The longer you live, the more likely you are to experience big, stressful life events. An aging family member who needs caregiving. The death of a loved one. A financial setback. Each year comes with new challenges. The good news: Resilience (or the ability to bounce back and adapt) doesn’t depend on age, income or physical ability. And it isn’t something you’re born with or without. You can build your stores of resilience with daily habits — at any age. Working toward resilience as you age is linked to lower rates of depression and mortality. Plus, people who score high in resilience tend to be more physically active and have strong social lives.
Mayo Clinic Staff
Health Facts
Health facts giving you accurate advice for healthy living.
Healthy Living Tip ~ Gratefulness
Be grateful
Simply being grateful can give your mood a big boost, among other benefits. For example, a recent two-part study found that practicing gratitude can have a significant impact on feelings of hope and happiness. Start each day by acknowledging one thing you’re grateful for. You can do this while you’re brushing your teeth or just waiting for that snoozed alarm to go off. As you go about your day, try to keep an eye out for pleasant things in your life. They can be big things, such as knowing that someone loves you or getting a well-deserved promotion. But they can also be little things, such as a co-worker who offered you a cup of coffee or the neighbor who waved to you. Maybe even just the warmth of the sun on your skin.
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Longevity Tip ~ Keep the Body Tuned Up
Healthy older adults should do four types of activities regularly: aerobic (or endurance) exercise and activities to strengthen muscles, improve balance, and increase flexibility. For any new physical activity, if you have not been active, start slowly and work up to your goal. To track your progress and stay motivated, keep a daily diary of what you do and how long you do it. Many activities give you more than just one benefit! Water aerobics with weights gives you strengthening and aerobic benefits. Yoga combines balance, flexibility, and strengthening. Choose what you like to do—some physical activity is better than none.
Longevity Tip ~ Advice from 3 Centenarians
Samuel Bender, 100, is still quite the gym bunny. Bender likes to keep fit with a variety of exercises, including swimming, and also credits a happy 73-year marriage (and good food) for his long life. . . . Another resident, Elsa Zopfi, is still spunky as ever at 104. She still gets her hair dyed and says she doesn’t like to go overboard these days when it comes to fitness. Zopfi’s main form of exercise is walking as much as she can. Robert Kenyon, 102, is said to be an avid reader and tries not to think too much about how old he is. But even with their differing interests, there’s one similarity between the three. They are all said to have a great sense of humor and they all make sure to stay social in their community.
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Healthy Lifestyle ~ Get Social
In an effort to ward off the loneliness that followed his wife’s death, a 94-year-old man in Minnesota decided to install a swimming pool in his back yard for the neighborhood children. His back yard is now a hub of activity in the summer, filled with laughter, splashing children, and their parents and grandparents. And he’s no longer alone. While not everyone would be willing to go to such extreme lengths to make social connections, contact with other people should still be a top priority. Chronic loneliness does more than just make you bored; it can actually harm your health. “The experience of being lonely appears to be bad for one’s health,” says Dr. Nancy J. Donovan, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and an associate psychiatrist at the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Loneliness is associated with depression, cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, declines in mobility and daily function, and increased risk of early death.
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Longevity Tip ~ Pack the Nutrients
When you get older, your body begins to need fewer calories, but you need just as many nutrients. Nutrient-dense foods pack a lot of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients your body needs into a small amount of calories.
Eat more of these nutrient-dense foods
Older adults, along with other Americans, are advised to “eat from the rainbow” of foods rich in nutrients, like these:
fruits and vegetables (choose a range of types with vibrant colors)
whole grains, like oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, and brown rice
fat-free or low-fat milk and cheese, or soy or rice milk that is fortified with vitamin D and calcium
seafood, lean meats, poultry, and eggs
beans, nuts, and seeds
Healthy Living ~ It’s Go Time for Green Tea
Drinking all-natural green tea is an excellent way to boost your weight loss and your health. Not only does it have the power to stoke your metabolism, but it also contains the highest concentration of catechins, antioxidants found in plants that have been found to protect against heart disease and even some cancers. Sip on a few cups of green tea throughout the day to get all of its amazing benefits.
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Longevity Tip ~ It’s Siesta Time
Take naps.
Birthday girl Flossie Dickey became a viral internet sensation on her 110th birthday when she wasn’t interested in being interviewed by a TV crew. It seems she’d rather be sleeping. Dickey said she naps as often as she can, which is also one of the habits of the people in Ikaria, Greece. The small island has been dubbed a “Blue Zone” where an unusual number of people live to 100. Researchers say it’s not uncommon to see shops close up around midday so people can indulge in a little restful shuteye. Naps are said to help give you a second wind to stay productive and also they help give you a break from the stresses of daily life.
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Healthy Living Tip ~ Beware of Dirty Menus
According to Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN, founder of Nutrition Starring You and author of The Protein Packed Breakfast Club, the menus – which are constantly touched by food-covered hands – are usually never washed. Talk about unappetizing. “I always use hand sanitizer after relinquishing my menu to the server,” she mentions. Another option? Look for restaurants with single-use menus.
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Longevity Tip ~ No Excuses, Make Going to the Gym a Daily Habit
A review of research published online April 24, 2017, by the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that physical exercise may help improve thinking skills in adults ages 50 or older, regardless of their mental performance when they started exercising. . . . All exercise types but yoga appeared to have benefits for the brain. The authors say the exercise regimen with the biggest brain boost was a combination of both aerobic and resistance-type training, of at least moderate intensity, for at least 45 minutes per session on as many days of the week as possible. The takeaway? Start exercising, and incorporate resistance training into your weekly routine.
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