Senior You and your older family member know that exercise is essential to good health. However, for many people, exercising sounds like it could be a huge time commitment and require a lot of effort. After all, getting the most out of exercise requires doing a hardcore, sweat-inducing workout, right? Maybe not. According to a new study, even small amounts of exercise can help to increase your aging relative’s lifespan.
Exercise and Lifespan Study
The study was conducted by Norwegian researchers who were interested in learning how exercise, even just a little, could impact how long people live. On the reverse side, they also wanted to know more about how a sedentary lifestyle affects life and health. To find out, the researchers looked at existing data from other research. The eight studies used involved in excess of 36,000 people who were 40 years old and older. The participants had been followed for an average of six years.
During the course of the follow up period, about six percent of the participants passed away. The researchers found that the rate of death sharply declined with the more active participants were. The results showed that the greatest difference in death rates was between those who were least active and those who were most active. In addition, they found that people who spent 9.5 or more hours per day sitting had a much greater risk of dying at a younger age.
Tips for Adding Physical Activity to a Senior’s Life
Exercise doesn’t have to be intimidating. There are all kinds of simple ways to add more activity to a senior’s day, such as those listed below:
- Join or start a walking club. Seniors can invite other people in their neighborhood to join them for a daily walk. Having a club ensures that there will always be someone to talk to while walking and can make exercising much more fun.
- Clean the house. Pushing a vacuum and reaching and bending to dust are all good exercise.
- Exercise on commercial breaks. While watching television, seniors can get up during commercials to march in place or do some stretches.
- Park farther away from stores. Instead of looking for the closest parking spot, park the car near the back of the lot so the senior must walk a little farther.
Senior care can help older adults to add a little more activity to their days. Senior care providers can drive them to do errands and park the care away from buildings. To ensure they remain safe, the senior care provider can escort them through the parking lot to prevent them from falling. Senior care providers can also involve the older adult in cleaning the house with them, giving them tasks they can accomplish that will also get them moving.
Sources
https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/news/20190822/even-a-little-exercise-means-a-lot-for-life-span
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/physical-activity-tips
If you are considering senior care in Katy, TX, for an aging loved one, please call the caring staff at At Your Side Home Care. We will answer all of your senior care questions. Call today: (832) 271-1600.
Our Certified Nurse Aides, 24-Hour Live-in Assistants and Home Health Aides are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We also provide the security and confidence of 24-hour Telephone Assistance, so fast, reliable help is always available when it's needed. To learn more about our homecare services see our homecare services page.
Different people need different levels of homecare. To meet the requirements of our clients, At Your Side Homecare maintains consistent staffing levels of caring professionals. Homecare service is available for as little as a few hours a week, or as many as 24 hours a day, seven days a week
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