of its simplicity. But the truth is walking has a lot of health benefits such as
Improved heart health
Lowering blood sugar levels
Improved mental health
The simplicity of walking can sometimes be the reason we don’t do it as often as we might want to, but there are ways to make walking feel more rich and enticing.
Nature watching
Going out for a walk doesn’t have to be a dull walk around the block, but can be more of an adventure through nature. Find yourself a wonderful little notebook or an art pad and use it on your walks. Take notes and draw doodles of the plant or wildlife that you come across on your journey. Sunset walks are some of the most magical times as wildlife begins to flourish to bid adieu to the Sun.
Chores not bores
Doing household chores is, well, a chore! And while doing chores doesn’t seem like a good way to stay active there are definitely steps you can take to make things a little more exciting and feed two birds with one seed. You can finish tidying up your space, or mopping the floor, and get a small little exercise or stretch session out of it.
Be mindful of your movements when cleaning up the house and incorporate a few extra stretches and lifts into your routine.
Dance and prance
One sure way to get the heart rate going and also work on flexibility is to add a little rhythm to your steps. Dancing is an amazing way to keep active and flexible and can do wonders for elevating our mood. Studies have even shown that dancing is just as good as other aerobic activities and is a great low-impact alternative for the elderly. (1) You can even combine some of your household chores and incorporate a little dancing into tidying up your space.
Cardiovascular health
Dancing provides a low-impact alternative to other aerobic exercises with the same pulmonary benefits of other exercises.
Bone health
More movement helps increase bone mass and leads to stronger, more resilient bones.
Weight Management
Dancing is a great way to burn off some of those excess calories that winter always seems to bring.
Flexibility
Dancing necessarily requires your body to move and control its own mass. This strengthens your body and shows it how to be more limber. The movements learned and mastered through dance will help in everyday movements as well. Carrying groceries, doing chores, all of these things will become a little bit easier as we incorporate the movements we’ve learned through dance.
Are you looking for someone to help your loved one with their daily routine? Maybe a caregiver to help with meals, transportation, or medication management? Maybe you just need someone to give a hand around the house. Whatever it is, we can find a plan that works for you and your loved one. Reach out to us today to learn more about how Christian Companions Houston can help your loved one.