PLEASE NOTE: We use pseudonyms and other narrative elements in our stories and case examples to safeguard the identities and privacy of our clients.
September is Healthy Aging Month – a time to celebrate the joys and possibilities that come with growing older. It’s also an opportunity to discover ways to support well-being at every stage of life.
Healthy aging is about more than our physical health. It includes nurturing our mental, intellectual, creative, and social well-being.
September is also Aging Wisdom’s 23rd birthday!
We have learned a lot from our clients over the years; they are our best teachers. We’d like to share so of the valuable lessons we’ve gathered from them, supported by research, about how to Live Well, Care Well, and Age Well in celebration of Health Aging Month and our birthday.
Move Your Body and Stay Active
“And wear proper shoes,” encourages our client Dan. Moving your body regularly is good for your body and your brain. Find exercise you enjoy. Regular physical activity like walking is a favorite amongst many of our clients. Added benefit to walking: according to research from Stanford University, walking boosts creative idea generation by 60% compared to sitting.
Research also supports that physical activity is a lifestyle factor that could reduce your risk of developing dementia. If you are living with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia, exercise can also play a role in reducing the progression of the disease.
Get Outdoors
A much-loved outing of many clients is time outdoors, any time of year. Our Creative Engagement Specialists are particularly adept at tailoring nature outings with clients. Time outside has been shown to improve cognitive, physical, mental, and social health.
And you never know when you might catch a glimpse of orcas, as our colleague Sonia and her client Mary discovered last summer at the Edmonds shoreline. It was a first for them both and a magical moment of shared joy.
Some Creative Engagement clients enjoy riding bicycles, and Outdoors for All “provides a variety of recreation activities for individuals with disabilities,” including the Magnuson Park Adaptive Cycling Center, open May – mid-October.
Nurture relationships and stay connected
Engage in social activities, community classes, or volunteering to support cognitive health and mood. Connect with people of different generations — meaningful conversations and engagement across age groups can offer fresh perspectives and new ideas. Check your local senior and community centers for opportunities. The Greenwood Senior Center, Seattle Parks and Recreation Lifelong Recreation, Edmonds Waterfront Center, and SilverKite Community Arts readily come to mind.
Prioritize Preventive Care
Keep up with routine checkups, memory screenings, and health monitoring, this includes regular vision and hearing tests. Our Care Managers stay on top of this on behalf of clients, taking them to appointments, advocating and asking critical questions, facilitating communication, providing clinical insight, documenting and reporting, and coordinating next steps. Many senior centers offer health checks too.
Eat a Balanced Diet
“Eat your fruits and veggies!,” our client Margaret, an avid gardener, loves to encourage. A few nutrition changes can go a long way to boost brain and heart health. Colorful fruits and vegetables, “eat the rainbow,” are the foundation of the Mediterranean diet, which is often cited as the gold standard for nutrition.
And if you are a gardener like Margaret, you have the added benefit of physical activity. Take advantage of farmers markets and roadside stands – they’re everywhere this time of year. Click here are some practical tips for healthy eating and nutrition as we age.
Keep Learning!
Learn something new. Take a class, attend a workshop, watch a tutorial, or explore a subject that has always interested you. Everyone can learn new things and engage in life enrichment activities.
Learning is for everybody, regardless of health status or condition. By challenging your brain and learning new things throughout your life, you can help build your cognitive reserve. Click here to check out the benefits of lifelong learning, including links to programs and resources.
Are you living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia? There are still interests to explore, strengths to engage, and joyful moments to pursue. Regardless of where you may be on your dementia journey, you have many preserved abilities to exercise. Keeping your brain active can help you live well with dementia. Check out these programs offered through The Memory Hub in Seattle.
Pursue a creative interest
Write, paint, photograph, cook, garden, craft, or make music simply for the joy of learning. Painting, collage, dancing, knitting, writing poetry, humming, gardening, printmaking, ceramics, sketching, improv, doodling, interpretive reading, photography, singing, baking, arranging flowers, it’s all art.
Loneliness after the death of his wife of over 50 years led our client Doug to try singing for the first time. He practices breathing and singing in weekly visits with Samantha, his Creative Engagement Specialist. Doug’s had great improvement in his mood, self-confidence, and even his balance. He also discovered a new joy: performing regularly for fellow residents at his assisted living community.
What captures your interest most? That’s where you can start to focus and grow. Be patient with yourself as you pursue a change; it takes time. Be encouraged as you explore the possibilities. Ask a friend to join you as you are more likely to stick with it!
Are the changes of aging getting you down? Ready to embrace a new perspective? We can help you strategize for quality of life. To schedule a get-acquainted call, CLICK HERE.
