Congratulations on making it to age 60. As you grow older, you must keep living your life to the fullest, but most importantly, you should keep tabs on your health. Although one can never be too careful, there are things you should keep in mind. Your oxygen intake may decrease along with the level of Vitamin B12. Apart from this, many middle-aged women suffer from urinary incontinence. This is a common issue, but still, half of the women never discuss it with a doctor. As per a poll, 43% of women in their 50s suffer from urinary incontinence.
However, one thing is for sure; your creativity keeps improving as you are likely to express yourself more. We’ve compiled a list of five practical tips to improve your health at 60. Read on!
1. Stroll more and quit smoking
Since your oxygen level is likely to reduce, you would need to walk more, especially if you don’t do much walking. Elderly individuals that walked at least 3 hours a week for a year experienced a boost in their oxygen intake, as seen in this study.
A considerable gain like that will benefit your body in memory retention, strengthening of bones, blood sugar control, and lowering/representing the risk of cancer. Smoking can become hazardous to your breathing and health overall, so you should use the help of a health practitioner to stop and also use the proper medication.
2. Adopt the use of adult diapers
Adult diapers are built to meet the basic requirements of the elderly, which means they are suitable for you if you have light incontinence and want to lead an active lifestyle. You may come across different adult diapers, but you should find adult diapers for women, pant style, user-friendly, and easy to use.
These are very comfortable because they are similar to underwear with looks and feel, which gives you confidence. If you are the independent type of person, you should go for pant style, while if you suffer from other health issues and depend on others, you should opt for the disposable diaper.
You can also implement another trick to reduce your dependency on diapers. To keep your pelvic muscle strength, you should squeeze the muscle that controls your urine flow and hold it up to 10 seconds before release. Doing this thrice daily can prevent or reduce incontinence from 6 to 12 weeks.
3. Use the right supplement and take fiber-rich food
As mentioned in the earlier section, the levels of vitamin B12 decrease in the body as we age. You must see a doctor to know the right supplement to take. The deficiency of vitamin B12 will likely increase the risk of pernicious anemia, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
You can also inquire about vitamin C and D. Vitamin D deficiency can lead to diabetes, weak bone, high blood pressure, and colon cancer. It would help if you also increased the consumption of fiber foods because it softens your stools and reduces symptoms of diverticulosis. You can consume fiber-rich fruits like pears, apples, and beans.
4. Get the strength to stay active
The most crucial thing to stay engaged is maintaining muscle strength. But how? The secret is to keep exercising, consume protein, and take a balanced diet. At an older age, you may feel that there isn’t much to do, but the truth is anyone who feels they should no longer learn is the old one. You remain young as long as you keep learning new skills and trying new things.
You should join book clubs or find something to do because a recent study on 3000 older people showed that those who exercised were better at handling daily activities years later than people who did less. Meeting new people and building deep and meaningful relationships are essential to keeping your mind healthy.
5. Perform frequent check-ups
Aside from taking the healthy tips listed above, you should also go for regular check-ups to know your health level. You should perform the following:
- Eye examination in 2 to 4 years
- Thyroid check-up every five years
- Blood pressure test in 2 years
- Pap test
- Hearing test in 3 years
- Mineral density test of the bone at least once after age 60
- Blood glucose test every three years
Conclusion
You have successfully lived through the many challenges thrown at you, but you are getting older, and it is time you take your health more seriously than you have in the past. It will help if you contact a trusted doctor that would be in charge of your health no matter what or have your children do that for you. It is a must you watch the food you eat, identify the deficiency you have, and keep track of the health of your bladder. Good luck!