grow older better

Tag: healthy aging

  • Inactivity is BAD

    sitting too many hours

    I posted about sitting more than 3 hours a day as being bad for us…

    then this came across my screen:

    Inactivity is BAD BAD BAD

    Inactivity is a major cause of death worldwide, with new research suggesting that a sedentary lifestyle is on par with both smoking and obesity when it comes to raising the risk for disease and mortality.

    Since posting the first bit of research I have tried to not sit as much and move around a lot more yet here I am sitting …. again.

    No matter how health conscious we are, it takes a whole lot more being conscious of how much sitting we do and how inactive we really are.

    All this research is forcing me to take a look at my lifestyle and make changes.

    I'm getting a new laptop and I plan on standing a lot more when I am on the computer…that's hard to do right now…

    And as it is summer and nice out, I am walking more, biking and kayaking – but sitting is still something I am doing too much of..

     

    Thoughts? Comments? Thank you….





  • Stop Sitting So Much – and So Badly

    sitting-at-desk

    Do you want to live longer and be healthier?

    Then sit less than 3 hours a day – and when you do sit –  sit with better posture.

     

    Recent research shows that sitting for long periods of time is unhealthy and that sitting for fewer than 3 hours a day may add up to 2 years to your life.

    A wave of new research indicates that sitting all day is actively damaging your health. By forcing a body designed for movement to hold a crushingly immobile position, sitting strains muscles, slows your metabolism, increases your risk of heart disease, and even shortens your life span. "Sitting is a health hazard on the order of smoking," says Marc Hamilton, PhD, a microbiologist at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

    Wow!

    From about the 1st grade on most US schools have kids sitting hours and hours a day. And often physical education or even outdoor recess time are among the first "extras" to go when budgets are tight.

    [Or when we teach to the tests.]

    Sitting badly

    Sitting itself is a problem as our metabolism slows to a halt when we sit – and then most of us sit in bad positions posture-wise when we do sit.

    Add to this that we sit more than 3 hours a day makes this sitting-issue a double-plus whammy.

    Get out of your chair and move around! work while standing and when you sit:

    Here is a better way to sit

     

    Comments? Thoughts? Thank you

  • Puzzles? Reading? Yes – they ARE good for you!

    crossword puzzleKeep reading and doing those puzzles as you get older.

    In fact, if you are younger, and don't do puzzles –  start now and keep doing them … it's good for your brain –

    According to a study:

    Doing puzzles and reading books have been linked with a decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease, and a new study may explain why — it reduces the accumulation of harmful proteins in the brain.

    I've always believed that games play the same role – they keep our brains active. And they provide, what I found, were some therapeutic results for people of many ages.

    pinball machineOf course I do have a bias.

    I am, and have been, a big game player.  I started out with pinball, moved on to amusement park arcades, video games and now computer games.

    Just ask my son who played his video games more – him or me?  :)

    I grew up with crossword puzzles and still do them. And the same with reading. Guess now I am glad I did so much of what others tended to call a "waste of time."

    Do you play games? Do puzzles?

    Have some favorites to share? Thanks……

     

     

  • You Will Likely Live to 90

    What will you do with all the extra years?

    older_woman_at_computer

    Right now there are nearly 2 million people in the USA who are in their 90s and it is projected that by 2050 three will be 9 million of us over 90.

    What will the extra years be like for us?

    Many "seniors" are already worried about outliving their incomes and  adding more years to their lives may add more expenses but not necessarily more income.

    Living into one's 90's or 100's is no longer the stuff of legends 

    • it is happening to us
    • and happening right now
    • and will continue to happen

    Will you just grow old?

    Or grow older better by:

    Eating well

    Exercising

    Taking supplements [but make sure they are not made from rocks and petroleum]

    Being social

    Hanging out with friends on your computer

    Continuing to work [by finding a new career] – even if you don't need the  money

    Playing


    SMILING!!

     

    Thoughts? Comments?


     

  • Food And Brain Shrinkage

    What are we doing to our brains;(

    sharp_brains

    We now know that poor diets and damage to the hypothalamus are related.

    Here's another reason to eat more healthy foods as we age – it will keep you mentally sharper.

    A study, published in the journal Neurology, found that

    Elderly people with higher levels of vitamins B, C, D and E, and omega-3 fatty acids in their blood are mentally sharper…higher levels of vitamins and fish body oils resulted in less brain shrinkage typical of Alzheimer's disease, while "junk food" diets — trans-fats found in baked and fried foods, margarine, fast-food and other less-healthy dietary choices — produced just the opposite result.

    But – beware how you get those vitamins. We also know that most of the vitamins taken are synthetics – and contain petroleum, rocks and coal tar – which can not be good for you! Food based vitamins and supplements are what a body needs – so you can and will

    grow older better

     

    Thoughts?  Comments?