grow older better

Tag: ageing

  • Growing Older Better

    My Take On Aging

    There is no golden ticket

    There is no ticket, activity, pill, etc. that “magically” works to improve your aging process. There are many things that you can do and very often it takes all or many of them. It’s often trial and error to see what works for you. Buying into the hype of  “this is what you need to be healthy if over 50” is usually not true.

    It requires work

    Movement is your friend. You don’t have to run like in the image but walking around is perfectly acceptable as is weightlifting,  yoga, core work, Pilates, or anything that makes your body work, but the work is necessary. If you’re in a wheelchair or bedridden, be sure to check what kind of exercise you can and are able to do.

    And a bit of a caveat here it helps if you start moving when you’re younger, but it’s never the wrong time to start moving.

    macro shot of vegetable lot

    It requires good nutrition

    Good nutrition does not mean expensive food. In fact, one of the most nutritious and least expensive foods is beans. If you have dietary restrictions, you have to think about that –  if you have a garden, you can grow a lot of nutritious food. You don’t even actually need a garden – you can grow in pots. I did container gardening for years. There’s a lot of good food out there, but be a label reader – that is important. That’s too long a conversation to have for now. I’ll come back to this at another time.

    It requires using your brain 

    Keeping your cognitive activity working is something that also helps with aging. So keep [or start] doing things like crossword puzzles, or most any kind of puzzle, learning new things, going to classes, or doing classes via apps or online.

  • My Latest Aging Mantra

    My Latest Aging Mantra

    Ode To Aging

    What I am writing here – it’s not a new thought for me. In fact, it’s more than 20 years old, but in those 20 years I did not think of this daily. Now I do!!

    So here goes – my ode to aging or my latest mantra.

    Everything takes longer

    I had moved many times as an adult and my move to the west coast made me realize that packing and stacking boxes was taking a lot longer than it used to – AND – that was nearly 19 years before my most recent move!!

    I knew over 20 years ago that things were taking longer, but wow since my current move, which is now a year ago, I have really come to recognize that everything I do takes longer.

    Over the years I had noticed that I was not as fast doing things like biking, hiking, walking, kayaking, etc –  but since I was still doing them pretty regularly, I didn’t really notice.

    It wasn’t until I did them more sporadically prior to my move [and because of the move]  that I realized the doings took longer – especially when I started the packing thing.

    It’s been hard for me to accept this, but I don’t have a choice, so I just keep telling myself this is going to take longer than I planned.

     

    Everything takes longer than it used to.

    Everything is more tiring

    It seems most all I do not only takes longer, but I get tired more quickly. I love gardening and was happy to again have a garden in the ground – not just in containers. But the raking, weed pulling, soil digging, etc. took much longer than the last itme i had a garden. Maybe, I thought, it was due to my not having done this in almost 2 decades – but as I keep at it, I realized it really was more tiring because I was 20 years older.

    I used to go to several stores in one shopping trip but over time I found I can not do that. One store per trip is now my max – unless someone else is driving – then I can do a few. But even then I often opt to sit in the car and wait.

    It’s not walking per se – for fun trips, like going in to D.C. – I can still walk several miles a day – with a few breaks – but it’s the shopping walking that has begun to more quickly tire me. 

    Many things are more tiring than they used to be.

    Everything needs a longer recovery time

    Things take longer and are more tiring – ok – but I also found that my reccovery period was longer as well. Not just for gardening, or yoga, or walking – but everything! In years past, my body and I had an agreement that I played hurt, and as I aged, we agreed it had 2 days to get over the hurt.

    Then I took a slip and fall [I’m really ok] but I brusied my ribs and O.U.C.H.

     

    I remembered when I used to rock climb and the rope caught my ribs when I fell. My friends and I kept climbing [after we made sure nothing was broken.] When I played softball and was pitching or catching I got dinged many times – same thing – “nothing broken – let’s play.”

    But here I was many years later [actually many decades later,] and the ribs were very very sore. It was hard to drive because the seatbelt crossed the sore ribs. Sleeping was difficult because if I moved the sore ribs were more ouch.

    It’s now four weeks later and they’re finally feeling better but that’s longer than I usually “allow” my body to catch up with what our agreement was – so I think my body is telling me we need to reach a different agreement.

    I  need a longer time to recover.

    I’m sure as I continue aging, I’ll be adding to this mantra… but for now these 3 are the ones I need to remember as I go about my life – gardening, shopping, working out, etc….

  • When Is Old Age?

    Let us never know what old age is. Let us know the happiness time brings, not count the years.

    Ausonius

    But! But! But! Many say……“We must have a specific number for what age is labeled old age!”

    old ironsides

    I guess we need to know people’s ages like we know the ages of Old Ironsides, the Acropolis, museum art, etc.?

    When is old age? What is old age? 

    But a better question for me is….

    Why are we obsessed with people’s ages?

    A Random Age Thought I Had

    During the last several years, when doing activities with friends, I’ve found myself wondering aloud  like this:

    [Skiing with a friend on the glacier at Timberline [Mt. Hood]  and gazing out at the great view….]Me: “Do you think we’ll still be doing this when we’re old?” [She’s my age]

    Her [while laughing:]  “Lynn – most people think we are already old.”  

    Duh! I really really had not thought that of the two of us!

    time is passing

     Even though we no longer live near each other, we ski, bike, hike, kayak, play squash, etc. when she visits her son.Just like we have been doing for decades.Why should time have changed anything?

    Myths, Biases, and Stereotypes

    Over my professional career I have written and taught about myths, biases, and stereotypes in our understanding of human development. But until recently I’d never given much thought to my own biases or ideas of when and what is “old age.”  

    We can’t escape biases as they are part and parcel of our culture[s] – but we can be aware of them and not act on them as if they were “truth” for all peoples. Not going into this here as it’s a whole other topic [as I am prone to say.]

    I’ve also lamented over my teaching/research career, that we need better ways to categorize age groups. Groupings are a sort of necessity as we do research, write, and teach about the human lifespan because we want to talk of clusters or groups of persons, not individuals.Breaking the lifespan into researchable units is a good idea – but labeling each of them with what I see as  an “indelible marker” or “permanent ink”  leads to more stereotyping and biases which then seem never to go away.Like “old age.”

    Lately it seems that people are more obsessed with knowing everyone’s and anyone’s age. If you go over to Quora you will see questions like “How old are you? How old is X personality. When did first see yourself as old? Is 21 old?

    thinking

    Hmm – and so I began to think about my own ideas or stereotypes of “old” and “old age.”

    Physical Activity

    Physical activity in any animal, including humans, has always been of interest to me. I love watching and doing many sports. While watching Tom Brady play football I came to the conclusion that, for me, “old” means when your physical abilities decline. [Brady’s obviously have not!]

    I’m not sure how much mine or anyone’s physical abilities have to decline to be considered “old” but it became clear to me that my measurement of old is almost purely physical. Like the skiing example.It’s usually the thought behind my own “when I’m old” kind of thoughts.

    But this is probably not the case for everyone…..

    This is now a question I will keep pondering:

    When am I old?

    And when/if I figure it out, I’ll let you all know. As I keep pondering the question, I will most certainly keep writing about that here.

    What are your thoughts about “when are you old?” Thank you for your ideas….

    In the interim, I’m developing a course on aging…and if you want to know more go the Aging Course page at my online school.Or you can sign up below for more info on healthier aging.

    Healthier Aging

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  • Growing Older? You Need A Sense of Humor

    Ah aging! 

    As I have gotten older, especially since I turned 65, I have been inundated with mail that goes into a category that I now call…….

    junk mail in box

    Information for those about to die

    The mail is about falling, tripping, funerals, cremation, or selling me insurance so my family can pay for the funeral or cremation expenses.

    But I get nothing that ever tells me how to enjoy the rest of my life. It’s all about “you’re going to die so do something about it.”

    One of the mail pieces I laugh at is from an insurer who thinks I am about to fall – so I am told I need to keep my floor free of things I might trip over.

    But I seem not able to get my dog and cat to pick up after themselves, and so my floor has an array of balls, chew toys, and other roundish objects all over the place.

    All this is in addtion to my having cords to and from charging phones and computers – as well as the fact that keeping my house clear of clutter is lower than lowest on my priority list.

    I plan on enjoying my lfe; not worrying about dying!

    Comments? Thoughts? Thank you!

    I’m curious about aging….I’d like more info

    Healthier Aging

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    Yes, I’d like to get more information about healthier aging.

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  • Wallets and History