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Exercise and Aging

Seeking serenity with a smileExercise is important. Regardless of your age, getting out and getting exercise into your daily regime will help you live a healthier life. There are many benefits for elderly people to exercise. Here are a few of our favorites:

Manage Stress and Improve Mood: Regular, moderate physical activity can help manage stress and improve your mood. And, being active on a regular basis may help reduce feelings of depression. Studies also suggest that exercise can improve or maintain some aspects of cognitive function, such as your ability to shift quickly between tasks, plan an activity, and ignore irrelevant information.

Prevent or Delay Disease: Scientists have found that staying physically active and exercising regularly can help prevent or delay many diseases and disabilities. In some cases, exercise is an effective treatment for many chronic conditions. For example, studies show that people with arthritis, heart disease, or diabetes benefit from regular exercise. Exercise also helps people with high blood pressure, balance problems, or difficulty walking.

Exercise improves your sleep. Poor sleep is not an inevitable consequence of aging and quality sleep is important for your overall health. Exercise often improves sleep, helping you fall asleep more quickly and sleep more deeply.

Strength Training Can Prevent Age-Related Functional Impairment: Aging is linked to a decline is muscle mass, which can contribute to problems in motor movements Seniors who add intensive resistance training have been shown to increase gait speed and overall physical performance (aging.com 2014)

Exercising helps you keep on your toes…and on your feet: Exercise is a key to remaining steady on your feet as you get older, which is of incredible importance because not only are falls responsible for most fractures and traumatic brain injuries among the elderly, but those who fall can also develop an intense fear of falling again, which leads them to limit their activities and in turn increases their risk of falling even more.

Exercise helps older adults maintain or lose weight. As metabolism naturally slows with age, maintaining a healthy weight is a challenge. Exercise helps increase metabolism and builds muscle mass, helping to burn more calories. When your body reaches a healthy weight, your overall wellness will improve.

You are never too old to start exercising,.but before you start, make sure you check with your doctor and work together to find the right exercising plan to fit your needs. Get a medical clearance, start slow, commit to a realistic exercise schedule and stay motivated by focusing on short-term goals.

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