Lack of Exercise might endanger your health

Failing to incorporate a minimum of 25 minutes a day of physical activity into your schedule might endanger your health.

We are not a nation of doers anymore unless we do by sitting. Today we are a nation of sitters. Unfortunately, inactivity tends to become more of a problem as we age. So as we age it is our best interest to know about the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle, If we know and understand the dangers we will begin to undertake and perhaps promote more activity and gain better health.

As a senior, you may hear a lot about the benefits of exercise, especially for older Americans. The benefits range from keeping our joints active to improving our mood, there are lots of reasons for getting up and moving around each day.

For my cohort group, however, getting up and becoming active can sometimes be a challenge. Some of us have age-related symptoms and chronic health conditions that make it difficult to enjoy physical activity. Everyone can be prone to too much sitting, but seniors are particularly vulnerable to what’s been dubbed “the sitting disease.” The sitting disease can lead to a whole host of medical problems, researchers say.

Johns Hopkins Medicine has highlighted some trends of sedentary behaviour as they relate to age and potential side effects, When individuals live a primarily sedentary lifestyle, they may be putting themselves at a higher risk of certain conditions and diseases. Such risks include high blood pressure, anxiety and some types of cancer. Heart disease is less common among people who were active, even considering factors such as diet, alcohol consumption and smoking.

‘Sitting is the new smoking’. That’s the new mantra among many health care professionals today. Part of the reason for that is a 2014 study that found the sedentary lifestyle is actually worse for some people than smoking. Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia studied 32,000 women over 20 years.

They found that physical inactivity did far more damage to the heart than smoking. Similar findings connecting heart disease to being sedentary have been replicated in other studies. Other findings include the following:

·       When the body doesn’t get enough physical activity, it begins to lose lean muscle tissue. That leads to increased difficulty performing the activities of daily living (ADL).

·       Dressing and bathing are just a few examples of ADLs that become more challenging. And for seniors who have arthritis, a sedentary lifestyle is associated with increased pain and swelling of damaged joints.

·       Seniors are already at higher risk of experiencing bone loss. Add living a sedentary lifestyle to the mix and it is a recipe for poor bone health. Staying active –especially with activities that promote strength --- helps encourage bone growth.

·       We’ve all felt the mood-lifting effects of physical activity. That doesn’t change as we age. For seniors who may be prone to depression, it’s even more important to stay active.

Retirement and work, which to you chose?

I thought I was one of the few who retired many times before taking full retirement. However I am, it appears soon to be in the majority. Some 40 percent of people 65 and older who are currently employed were retired at some point according to according to a 2017 Rand Corp. study authored by Nicole Maestas, an economist and associate professor of health-care policy at Harvard Medical School. 

She used data from the Health and Retirement Study, funded by the National Institute on Aging, which has tracked thousands of people age 50 and older over the past two decades.

Almost 20 percent of those age 65 or older old full-time jobs, up from 12 percent in 2000. Falling fertility rates and tighter immigration rules are propelling more employers to retain and hire older workers to fill shortages. That’s providing seniors with extra income to use for travel and entertainment or for new technology and other products.

More than half of men and women age 50 and older who weren’t working or seeking jobs said they’d return to work if the right opportunity comes along, according to an analysis of the 2015 American Working Conditions Survey conducted by economists at the Rand Corp. The percentage is higher among college graduates, 60 percent of whom said they could be enticed out of retirement.

Even retirees in their 70s are finding jobs when they want to earn money and be active, so there is still hope for me if I want to unretire for a while.

One is the Loneliest number

The holiday season will be soon upon us, and at this time of the year, many seniors are alone. Now loneliness is not a normal part of the aging process — but many of the challenges inherent in aging put older adult population at risk. In a new report (pdf file), developed with AARP Foundation support, researchers examined the best existing data to estimate the prevalence of loneliness among adults (age 62-91) in the U.S. The study identifies the characteristics of lonely older adults as well as segments of the older adult population who are at high risk for loneliness. Although related, loneliness and isolation are not the same thing. More than half of older adults (52%)in the United States experience some degree of loneliness

•       Loneliness (also known as subjective isolation) denotes how people perceive their experience and whether or not they feel isolated.

•       Objective isolation involves quantifiable measurements, such as the size of one’s social network (and the frequency of engagement with it), availability of transportation, and ability to access resources and information. The scope of this study was specific to loneliness

Looking at the characteristics of who is or isn’t lonely, some key similarities and differences are worth noting:

•       Education: Education levels don’t differ between lonely and non-lonely individuals.

•       Work/Retirement: Lonely and non-lonely older adults are equally likely to be retired, working or unemployed.

•       Caregiving: Lonely and non-lonely groups are equally likely to be providing care for a dependent.

•       Marital Status: The lonely group is less likely to be married than the non-lonely group, but both married (14%) and unmarried (30%) individuals can be lonely.

•       Income: Lonely older adults have lower household income and less wealth.

•       Living Alone: Lonely people are more likely to live alone, in large part because they are less likely to be married.

•       Health: Although there is no significant difference in number and severity of chronic health conditions between the two groups, lonely people rate their health less positively.

•       Physical Limitations: Lonely older adults have more physical limitations in carrying out the activities of daily living (e.g., dressing, bathing and feeding oneself).

•       Social Interaction: Lonely older adults socialize, volunteer, attend religious services and participate in organized groups less frequently than non-lonely adults.

Risk factors for loneliness include:

•       Not being married

•       Having three or fewer friends

•       Socializing less than once a week

•       Experiencing considerable strain in family relationships

The more risk factors present, the greater the odds of being lonely

What can you do to prevent or alleviate loneliness?

§  Stay or get socially active. Weekly or more frequent group participation, attendance at religious services, volunteering, and socializing with friends may help prevent and reduce loneliness. The less frequently people see each other, the weaker the connections become and the less supportive the relationships are.

§  Nurture relationships. Every relationship has its good and bad sides. The goal is to capitalize on the positive side and minimize the negative side. Reducing strain in family relationships is particularly important because these relationships are often the ones we turn to in times of need.

§  Find and take advantage of local resources. The ability to socialize can be hampered by poor access, other obligations, and even the inability to prepare one’s home for visitors. Explore transportation options, caregiver respite, or opportunities to get involved with activities and meet new people. Libraries, senior centers, community centers and other organizations offer a range of classes and groups, from computer training to arts classes to support groups and much more.

What if?

What if the word victim could be redefined into something closer to hero? 

A victim who speaks out against the wrong helps others to gain the knowledge of what they need to not follow the same path. 

A person is a hero who helps others recognize that the path some have to tread is not for them and will spare others from the same.