Senior health, senior fitness and your lifestyle in your 60's,
70's, 80's and beyond - if you're in your 20's or 30's right now, you
probably haven't even given these topics a passing thought yet, right?
But while there's no need for you to dwell on fitness and exercise in
your senior years yet, there are a number of reasons to at least do a
bit of planning for your senior health already.
That may seem like a strange statement... After all, you're in top physical health right now, hormone production is at its peak and it's almost hard to believe you're not invincible. You've probably got more disposable income than you've ever had before, and you've never needed to concern yourself too much with what you eat, what you drink or how much sleep you get each night. Your energy levels are still at amazing levels, so why worry about 50 or 60 years from now?
Let's start with your body as it's the only one you'll have in this life. How long do you reasonably expect to live? With hundreds of thousands of people around the world already over 100 years old, it's not unreasonable to assume you'll live to 85 or 90, based on what you know now, correct? Well, if you're 30 now and expect to live to 90, you're planning to be here for another 60 years. But wait - what about any advances in health, nutrition, exercise, medications and disease eradication that will occur over the next 60 years? Unless you believe all medical and fitness advances will suddenly stop, that 60 years is a very conservative timeframe.
To put it in terms you can relate to, have you bought a car yet, or do you have access to the family car? Do you pay attention to the fuel you put in it? Do you change the oil or have it changed at least semi-regularly? Do you try to stay on top of the maintenance or are you just letting it start to fall apart? You even go so far as to wash and wax it at times, don't you?
You do all of that because you want your car to run well, to last you at least until the payments are finished and hopefully longer, and to keep it from letting you down when you need it most, from breaking down and leaving you stranded. You do all of that, yet you know you can replace it, that you'll own other cars over the years, and that only you can decide when it's worth fixing and when you want a new car.
You put all of that time, trouble and effort into a temporary possession, but you'll only ever have one body, and it has to last your whole life. Does it make sense to pay so much less attention to its well-being, its fuel and its longevity? Yes, so far your doctor might have been able to fix any problems you've had, much like your mechanic has done for your car. But one day a mechanic will tell you it's time to scrap that car - not a prognosis you want to hear from your doctor in 30 or 40 short years!
The good news is for most people your age, barring any major medical conditions it won't take radical changes to help protect your future senior health, but rather slight tweaks to your current habits. Steps like avoiding smoking or quitting if you've started, putting a bit more effort into healthy nutrition, getting enough exercise of any type and always maintaining a healthy weight will go a long way to keeping your one and only body healthy and responsive to your needs well into your 'sunset years'.
That may seem like a strange statement... After all, you're in top physical health right now, hormone production is at its peak and it's almost hard to believe you're not invincible. You've probably got more disposable income than you've ever had before, and you've never needed to concern yourself too much with what you eat, what you drink or how much sleep you get each night. Your energy levels are still at amazing levels, so why worry about 50 or 60 years from now?
Let's start with your body as it's the only one you'll have in this life. How long do you reasonably expect to live? With hundreds of thousands of people around the world already over 100 years old, it's not unreasonable to assume you'll live to 85 or 90, based on what you know now, correct? Well, if you're 30 now and expect to live to 90, you're planning to be here for another 60 years. But wait - what about any advances in health, nutrition, exercise, medications and disease eradication that will occur over the next 60 years? Unless you believe all medical and fitness advances will suddenly stop, that 60 years is a very conservative timeframe.
To put it in terms you can relate to, have you bought a car yet, or do you have access to the family car? Do you pay attention to the fuel you put in it? Do you change the oil or have it changed at least semi-regularly? Do you try to stay on top of the maintenance or are you just letting it start to fall apart? You even go so far as to wash and wax it at times, don't you?
You do all of that because you want your car to run well, to last you at least until the payments are finished and hopefully longer, and to keep it from letting you down when you need it most, from breaking down and leaving you stranded. You do all of that, yet you know you can replace it, that you'll own other cars over the years, and that only you can decide when it's worth fixing and when you want a new car.
You put all of that time, trouble and effort into a temporary possession, but you'll only ever have one body, and it has to last your whole life. Does it make sense to pay so much less attention to its well-being, its fuel and its longevity? Yes, so far your doctor might have been able to fix any problems you've had, much like your mechanic has done for your car. But one day a mechanic will tell you it's time to scrap that car - not a prognosis you want to hear from your doctor in 30 or 40 short years!
The good news is for most people your age, barring any major medical conditions it won't take radical changes to help protect your future senior health, but rather slight tweaks to your current habits. Steps like avoiding smoking or quitting if you've started, putting a bit more effort into healthy nutrition, getting enough exercise of any type and always maintaining a healthy weight will go a long way to keeping your one and only body healthy and responsive to your needs well into your 'sunset years'.
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