Pete’s Blog – October 2019 Healty Ageing
Keys to Healthy Ageing
Like me, I am sure you would all like to continue to lead a full, active lifestyle for as long as possible. As I have discussed in previous blog entries regular exercise is very important throughout your lifecycle. Exercise helps to keep us moving, which in turn helps us to retain better overall health, fitness and muscle strength and minimise the risk of dying from disease.
A growing body of research is lending further support to the fact that exercise is the best anti-ageing medicine we will ever have available to us. Exercising on a regular basis each week helps to minimise our disease risk.
The human body is pre-programmed to allow us to move and be active throughout our entire lifecycle. It is not designed to lose function just because we get older. Rather than searching for a magic pill to extend life, combining regular exercise along with - sleeping well, eating right, moderate alcohol consumption, managing stress, connecting with people and mastering the basics of a healthy lifestyle will afford each of us the opportunity to live longer and to live our lives to the fullest for as long as possible.
Exercise
Maintaining good functional strength and fitness provides many health benefits as we age, such as reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes and also keeping your brain healthy.
A study published in this month’s edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (Rasmussen et al, October 2019, pp1-15, JAMA) found that reduced gait speed, even in middle age, is associated with more than just geriatric functional status; it is associated with midlife ageing and lifelong brain health. Moreover this research also found a very high correlation between slower gait and diminished functional physical performance measures including, weaker grip strength, poorer balance, poorer visual-motor control, decreased performance on a repetitive chair stand and also decreased performance on a 2 minute step test.
This 5-decade long investigation also showed a link between gait speed and lifelong compromised brain health and neurocognitive functioning. Furthermore these connections were found to be manifest as young as early as 3 years of age. The authors suggest that a brisk walk, even for as little as 10 minutes at a time, can help to prevent a number of health issues, including early onset dementia.
Apart from going for a brisk walk every day, other physical activities that foster good health as we age include strength training, this can be a s simple as doing push-ups if you can’t get to a gym, practise going from sitting on the floor to standing, practise getting up from your sofa or armchair without using your arms to help you to stand and when outdoors, walking up and down a few flights of stairs or hills.
Get enough sleep
Try to get between seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Sleeping well each night is one of the best things we can do to help keep our bodies healthy throughout our lifespan. While there are always exceptions to every rule, getting less than at least seven hours sleep per night makes it very difficult for the brain to help the body perform the restorative maintenance to help keep your whole body and brain performing at optimal levels. Sleep deprivation can have severe consequences for a person’s metabolic health, e.g decreased insulin sensitivity and an associated risk of diabetes. Sleep deprivation also impacts on our ability to deal with stress and think clearly.
Eat right
Try to eat a diet rich in lean, high quality protein, vegetables and frui, e.g. the Mediterranean diet. There is also a growing body of nutrition research that suggests the timing of when we eat is important, e.g. trying to eat breakfast 12 – 14hrs post the previous day’s evening meal.
Drink Alcohol in Moderation
If you enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, then continue to enjoy some wine with your evening meal. The problem, is that most people will have more than one glass of wine with their evening meal. Very quickly, one glass can become one bottle or more.
While there are numerous studies that demonstrate the health benefits of drinking wine, there are just as many that show that drinking too much can have a negative impact on your health. You are probably better off to limit your mid-week alcohol consumption and enjoy a glass or two of a good quality wine over a meal with friends and/or family on the weekend.
Manage stress
One of the challenges we all face living in a city as big as Sydney is that each day we have to constantly deal with a number of different stressors that can impact on our overall health and well being. Some of these are easy to control, such as getting adequate sleep each night, others are not as easy, e.g. constantly driving in peak hour traffic, having to work long hours to pay the mortgage, pay for your child’s school fees, or their school ski-trip, or overseas drama, history, rugby or visual arts tour!
Learning how to manage stress is very important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Too much stress can lead to inflammation, which can lead to the development of a range of lifestyle related diseases such as heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease. Getting seven – eight hours sleep per night, regular exercise are great ways to manage stress as are wellness strategies such as regular massage, meditation, tai chi and yoga.
Connect with people – have a purpose
Master the basics