Did you know that every year, October 1st is celebrated as International Day of Older Persons?
The United Nations has set this day aside to recognise and appreciate the senior citizens worldwide and their numerous contributions to society.
How do you celebrate the elderly in your community? I don’t know about you but for me when people talk about the elderly in Ghana, I picture disease, pain, neglect and needy. Of course, this is not the case 100% of the time but it is the case most of the time especially in rural Ghana.
How is it that Jane Doe is 90 years old and can still drive? She still lives by herself and still exercises for 30 minutes every day. But Stella Smith is 60 years old and is already using a walking stick and is also taking 10 different medications daily.
I know you want to be Jane Doe, so below are 10 things you can do today to help you age gracefully.
Chiropractic
Do you know there are 206 bones in the human body? These bones reach their maximum density by the time you are about 30 years old. After that they slowly start to degenerate year after year. Slowly they weaken.
Joint cartilage also starts to degenerate. Eventually the spinal bones, for instance, misalign due to many years of stress and trauma the bones may have gone through. That is why Chiropractic care is essential as you grow.
It will correct any misalignments that cause pain; it will also restore joint motion. It will boost your immunity and keep your nervous system free from interference.
Savings
Have you started thinking about your retirement? How fit are you financially today to take care of yourself once you hit 60 years of age? Are you saving?
By the way I’m not talking about saving huge sums of money. The adage, little drops of water make a mighty ocean is very appropriate. Saving small amounts CONSISTANTLY will ensure that when you retire your life’s savings will now take care of you.
A lot of the elderly become very stressed out once they retire and do not have a constant stream of income. This can be avoided by sacrificing more during one’s working life to save.
Healthy relationships
Keep and maintain healthy relationships. Besides a spouse and children, one should build healthy relationships with other people in the community.
It may be with members of a similar faith, members of a fitness club or alumni of a school and so on and so forth.
Unfortunately, some people lose their life partners early in life. If you do not have a good network of people surrounding you it can lead to depression from loneliness.
Also, there is only so much your family can do for you but you never know how helpful somebody from an association you belong to may be of help.
Brain exercise
You need to exercise your brain, always. You may want to read, learn how to play a musical instrument like the piano, guitar, trumpet etc.
Playing board games like chess is also a good brain exercise. If you have a good voice you may want to join your church choir.
All these things and many others will create new brain connections and enhance the functioning of your brain.
Research has found that keeping your brain active will prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.
Rest
Rest, rest and rest again. Many people work like automatic machines during their working years.
Especially in this part of our world many people do not take vacations or a simple break from work.
Your body like any machine can break down if it is not well maintained. Most people never rest so by the time they retire there is severe wear and tear on the body’s joints.
During your working life, you should still get at least six hours of sleep a night. This will help rejuvenate your body’s cells, tissues and organs.
Otherwise by the time you retire you will use all your savings to pay for medical bills.
Watch out for the second part in the Mirror next week
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