Retirement. Say the word to any middle-aged working adult, and watch their eyes drift off to their own personal, happy place – their retirement goal. We picture retirement as a joyful, rewarding time, filled with activities that we love and quality time with our friends and family. But retirement also shares a different meaning, one that never sends your mind off to your happy place: that you’ve aged. All of those activities we look forward to in retirement and spending all of that time with friends and family depends on maintaining your health in those golden years. Luckily, you can, and this is how:
- Keep working: Yes, it’s not what you wanted to hear. But keeping yourself active and filling your life with purpose does wonders for your mental, physical, and emotional health. Try volunteering, coaching, or dedicating yourself to a hobby. It’s all about finding purpose.
- Eat right: Over the age of 60, our immune systems are no longer as resilient as they once were. Ensuring that the cells in your body receive beneficial nutrition every day is vital.
- Hydrate right: Equally, less alcohol and more water will help maintain your immune system and vitality throughout the years. Remember how well you could drink at college? And how much less you could drink by the time you turned 40? Well, another 20 years have passed, and your drinking habits must also adjust.
- Exercise: Muscle and bone health also becomes harder to maintain past mid-life, but a consistent exercise regime can keep you in tip-top shape for many years to come. Find a type of exercise that you like and stick to it, at least 30 minutes a day.
- Be happy: It has been proven that optimists stay in better health in old age, and while the exact reasons behind that truth are unclear, it’s likely that happy people simply make better choices and look after themselves, in addition to surrounding themselves with people who care for them. And, after all, what is retirement for if not to be completely happy?