Aging Well
Making joyfulness a habit. We can choose to be joyful, and it will become a powerful habit in our lives.
Investing time with family and friends. Relationships strengthen brain connections. Cultivate friendships of all ages and stages of life so we can be open to seeing things from different perspectives.
Practice the attitude of gratitude. Consistently grateful people are happier and healthier.
Let’s not take things personally. Things that people say and do usually aren’t about us.
Live life with purpose and passion. Living according to our values provides direction to living each day to its fullness.
Let’s not make assumptions. Asking questions to avoid misunderstanding can prevent conflict, drama, and sadness.
Let’s find humor in our lives. Laughter increases antibodies to fight disease and infection, as well as decreases the stress hormone cortisol.
Forgive. Holding a grudge is toxic to our bodies and minds.
Celebrate birthdays—let’s count our days by smiles, not tears; count our age by friends, not years. Growing old is a privilege.
Let’s decrease the worrying. Worry puts our bodies in fight-or-flight response. Worriers are more likely to experience irritable bowel syndrome, sleeplessness, fatigue, aches and pains, and depression.
Listen to good music. Music can improve memory, elevated your mood, and enhance your creativity and productivity.
Remember to breathe. Sometimes we go through the entire day and wonder, “have I been holding my breathe all day?” Deep breathing can expand lung volume and make us more calm and focused.
Fit fitness in our lives. It doesn’t matter as much what we do, we just need to move.
Add some dance. Dance boosts brain health and improves balance and agility, as well as adds social connection and burns calories.
Sit, stand and walk in good posture. Let’s mimic the puffed out chests of peacocks, opera singers and ballet dancers.
Hydrate daily. Drinking adequate water (not caffeinated beverages or juices) is important for the body and especially the brain to function efficiently.
Take care of our eyes and ears. Good vision and hearing are important to living life to the fullest. We need all of our sensory inputs to keeping the brain working well.
Get the sleep our bodies and brains need. Sleep is essential for efficient brain function and a healthy immune system.
Contemplate. We can gain calm, focus better and discover insights when we take 15 minutes/day to think about something we just read or heard.
Stretch. Stretching can prevent injuries and promote muscle and joint health.
Learn new things. We can make new connections in our brain at any age or stage in life.
Avoid falls. We don’t want to be fearful of falling but do need to practice techniques early on in life to minimize the risk as we age.