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Social Butterfly

1-3 Pieces of Health Advice

 

 

Mine would be drink more water, go to bed and get up same time and find a physical activity you love and keep doing it.    For me:  At least 8 glasses, 10 PM bedtime- 5:30 AM wake up and Zumba, rowing and stair climbing.

 

If you could pass on health advice that has helped you, what would it be?

 

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Periodic Contributor

My healthy tips to help me feel better:
- have similar daily routine: get up and go to bed at the same time, eat, rest, train at the same time too
- introduce minimal physical activity into your daily routine - riding a bike - it will be always great for your legs and heart, walking, active games with children - anything, as long as your body moves more during the day
- get enough sleep. If you do not get enough sleep, your body goes into a state of stress and you cannot live your day well.

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Social Butterfly

@AliceH343683 I love your concept of introducing simple activities to keep you moving throughout the day.  Totally agree with you about sleep.  If you're not sleeping well, it impacts every aspect of your life!  

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Newbie

I get up when I awaken at 5:55 am. I drink 20 ounces of water before my morning coffee. Oats with nuts, fruit, chia seeds, and ground flaxseed is my โ€œgo toโ€. A bit of yoga & stretching then a 45-60 min walk, ski, or snow shoe with my husband and Labrador is routine before noon. I do some form of art each day.  I avoid meat, fried/fast food, pop, & alcohol. I call Mom, my kids or father-in-law daily. I cook in cast iron or instant pot. Fresh fruit is in baskets on the kitchen counter always. Bedtime, flossing  & prayers before 11pm. 

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Social Butterfly

@KimD287312  Wow!  What an amazingly healthy routine.  You've got the physical, social, mental, creative and spiritual realms all covered daily. So awesome.  Welcome to the AARP online community, and thank you for your response, and such a great inspirational posting.  Look forward to hearing from you again.

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Social Butterfly

Trivia question:  What is the name of Sailor Jacks dog on Crackerjack packages?  No peeking now, but if you said Bingo you are correct and are awarded a 2Papa Extra Credit!

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Newbie

Bingo

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Community Manager
Community Manager

All of this is really good advice! I recently saw AARP's Fitness Ambassador Denise Austin share 3 Golden Rules for Taking Care of Yourself. She shares a lot of really great and helpful tips!

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Social Butterfly

@AARPRachelA  I'm enjoying the segments with Denise and her daughter.  They are adorable!

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Super Contributor

Yoga.  Slow, focused breathing (which calms the nervous system) and yoga.  It will bring your stress level down, and seriously, stress will kill you early.  

Some sort of hobbie that you find soothing and relaxing (again the stress thing).  For me it's adult coloring, sewing, PC games and of course, yoga.  

I feel it's important to point out that you don't need to be able to do all the poses of yoga; do the ones you can.  It's the act of yoga and the breathing that matter.

And hot baths; those are nice too.


People will stop asking you questions if you answer back in interpretive dance. - Meme
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@MedusaE76171  Really like those health tips for stress. My sister-in-law practices yoga daily, and has for decades.  She stays strong, trim and really is at peace with herself and life in general.

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Periodic Contributor

To ensure your good health and well-being, you should take several measures.

  • Since sleep is essential for your body's overall functioning, you should take a sleep test if you are finding it hard to rest well. Taking a test can help you in determining whether you have any sleep disorders that are causing problems.
  • A healthy diet can help in eradicating several health problems. So, it is advised to include foods rich in vitamins, minerals, proteins, and nutrients in your meal.
  • Proper exercise can help you in leading a healthy life. Hence, you should try to include at least half an hour of workout or yoga in your routine.
Deepak
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Social Butterfly

@Deepaka1234  Excellent tips! Want to add to sleep advice.  Doing a sleep journal is helpful to find patterns. (i.e. The date, time you wake up and go to sleep, time of exercise, food choices, activities in the evening, etc. )

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Community Manager
Community Manager

Great advice @Rhymesometimes! I'm honestly not as good about drinking enough water as I need to be. Some days, I'm on point, but on others, I will go hours before realizing I haven't had any water except for what was in my morning cup of coffee ๐Ÿ˜ฒ

 

My first piece of advice would be to find activities you enjoy and nurture them into your routine. Exercise, as you mentioned, is a great activity as it provides physical and mental benefits. There are other brain-stimulating activities, like reading, writing or painting, that are less physical but incredibly beneficial to our overall health. Finding activities that fill your cup with joy and pleasure is vital to our emotional, physical and spiritual health.

 

My other piece of advice would be to find ways to get outside of your comfort zone. We are creatures of habit, and there are benefits to finding a routine that works for you. However, studies have shown that learning new skills challenges our brains, which increases the number of brain cells and connections between those cells. When you find yourself going through the motions, it's a sign that you're stuck in old habits. You'll benefit from finding healthy and enjoyable ways to shake things up and reconnect.

 

Visit AARPยฎ Staying Sharpยฎ for more brain health information and inspiration.

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Contributor

I totally agree with you, @AARPRachelA, about finding activities that get you outside your comfort zone. I recently joined a performance group to dance in the local holiday parade with an encore for a fundraising event. I hadn't performed in a dance group in five years and had started thinking that those days were over for me. I made new friends, gained confidence, and had so much fun. A good reminder to keep taking on new adventures. 

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Social Butterfly

@brangwen8  Love it!  Congratulations on taking on a challenge, and finding out how it can be really rewarding and satisfying.

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@AARPRachelA  Awesome advice on all three!  Thank you.

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Find a "tribe"! Humans a social animals and science has confirmed that feeling like you belong to a group has positive effects on both physical and mental health. Join a book club, church group, or just hang out every morning at your local donut shop. I guarantee at the donut shop there's a table of senior citizens chatting away and will welcome any new additions! Start a weekly neighborhood poker, bridge, dominos, or board game night. It doesn't need to be an "in-person" thing. A weekly or even daily online group chat with others is enough. The goal is to find or create a tribe that keeps tabs on you and you keep tabs on them. As much as we like to think otherwise, much of our body and brain is still hardwired to live in prehistoric times. Evolution hasn't caught up to the challenges of modern life.

-Mark

 

The medicine man at www.medicinemanplantco.com
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Agreed, to find a group!

 

But surround yourself with others with healthy habits. You won't likely find them at donut shops eating highly-inflammatory sugar. Nor sitting around playing board games. 

 

Ok, maybe plenty of those folks have healthy diets and get outside getting really good exercise. But I won't be looking in those places.  I'd look for a walking group at least.

 

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@MarkV847771 As usual, you rocked it! All of it is great advice. We are definitely wired to be social, and many seniors are still isolating. So many options to connect.  A little bit of creativeness and courage, will reap dividends.

 

 

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Honored Social Butterfly

It would be to do whatever makes you happy as long as it is legal and doesn't make someone else unhappy. If you are an older person, depression can be a mitigating factor in a shorter life, worse than bad eating habits, worse than bad exercising habits. So, as the song says....."Don't Worry....Be Happy".

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Super Contributor

It would be to do whatever makes you happy as long as it is legal and doesn't make someone else unhappy. If you are an older person, depression can be a mitigating factor in a shorter life, worse than bad eating habits, worse than bad exercising habits. So, as the song says....."Don't Worry....Be Happy".

@nctarheel I love this.  Just love it.


People will stop asking you questions if you answer back in interpretive dance. - Meme
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Best thing I did for myself was to get off Facebook. I got rid of so much negativity and freed up more time for myself to get out and interact with actual people.

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Social Butterfly

@jw5013387 Good for you!  I've heard the same comments from a number of my friends.

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@nctarheel  I agree to a point.  Exercise has been shown to be a HUGE help in decreasing and even preventing depressive symptoms.

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