- 1. Be happy. Most people in their 60s and beyond are happy with where they are at and what they have accomplished in life. It’s a known fact that as you get older, you also get wiser in handling challenges. You know that challenges are just obstacles to overcome and that they too shall pass.
- 2. Stay smart with new neurons. Neurogenesis or the birth of new neurons continues well into your 60s and beyond according to a recent study. So your capacity to learn new information stays strong. Your hippocampus (part of your brain responsible for learning and memory) gets bigger with regular exercise and a healthy diet. You may not experience the same lightning fast thinking as back when you were in your 20s, but the other areas of your brain will certainly compensate for that. Your life’s experiences will also aid you immensely when you make critical decisions in your later years.
- 3. What’s that smell? You don’t smell it? Take care of your sense of smell as well as your hearing because both can start to decline at this age. Age related hearing loss secondary to deterioration of ear structures is more common than you think. Don’t be embarrassed about wearing hearing aids, its better to have good hearing. These days hearing aids can be pretty inconspicuous.
- 4. Do you see what I see? Your visual acuity will undoubtedly decrease as you age. Even your lacrimal glands (responsible for producing tears) decrease their function and make your eyes vulnerable to drying out and redness. Eat foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids (like oily fish and fish oil supplements) to help with this.
- 5. Your skin appears drier and more fragile. This is more pronounced among smokers and those who sunbathed frequently in their earlier years. Skin tags, telangiectasia (tiny blood vessels on the skin surface that dilate) and age spots can start to appear on your skin. Ask a certified dermatologist for advice on what you can do about these.
6. Being sedentary in your younger years will certainly take its toll during your 60s and beyond. The popping and creaking noises in your joints may be normal as long as they’re unaccompanied by swelling and pain in that particular joint. Avoid sudden twisting or rotational movements. Calcium and vitamin D as well as other joint nutrients like boron, magnesium and vitamin K can help your body in working with weaker muscles, thinning cartilage and loss of joint fluid.- 7. Extremes of age (the very young and the elderly) will always bear the brunt of infectious diseases. Boost your immunity by getting adequate rest and eating fresh unprocessed foods. Immune supporting supplements like olive leaf, echinacea, garlic and vitamin C are great prophylactics especially during winter and while travelling. In addition to getting enough rest and eating well, regular exercise and sunshine also help you to optimise and reignite your immune system.
- 8. Retirement may decrease the number of activities you’re involved with, but it shouldn’t slow you down. Choose quality activities that can involve the rest of your family like tramping and swimming at the beach. You can adopt a new lifestyle, do charity and community work, help take care of your grandkids, find a hobby or sport, travel abroad and much more. There are also endless possibilities for learning new hobbies or skills.
9. That overactive bladder. It's a condition alright, seen among the elderly. An overactive bladder gives you sudden urges to urinate which are not always easy to ignore. This can cause involuntary loss of urine aka incontinence. But don’t worry this is not a normal part of aging and only occurs in some older people. There is also a lot that can be done about it such as retraining the bladder, strengthening the pelvic muscles and scheduling fluid intake. Talk to your doctor because there is no need to suffer.- 10. Your metabolism slows down. According to experts, your metabolism gets about 5 to 7 percent slower each decade.
Your ticker (heart) also slows down its rate as you get older and your arteries and blood vessels get stiffer. This makes your heart work harder to pump blood around your body and can lead to hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart disease. Things you can do to look after your heart are daily exercise, healthy eating and if you’re a smoker quit right away.
Related Links
References
- Hazzard's Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology. 6th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical, 2009.
- Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 18th ed. 2 vols. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012.
- Healthy Aging: Principles and Clinical Practice for Clinicians. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2014.
- Kane, Robert L. Essentials of Clinical Geriatrics. 7th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013.
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/overactive-bladder/basics/definition/con-20027632
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/healthy-aging/in-depth/aging/art-20046070
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