Aging Gracefully With Optimism, Reason and Challenge

By Dr. Ira Shapiro, Director, Plaza Chiropractic Center, Old Bridge, New Jersey

Aging gracefully is the dream of many individuals. Unfortunately, it often seems like life has other plans. Stress, time limitations, illness, injury, heavy workloads, and other responsibilities commonly wreak havoc with our abilities and desires to live better and balance pleasure and rest with all the other obstructions.

However, there are many things we can do on a daily basis that can not only increase our general wellness, but also the capacity to live each day more fully. In fact, a growing body of evidence suggests that good genes are just a small piece of the longevity puzzle.

First of all, optimism is your best friend.The hope for a better day, the ability to see good in bad and the constant pursuit of joy, friendship and love are enduring allies.According to research, a positive attitude is key to living longer and leading a healthier, higher quality of life. In addition, positive emotions have even been shown to directly affect overall health by invigorating immune functions and indirectly by strengthening social networks and the ties to people, who also think positively and inspire the will to overcome problems and push forward even in the darkest of times.

Another truth is that education helps us live longer.This includes staying mentally active and pursuing opportunities as they arise. Read, write letters to friends, take a class, learn a new language, play cards, Mahjong or Scrabble. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you find something that you enjoy and challenges your mind to think in new ways.

Exercise is also essential for reducing body weight, lowering blood pressure and in general feeling more physically fit. And, this doesn’t mean running a marathon or committing to a workout routine that you know is unsustainable or doomed to fail before it starts. Of course, a nightly two- or three-mile jog would be ideal. But on most days, 30 minutes of dancing, gardening, swimming or walking is enough to help maintain muscle mass, burn fat and reduce the risk of heart disease.

In addition, there are numerous other activities that you can perform routinely that can be beneficial to your physical health, while providing a stepping stone to that next level of exercise until your endurance builds. For instance, repeatedly climbing a flight of stairs or rising from and returning to a seated position can help build leg strength and aerobic fitness. Stability balls are also low-cost, versatile pieces of equipment that can be used at home to improve core strength, increase flexibility and add variety to traditional fitness routines.While not suitable for everyone and requiring proper technique at all times, some complete full body workouts can be completed in 15 minutes with exercises ranging from dips and push ups to sit ups and planks.

Next, find an experienced, compassionate and knowledgeable healthcare provide to partner in your wellness.These certified professionals should be a valuable, ongoing asset for knowing and supporting all forms of healing as well as working with you to develop an individualized approach to preventative care, healthy living practices and the treatment of injuries.

And finally, take responsibility for who you are and who you habits. want to be. Life is seldom easy for most people. But, we can always work harder at making better, more informed choices. Year-round wellness programs that are performed and designed with the aid of licensed professionals can help individuals of any age maintain proper weight, improve their moods, combat chronic diseases, boost energy levels and promote better sleeping.