Century Park Blog

No matter what your age, maintaining an independent lifestyle is important to all of us. Who can forget the freedom you felt when you first learned to drive, when you moved into your first home or you finally accomplished a seemingly insurmountable goal? You probably felt incredibly free and independent at those moments in your life, but as we get older, we often start to fear losing our independence and worry about the ripple effect that could have on our lives. Could we maintain our home, our health and our lifestyle if our freedom and independence is compromised?

There is something you can do: you can take action and increase your level of independence at any stage of life. This is even more important to your health as we age. Do these steps take time and a little effort? Yes, but these simple actions can have a tremendous impact on your health and vitality for the rest of your life.

Consider the following four options to help increase your independence at any age, and follow the helpful tips to be on your way to feeling a greater sense of independence.

1. Discover the Fountain of Youth: Exercise!

Having a fit and flexible body is one of the best ways to improve your level of independence, and it is never too late to begin an exercise program. The best news about exercise is that even small increases in your current activity levels can have an enormous positive impact on your health and well-being, and it could be as effective as a prescription from your doctor.

“Exercise is medicine” is a strong proclamation, and a proven fact through multiple research studies. During a recent interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kathryn Schmidt, an exercise physiologist from Penn State, reported, “Exercise is like a pill,” and we can use it to help us with many ailments:

• Research has shown that aerobic exercise and strength training can decrease depression, irritability and anxiety.
• Among older adults, aerobic activity can improve neurocognitive (brain) health
• Stretching and yoga can reduce stiffness and pain.

2. Move More Often

Your activity does not always have to be in a formal exercise program. Small increments of movement throughout the day can have a cumulative impact on your health and well-being. Walking throughout the day, taking the stairs, and standing instead of sitting can help your balance, joint function and caloric expenditure on a daily basis. The average retiree is going to sit 25 percent more than the average adult, and this increase in sedentary behavior can have a negative impact on your health and independence.

3. Maintain a Healthy Body Weight

Maintaining a healthy body weight can have a positive impact on your independence in many ways:

• A healthy body weight reduces the load and impact on your joints, including your knees and spine, therefore reducing the wear and tear on the joints. Stronger joints move more efficiently, and improvement of joint function can reduce pain and inflammation.
• Research has shown that the size of the adult brain shrinks with excessive body fat, so the healthier your body weight, the better your brain health.
• The easiest way to maintain a healthy body weight? Increase your lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass often decreases with age. Through the regular strength training you can improve the quality of your lean muscle mass, and increase your metabolism even during rest, making it easier to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

4. Maintain an Independent Mind

Keeping your brain healthy is as important as keeping your body healthy. As you have already read, exercise often has a positive factor on brain health. Cardiovascular exercise increases blood flow and oxygenation to the brain, and can positively impact neurogenesis, or new cell growth, in the brain. Research has shown that cardiovascular exercise can stimulate neurogenesis at any age. There are other ways you could also help improve your brain health:

• Never stop learning! You can continue to learn at any age, and stimulating new connections in your brain can help keep this important organ healthy. Testing your recall for this new information in a quiz or a game can also help improve your brain health, as it can stimulate greater retention of information and improve memory.
• Find a new challenge: walk and talk at the same time. By adding movement, (walking, marching, clapping, etc.) to learning and brain games, you can increase the positive impact on your memory by up to 300 percent.
• Music makes memories: listening to music is an excellent way to stimulate recall. Your favorite music can stimulate memories that are associated with the music, as well as stimulate multiple areas of the brain related to memory, therefore improving recall. Engage in listening to some of your favorite music from your past and you may be surprised by what you can remember.
• Take time to laugh. Many have said laughter is the best medicine, and for your brain health this is absolutely true. Laughter stimulates the positive chemicals in your brain, thereby improving your mood and reducing the impact of stress on the body.

Always consult your doctor before starting any new treatment, exercise program or diet. A health care professional will be able to help you properly decide what kind of treatment will be most beneficial for your individual needs.

Written by:
Susan Cacioppo, Heatherwood Retirement Community
Jason Green, Bayada Home Health Services