Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Staying
Healthy
H ealthy choices are
just as important
during retirement as they
are in your younger years.
© ADO
BE ST
OCK
That doesn’t make it easy all the Americans eat twice as much sodium as your day-to-day functioning more diffi- contacts up to date, which will make
time, though. Exercise, sleep, healthy the recommended daily amount, which cult. Get into good sleep habits such as getting around your house and neigh-
eating and regular visits to the doctor can lead to hypertension and heart dis- going to bed and getting up at roughly borhood more safely. Talk to your doc-
can often be more complicated as ease. Eat whole foods like fruits, vegeta- the same time each day, and keep your tor about vitamins or supplements like
your body ages. Dartmouth-Hitchcock bles, whole grains like wheat bread and bedroom screen-free — no taking your calcium or vitamin D.
offered tips to stay healthy so you can pasta, brown rice, while minimizing fast laptop to bed! Avoid caffeine late in the
fully enjoy retirement. food and highly processed foods. day. EXERCISE
Find what works for you and do it
EAT HEALTHY FOODS GET PLENTY OF SLEEP PREVENTATIVE CARE regularly. You don’t have to be the
Talk to your doctor about how many Your body may not be growing like a Keep your vaccines up to date, 90-year-old running a marathon; a brisk
calories are good for you and make sure teenager’s, but older adults still need including the annual flu vaccine; flu walk around your neighborhood or a
you’re sticking within a good range. But seven to nine hours of sleep a night tends to be much more dangerous for low-impact class at the gym work just
developing healthy eating habits is (perhaps with a nap thrown in since older patients. Be aware of fall risks as well. Weight lifting, cycling, yoga and
about more than calories. Pay attention afternoons are free). Not getting enough around your home and take precau- hiking all are good ways to stay fit. If
to sodium, cholesterol and other ingre- sleep can lead to depression, irritability tions to reduce those risks. See an eye you’re not sure, talk to your doctor or a
dients on the label. Studies show most and memory problems and just make doctor regularly and keep glasses and trainer about a good exercise routine.
4 2018 SENIOR LIVING
SENIOR LIVING | YOUR HEALTH
Continuing to Learn
Y ou’re never too old to learn a new skill, take up a new hobby or even go back to school.
Not having a full-time job opens up your schedule and your energy level to try something
you’ve always wanted to learn. It’s also a great way to keep your brain active and engaged.
Upkeep or
Downsize?
Retirement opens up a range of Can you afford to move? A smaller
options for housing. home doesn’t always lower your
expenses — you may want to live
Some people choose to stay in somewhere with a higher cost of
the homes in which they raised living, or you look at a smaller
their families, keeping space but nicer home or an area with
for visiting family, enjoying a more amenities. Consider the
big backyard and staying close differences you’ll see in finances.
to their pre-retirement lifestyle. Additionally, moving itself is
Others sell their house and move expensive.
somewhere smaller, possibly even
a condo or townhouse, reducing Quality of Life Considerations
the need for yardwork, or they Many people want to travel when
choose to relocate somewhere they retire or otherwise have
else — closer to family or to a more freedom. If this is you,
more temperate climate. At some selling your house and renting a
point, people may opt for a senior home or apartment may allow for
living community. The decision is that lifestyle. Even if you don’t
different for each retiring person or plan to roam, you may want less
couple depending on their wants, responsibility for maintenance and
needs and financial situations. upkeep, which can be achieved
Forbes suggested making the either through renting or buying
decision with two factors in a property in a neighborhood
mind: quality of life and financial with an involved homeowners
reasons. Although more than 80 association.
percent of Americans say that Also consider whether you want
would prefer to stay in their homes to stay. Perhaps your friends and
through retirement, it may not be family are all in this community,
the best choice long-term. you’ve joined organizations and
have roots that you want to keep.
Financial Questions Or you may find yourself in a
Can you afford to keep your school district with high property
home? That includes a mortgage taxes that made sense when kids
payment, insurance and upkeep. were in school but no longer do
Even if you can make those now that you’re empty nesters.
payments, leveraging the
equity in your home for a less
expensive housing option may
allow you more financial freedom
in retirement. According to a
2015 Merrill Lynch study, most
Americans of retirement age have
more than $200,000 in equity in
their homes but less than half of
that in retirement savings.
2018 SENIOR LIVING 9
SENIOR LIVING | RELAX
FIND A SENIOR
TRAVEL GROUP
ElderTreks and Road
Scholar offer adventures of all
kinds for senior citizens,
including short and inexpen-
sive trips to places through-
out the United States and
longer excursions to Central
and South America, Europe,
Africa and more. These pro-
grams allow you to sign up
for the trips you want to take,
browsing through different
adventure options like train
travel, hiking, sea trips and
more, and they do the plan-
ning for you.
Traveling by yourself? There
are tour groups that cater to
single senior citizens as well.