Maintaining a healthy lifestyle for older people is essential as it protects them from various health conditions. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), older people should exercise for around 2.5 hours weekly.
The CDC advises senior citizens to incorporate different activities into their workout schedule, such as swimming, cycling, walking, workout etc. Regular exercise will offer a wide range of benefits, such as keeping their blood pressure normal, maintaining their diabetic level, and much more. Along with this, home pilates reformer is the great way to get strong muscle and stay fit. It can also help you improve and maintain general physical fitness by leading to strength, flexibility, and balance, which in turn enhance posture, mobility, and mental health.
In this article, we’ll walk you through some of the benefits seniors and aging adults can get from exercising frequently.
Exercise for Senior Citizens: Benefits That They Can Get From It
Trying out simple weight loss exercises at home will be more than sufficient for older adults. They can easily get a fitness trampoline or a treadmill to save themselves from the hassle of going to the gym. By doing so, they can enjoy the following benefits.
- Prevent Medical Conditions and Diseases
The most critical benefit of exercising is preventing certain diseases and conditions for seniors and aging adults. According to WHO (Wealth Health Organization), regular physical activity can help prevent and deal with medical conditions like diabetes, blood pressure, stroke, etc.
Additionally, exercise can also boost the immunity system’s strength and capabilities. As a result, it can help them fend off various diseases, such as heart conditions. Therefore, senior citizens need to include at least exercises such as walking into their daily routine to stay healthy.
- Improves Strength
Another benefit senior citizens can get through regular exercise is improving their overall body strength. Muscles tend to get weak over time if they’re not put to use, so they need proper training time after time. Moreover, it also improves the overall flexibility of muscles in your body.
With the proper resistance training, you can ensure that your muscle groups don’t lose out on mobility. It is particularly important for senior citizens when they’ll be sitting, standing, walking, or going up and down the stairs.
- Promotes Cardiovascular Health
Staying active can help promote a healthy heart. Studies show that frequent physical movement and activity can mitigate the chances of a heart attack. Since older people are more vulnerable to heart conditions, they must exercise regularly.
Adding cardio to your exercise schedule can help boost your energy while ensuring that your heart is healthy. However, an important thing to note is that if you have underlying heart conditions, then they won’t simply go away because of physical activity. Nevertheless, exercising can improve the quality of your life.
- Builds Positive Mental Health
Mental health is a concern for all of us today, especially senior citizens who have to deal with anxiety and depression. Since they have limited activities, it can take a toll on the mental health of senior citizens. Exercising helps people of all ages to build positive mental health.
According to a study, regular physical activity can lead to muscle-generated mood boosters. As a result, it can help older adults deal with depression and anxiety. Also, regular exercising can slow down the progression of certain brain conditions and diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.
Another benefit of exercising on mental health is that it produces endorphins. It is a hormone that relieves stress and makes you happy and satisfied. Furthermore, exercise can also help in improving your sleep cycle. It is particularly vital for older people who have sleeping disorders or are suffering from insomnia.
- Reduces the Chances of Falling
Older adults have weaker bones and muscles, which is why they can lose their balance while walking, standing, etc. Therefore, they are at a higher risk of falling, leading to life-changing injuries or fractures. So, regular physical activity is the best way to deal with it.
By exercising frequently, older people can enhance their flexibility and strength. This will help them with their coordination and balance, decreasing their chances of falling. Senior citizens might require more time to recover from falls. So, it is imperative to take any major that stops it from happening in the first place.
- Maintains Hobbies
People over the age of 65 are usually retired and have a hard time finding a job. So, they have a lot of free time on their hands and don’t know how to spend it. It is important to have useful hobbies as a part of their routine to stay active. That is where exercise comes into play.
Senior citizens can save themselves from psychological repercussions with a regular workout schedule. Also, it will ensure no negative impact on the body since it isn’t in an idle position all the time. Moreover, it also helps senior citizens remain socially connected, which leads us to our next point.
- Provides an Opportunity for Socializing
Socializing is a critical aspect of our daily lives. Humans need someone to share their thoughts and feelings with others. Most of us can have small chats with our colleagues or friends, but that is a luxury sometimes not available for older people.
Nevertheless, exercising improves their health and provides an opportunity for older people to socialize. They can go for a walk with their friends or take part in an aerobics class. This way, they’ll get to meet and connect with people.
Taking part in such activities helps older people stay young at heart and lively. The sense of emotional attachment can also have a positive impact on their mental health.
Final Words
These are just a few benefits that older people can get from exercising regularly. By staying active, they can take care not only of their physical health but also of their mental health.
Also, elderly adults don’t need to hit the gym for physical activities. You can carry out activities such as cycling, walking, swimming, etc., at home. All you need is a few pieces of equipment, and you are good to go.
