| | Q: | How healthy is the county in which I live? |
| A: | Ever wondered if your place of residence is a "healthy" place to live? Well, even if you haven't, you can now find out if your residence promotes healthy lifestyles for seniors. The University of Wisconsin recently completed a study in which they ranked every county in all 50 states. Numerous factors were researched, including mortality and health factors such as smoking, obesity, alcohol consumption pollution. Check out your county's rankings at www.countyhealthrankings.org. |
| A: | The Wall Street Journal had a great article on how to change your exercise routine as you age. Basically, one need to adjust their routine as they age - the way you exercised at 20 should not be the way you exercise at 50 (and as someone getting closer to 50 every day I can certainly vouch for it). Likewise, we need to let go of our competitive urges as we age - the desire to train harder in the quest to improve our fitness level needs to be tempered. You can read the entire article at the following link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204047504574384973660445730.html |
| Q: | What are the best exercises for seniors? |
| A: | According to the National Institutes of Health, there are four recommended types of exercise for older adults who want to improve their health.
1. Strength training. This type of exercise builds muscle, which in turn increases your metabolism. This is vital to maintaining your weight and blood sugar.
2. Balance training. This type of training helps build muscle in your legs and hips. As people age, their legs tend to become weaker faster than the rest of their muscles. Stronger hips and legs also help prevent falls.
3. Stretching. Helps flexibility and freedom of movement.
4. Endurance training. "Cardio" type training, such as walking or jogging, that raises your heart rate for an extended length of time.
As with any exercise program and senior activity, please consult your doctor and start slowly in order to build your strength, endurance and flexibility at a proper rate. |
| Q: | How do I make sure I have healthy sleeping habits? |
| A: | Getting a good night's sleep is vital to persons of all ages. Oftentimes, though, we fall into bad habits or neglect proper sleep. The following link offers a good start to help seniors get not only the right amount of sleep, but the manner in which they should get rest. http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleep_aging.htm |
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