Being a senior means it’s time for you to relax and enjoy all the things you have worked so hard for all your life. It also means you have to put more focus on your health. However, since you spent all those years working and/or taking care of your family, and may not have had time to consider the details of your health, you can use that spare time to take action now. You can combine your own efforts with the Medicare insurance wellness plans to stay in optimal health so you can really enjoy these years.
Plan a Stop Date for Unhealthy Habits
By now you have probably lost count of how many times the doctor has told you to do things like quit smoking, avoid sugary foods, and so forth. As much as people might insinuate that you should stop all of these things right now, that may not be such a great idea. Over the years, your body has become used to what you do to it. A sudden drop in sugar, in addition to things like the stress of quitting smoking, can put more stress on your body than you realize. Instead of trying to quit everything at once, set a date for each task, so that you don’t shock your body all at once.
Enjoy Yoga
You might have seen some of the yoga poses and laughed at the idea of yourself doing them. However, the thing about yoga is that you go at your own pace. With each session, your body becomes a little more limber, so that you can do each pose more effectively. However, one of the key elements of yoga is your breathing, so just by focusing on that one element, you can strengthen your body by increasing blood flow and oxygen. As an added bonus, yoga isn’t an activity that jars your joints, so you don’t have to worry about overdoing it and dealing with joint pain afterward. Yoga also offers you the opportunity to consider the elements and enjoy a bit of meditation so that you have some stress relief and positive living through gratitude.
Get in the Water
Even if you aren’t overweight at all, your bones become more brittle as you age, so that even healthy weights sometimes cause an uncomfortable sensation. In the water, you are buoyant, so some of the stress is taken off your skeletal frame. The water also provides the resistance you need to make each action more effective as a means to strengthen your muscles. There are no opportunities for jarring motions in the water, so this is another way for you to exercise without joint pain. In fact, the water may even soothe achy joints.
Obviously, the more you exercise, the better you feel. You can track your health goals by taking advantage of your Medicare insurance wellness plans and making it to your regular checkups. Your doctor can also help you plan your next steps and, possibly, even schedule an appointment with a nutritionist or physical therapist to learn about your specific needs.