For many individuals, the idea of aging is scary. As people grow older, they lose proper function, which is dismissed as a part of the life cycle.
Although a significant part of the population experience this decline in health, it does not mean it’s normal. Individuals can age gracefully and retain a well-functioning body in many different ways.
Sleep
The average adult needs between 7 and 9 hours of sleep every night. Women typically need more sleep than men, due to their hormone cycles. The amount of physical work you do can also impact your body’s need for more sleep.
Sleep is essential for longevity because it’s the key to ridding your brain of toxic buildup. During sleep, your brain’s glymphatic system works to flush out excess toxins and different proteins that accumulate in your brain. Furthermore, the glymphatic system directly impacts your central nervous system.
An additional benefit of proper sleep is its impact on muscle recovery. Sleep is the key to producing more growth hormones for muscle recovery and muscle growth. Some studies indicate that less sleep actually leads to further breakdown of your muscles, leading to a greater propensity for fat and even weight gain.
Exercise
One of the best ways to improve your sleep quality is by maintaining a healthy exercise regimen. Additionally, as humans age, they progressively lose muscle over time, and this loss increases with age.
Due to a lack of muscle, and a lack of resistance put on the bones, muscle and bone density both decrease. This decrease in muscle directly impacts a person’s ability to maintain balance and increases a person’s risk of fracture.
Hip fractures account for over 300,000 hospitalizations for individuals over the age of 65, and 95% of them are in direct relation to a fall. To help counteract this risk of falling, exercise is essential.
Physical Therapy
While some individuals may benefit from exercise alone, many have additional problems that require the expertise of a physical therapist. The need for physical therapy is typically the result of improper use of muscles that have either been damaged or impacted by different life events. This trauma or misuse of the muscle can lead to an imbalance that, unless properly addressed, can result in further damage and pain.
Some of these complications include incontinence, pain with sex, back pain, and pelvic and hip pain. All of these ailments are directly linked to the pelvic floor. As women and men age, the muscles weaken, especially after childbirth, or through lifestyle choices like excessive sitting.
These complications significantly impact an individual’s quality of life. Working with a physical therapist to support and strengthen the pelvic floor muscles can be life-changing.
Social Interaction
While there are numerous life choices that an individual can make to increase their longevity and quality of life, one of the biggest indicators for both is a person’s social network. One study found that individuals with a supportive social circle were 45% less likely to die.
One of the biggest stressors for individuals is loneliness. This loneliness increases a person’s cortisol levels, which directly impacts inflammation in the body. If inflammation in the body becomes chronic, it can lead to damage of cells, organs, and tissues. This ultimately results in scarring or death of these cells and damage to the DNA. When cells are dying faster and DNA is damaged, more disease and illness follow.
Conclusion
Aging can be a beautiful process that can be helped or hindered by your choices. By focusing on maintaining your physical health through proper sleep, exercise, and physical therapy, you can significantly impact your health for the better.
However, this can all be for naught if you are not nurturing your relationships. At the end of the day, what’s most important is our health, friends, and family.