Aging Well News

Share this post
Physical Wellness
agingwell.news

Physical Wellness

#84 The Most Often Talked About Wellness

Janice Walton
Aug 29, 2022
4
2
Share this post
Physical Wellness
agingwell.news

open in browser

Photo by Foto Garage AG on Unsplash

We have been reviewing the dimensions of wellness. So far, we have touched on the emotional, spiritual, and social components. Now we will discuss physical wellness - the most common dimension people think of when it comes to health and aging well. It involves having a healthy body and good health habits such as nutrition, sleep, and exercise.

google search of the words showed about 1,390,000,000 results in 0.64 seconds. We have discussed physical wellness in three previous articles.

  1. Physical Wellness

  2. Was I Burying my Head in the Sand?

  3. What We Can Betty, Sidney, and Desmond Teach Us

So, you can easily find lots of information on the topic. As a quick review.

Nutrition

According to the Health and Wellbeing Network

Nutrition means getting the food and nourishment you need for health and growth. Without sustenance, we grow weak, sick, and, at the very worst, can die. We miss developmental milestones and can’t put our bodies through the daily mental and physical tasks we need. We aren’t able to grow and may also be unable to reproduce.

My nutrition plan involves

  • following the Mediterranean Diet as much as possible

  • eating small meals with lots of salads

  • eliminating sugar to a large degree

  • drinking more water

Sleep

TheHeathinAging website says

The panel found that while sleep patterns change with aging, adults 65 years and older still need between 7-8 hours of sleep nightly, ideally over a continuous period.

I get between seven and eight hours of sleep each night, but it is rarely continuous - my bladder has other ideas.

Exercise

“According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PDF, 14.5M) you should do at least 150 minutes (2 ½ hours) a week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, like brisk walking or fast dancing. Being active at least three days a week is best, but doing anything is better than doing nothing at all.”

I walk between 5000-10000 steps daily and do morning stretches, but I could do more. Maybe Jan Stoneburner has the right idea in her article Dancing Queen.

I use this video from time to time.

However, I must be careful with my exercise routine - it is easy to do too much.

Unhealthy Habits

The HealthyChoice website lists ten daily habits you should break right now to eat and live healthier. They include eating late at night, eating too much salt, choosing foods because they sound healthy, eating lunch at your desk, and skipping dessert.

I would add not smoking tobacco or using illegal drugs, drinking too much alcohol, abusing prescription drugs, and participating in risky activities.

In Summary

Articles you might want to consider reading as you pursue aging well:

  • Cigarette Smoking Shortens Your Life by 10 Years and Makes You Sick Sooner

  • How to Push Back Against Ageism

  • Becoming a High-Performing CEO of Your Health

Thanks for reading Aging Well News! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

2
Share this post
Physical Wellness
agingwell.news
2 Comments
Sharron Bassano
Writes LEAVES
Aug 29, 2022

Cool article, Janice -- such important reminders for us all. Something you said especially resonated with sedentary old me: "...doing anything is better than doing nothing at all.” ANYTHING! Wiggle our fingers, raise our arms up above our head, move our feet in circles, bend over, stretch -- ANYTHING. I do not have to be an athlete. I do not have to enjoy exercise, but I DO have to tell my body I still need my muscles, my joints, my bones -- or my body will take them away. I constantly remind myself to keep moving! Thank you for all you do.

Expand full comment
ReplyCollapse
1 reply by Janice Walton
1 more comment…
TopNewCommunity

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Janice Walton
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing