Healthy Aging Month – September 2022

Posted on by MALTC
September is Healthy Aging Month! This is the time to realize its never too late to get started on better health practices. Carolyn Worthington, who is the editor-in-chief of Health Aging Magazine, created September is Health Aging Month to help educate society on the positive attributes of getting older and “gives practical ideas for adults, ages 45-plus, to improve their physical, mental, social and financial well-being.”

 

“To get you started on a happy and healthier you as you age, here are some ideas from the editors of Healthy Aging® Magazine (www.healthyaging.net).

10 Tips for Rein­vent­ing Your­self dur­ing Sep­tem­ber Is Healthy Aging Month: 

  1. Do not act your age or what you think your cur­rent age should act like. What was your best year so far? 28? 40? Now? Pic­ture your­self at that age and be it. Some peo­ple may say this is denial, but we say it’s pos­i­tive think­ing and goes a long way toward feel­ing bet­ter about your­self. (Tip: Don’t keep look­ing in the mir­ror, just FEEL IT!)

  2. Be pos­i­tive in your con­ver­sa­tions and your actions every day. When you catch your­self com­plain­ing, check your­self right there and change the con­ver­sa­tion to some­thing pos­i­tive. (Tip: Stop watch­ing negative news.)

  3. Dis­tance your­self from peo­ple who do not have a pos­i­tive out­look on life. Sur­round your­self with ener­getic, happy, pos­i­tive peo­ple of all ages and you will be hap­pier too. (Tip: Smile often. It’s con­ta­gious!)

  4. Walk like a vibrant, healthy per­son, and show off that gait! (Tip: Make a con­scious effort to take big strides, walk with your heel first, and wear com­fort­able shoes. Take a fitness class that focuses on balance to help you stay steady.)

  5. Stand up straight. You can knock off the appear­ance of a few extra years with this trick. Fix your stance and prac­tice it every day, all day until it is nat­ural. You will look great and feel bet­ter. (Tip: Your waist­line will look trim­mer if you fol­low this advice.)

  6. How’s your smile? Research shows peo­ple who smile more often are hap­pier. Your teeth are just as impor­tant to your good health as the rest of your body. Not only is it the first thing peo­ple notice, but good oral health is a gate­way to your over­all well-being. (Tip: Go to the den­tist reg­u­larly and look into teeth whiten­ing.)

  7. Are you lonely? There are people out there who want to talk to you! Pick up the phone, land­line, or cell and make a call to do one or more of the fol­low­ing: Vol­un­teer your time, Take a class, Invite some­one to meet for lunch, brunch, din­ner, or cof­fee. (Tip: Vol­un­teer at the local pub­lic school to stay in touch with younger peo­ple and to keep up with cur­rent trends. Take a com­puter class or a tuto­r­ial ses­sion at your cell phone store to keep up with tech­nol­ogy. Ask someone to weekly dine out with you.)

  8. Start walk­ing, not only for your health but to see the neigh­bors. Have a dog? You’ll be amazed how the dog can be a con­ver­sa­tion starter. (Tip: If you don’t have time for a dog, go to your local ani­mal shel­ter and vol­un­teer. You will be thrilled by the puppy love!)

  9. Make this month the time to set up your annual phys­i­cal and other health screen­ings. Go to the appoint­ments and then, hope­fully, you can stop wor­ry­ing about ail­ments for a while. (Tip: Keep a calendar book to keep track of your appointments.)

  10. Find your inner artist. Who says tak­ing music lessons is for young school chil­dren? You may have an artist lurk­ing inside you just wait­ing to be tapped.  Have you always wanted to play the piano, vio­lin, or tuba? Have you ever won­dered if you could paint a por­trait or scene in oil? What about work­ing in wood? (Tip: Sign up now for fall art or music classes and dis­cover your inner artist!)”

 

“September Is Healthy Aging Month.” Healthy Aging®, 18 Aug. 2016, https://healthyaging.net/healthy-aging-month/september-is-healthy-aging-month/.

 

About Mid-Atlantic Long Term Care:

We are a provider-owned health care company meeting the complex care needs of the geriatric population throughout the areas we serve. MALTC provides our Community Partners with medical leadership, and we place a Care Team that is clinically competent to foster a mutually beneficial long term relationship in the communities we serve. Long term care is all we do! We apply the best medical knowledge with compassion and respect resulting in improved lives and health outcomes. We set a legacy of excellence for geriatric providers and have been doing so since 1998. Mid Atlantic Long Term Care is committed to providing quality care through our dedication, experience in geriatric medicine and a passion to serve our patients, their families, and our Community Partners.