Engaging in Enjoyable and Effective Activities to Improve Wellbeing in Old Age

Engaging in Enjoyable and Effective Activities to Improve Wellbeing in Old Age

The life expectancy in the USA has grown to 30 years between 1900 and 2000.  More and more people are getting past the age of 80. The 60-year-old age bracket is the fastest growing demographic in the society today.  

Concerns for the well-being of the elderly become a necessary issue.  How do they age gracefully? How can a person improve well-being in later years?

How is Well-being Measured

Well-being is the condition of an individual, or in this case, the aging person.  There are two ways to measure well-being: objective and subjective manner. Researchers look into both ways to assess the well-being of the target older population.

An object measurement of well-being of an elderly person is determined by knowing if his or her basic needs are met.  The elderly should have adequate food, clothing, shelter, health care, economic means, and social interactions. The objective measurement pertains to the meeting of physical and health needs of the individual.  It is used to quantify the person’s condition.

The subjective measurement of well-being are measured by a person’s perception of his or her life. Does he or she have a life purpose? The subjective assessment qualifies the person’s state of life.

Subjective assessment tends to be harder to measure.   Some elderly can be happy with less. Others require more money or social interaction to be happy.  It is a case-to-case basis. However, in subjective measurement, it is the individual’s perception that matters.

Well-being and Attitudes

A growing body of research suggests that there is a correlation between a person’s perception and attitude toward aging and the quality of life he or she leads.  The person’s view of aging can affect their health and vitality, resilience towards difficulties and eventual survival.

In a recent poll conducted in all 50 states in America, respondents provided diverse answers.  In terms of health of emotions and work environment, people living in Hawaii had the highest number of positive responses in those aspects.  Respondents from West Virginia, however, were at the opposite end of the spectrum. They tend to view their situation in a more negative manner.  They also reported the most number of depression and obesity cases, as well as the worst emotional and health habits. The remaining 48 other states were somewhere in between.

Improving Well-being for Older Populations

Elderly people should not spend their twilight years resigned to a couch.  When older people retire from their jobs, they thought that they have nothing left to do except sit down and wait for Father Time to do its work.  It should not be that way. There are numerous ways to remain productive even at old age.

Spending time outside the home is a good way to age effectively.  They need to actively pursue social activities. When they surround themselves with people, they can improve their  well-being and enjoy the experience at the same time.

Social Interaction Improves Elderly Wellbeing

Research studies showed that the aging population are happiest when they are socially interacting, exercising, employed or volunteering.  These activities are crucial to their health. Interacting with other people veers their mind away from loneliness or health concerns.

Some elderly people may have lost their spouses, friends and family at their age.  That should not stop them from creating new social ties. They should go out and meet more people to expand their network.  Volunteering or getting a part-time job are great options.

Leading Meaningful Lives

Volunteering to charitable organizations is an enjoyable way to enhance well-being.  Getting an easy, part-time job is another effective way to remain active at old age. Both activities help the person create an impact to society.  When they pursue productive endeavors, it helps them contribute to society in a meaningful manner. They are not just a passive member, but become active participants in society.  It gives them something to look forward to doing every day.

Another way to improve well-being is indulging in their favorite hobbies.  For instance, dancing, baking, creating crafts, and others. They could do light sports activities like golf, fishing,  hiking, and biking. Due to their limited physical capabilities, they do not need to do anything strenuous. The end goal is to enjoy the experience, not to get injured.

Aging does not need to be confined to the home or health centers alone.  Being an active participant in life will make old age a much enjoyable experience. A socially active elderly person will most likely enjoy a longer life than those who shy away from society.  

Cycling Can Help You Prepare for Trail Running

Cycling can burn 400 calories per hour.  It is one of the best cardio workouts. If you make it part of your routine, it builds strength and endurance.  It helps you get more fit for trail running. Using cycling as an interval training can help you achieve aerobic benefits, with less stress on the body.

Bike Exercises

There are various ways you can do exercise on the bike.  You can ride the bike uphill. You can also do short sprints.  Or, you can do long rides for endurance.

Cycling is a different method of maintaining fitness, especially for trail runners who sustain an injury.   It is hard to run if injured. Since cycling is a low-impact sport, it does not put too much pressure on the back, ankles, and hips.  You can recover from injury quickly if you do cycling.

Compared to cycling, running is a high impact sport.  It can put strain on the joints and leg bones. Constant running can cause stress on both knees and ankles.  When you bike instead of run, you give your bones some time to rejuvenate from the rigors of running.

Even if you bike over long distances, the amount of stress on the knees is still far lesser compared to running.  This allows you to train and stay fit without putting too much stress on your body. Thus, allowing your joints and bones to run faster.

How Cycling Help Trail Running

Cycling improves cardiovascular fitness.  During biking, the body releases blood chemicals, which gives the heart a healthy workout.  Cycling conditions the body for the more demanding pressures of trail running.

Cycling also builds muscles.  It uses the hamstrings, glutes, and quadriceps at varying stages.  It may not put as much pressure on those muscles as running, but it does use them so you can run faster and smoother.

Biking also strengthens your core and thigh strength.  Strengthening these areas is important because it helps prevent injury in trail running.  However, it does not use tertiary muscles or build ligament strength quickly, unlike running.  When you bike, it takes time to build your body and strength in those areas.

Cycling does not boost power and speed.  However, you can easily achieve both power and speed by doing gym workouts.  Gym exercises can complement your biking regimen.

Do a 60 to 90 minute sessions on the bike.  Bike workouts should mimic your running workouts.  If you can run a quarter mile in 60 seconds then do a second bike ride in between running.

Cycling is a great way to train for trail running.  When you bike, you boost your cardio fitness. You also build endurance and strength, without putting too much stress on the leg muscles.

Benefits of a Good Night’s Sleep

A Good Night’s Sleep Can Boost Your  Mental Health

Sleep is closely linked to mental health.  Chronic sleeping problems affect 10 to 18 percent of adults.  For those with psychological illnesses, this rate grows to 50 to 80 percent.  People who have depression, anxiety, ADHD, and bipolar disorder often have trouble sleeping.  Basically, sleep problems often manifest in people with mental problems than those in healthy adults.

Why Sleep Affects Mental Health

A good night sleep helps maintain a healthy cognitive function necessary for every day activities.  For instance, sleeping for two hours at night would cause the person to have cognitive impairment. This can be harmful especially if he or she drives, or operates a machine at work.  

Sleep deficit definitely affects mental performance and ability.  In the long run, continuous sleep deficit may lead to long term psychological problems such as depression or anxiety. The quality and quantity of sleep also matters.  Sleeping for a few hours make the person feel sleepy. Thus, causing him or her to function poorly during the day.

The mental effects, however, goes beyond feelings of sleepiness.  Sleep deprivation can compromise mental health because it prevents the brain from having adequate rest.  Sleep allows the brain to organize thoughts and rejuvenate from the daily stresses. Lack of sleep prevents the body from recovering fully and feel completely relaxed.

What Constitutes a Good Night’s Sleep

A good sleep should have at least 4 sleep cycles.  Each cycle consists of deep sleep and REM or rapid eye movement.  A sleeping person changes sleeping cycle every 90 minutes. However, as sleep deepens,  the time allotted to the REM cycle increases. When deep sleep is attained, the body is able to rejuvenate fully.

Just like humans, animals need sleep too.  They also experience the REM cycles in their sleep.  The patterns of sleeping vary from animal to animal. Predators, like lions, tend to sleep for longer periods.  

Interestingly, abnormalities in sleep pattern are only noted in domesticated animals.  Animals in the wild do not have the condition. The reason behind this finding is that animals with a sleeping disorder cannot survive in the wild.  However, they can thrive when domesticated.

Similar to humans, animals can experience narcolepsy and sleep apnea.  Narcolepsy makes the animal or person sleep excessively. Sleep apnea is when the animal stops breathing for several seconds while asleep.

How Much Sleep You Need

Sleep patterns vary from person to person. Typically, adults need at least 7 hours of sleep at night.  Babies require longer, usually 16 hours. Teenagers need a minimum of 9 hours. To get the maximum rejuvenation from sleep,  quality sleep and the required number of hours must go hand-in hand.

Older people may not get enough sleep due to physical illnesses or medications.  Lack of sleep, however, may compound their medical condition. It’s a vicious cycle but it is important for them to get as much sleep as possible.

An estimated 70 million Americans of various ages experience chronic sleeping problems.  Sleep apnea and insomnia are the usual reasons. These conditions are treated in various ways.  Since sleep is a necessary component to good health, the patient needs to get treatment for sleeping problems right away.