What is holistic health for seniors?
Holistic health is a way of life that highlights the connection of the mind, body, and spirit for optimal health. A pivotal element to holistic health is taking charge of your well-being and making healthy lifestyle choices. However, aging adults face costly and preventable illnesses that include chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and arthritis. Psychological health, cognitive decline, falls, the health of sense organs and joints, and social isolation are other difficulties. We experience more health problems as we age. Why is that?
As we get older, we experience more “wear and tear” on our cells, joints, bones, cardiovascular system, and other parts of our bodies. This wear and tear gets harder to recuperate from in time and makes us more vulnerable to establishing certain diseases and conditions. The aging process can’t be slowed or reversed, but we can take active actions towards:
- Minimizing the danger of establishing extreme health problems
- Avoiding chronic health conditions from worsening
See: Ayurveda for Healthy Aging & Longevity
It’s more about integrating healthy practices into the fabric of your everyday life. This type of technique can be crucial to durability and preserve independence and overall wellness as you age. Let’s look at some of the typical senior health concerns and how holistic medicine can address them.
Holistic health is mind, body, spirit
Research continues to reveal exercise, psychological stimulation and social connections decrease risks of illness and depression. A National Institute on Aging study found that older grownups experience the highest wellness levels when interacting socially, working or volunteering, and working out. By integrating a holistic lifestyle, it can lead to a much healthier, better life.
- Use your brain: Doing challenging activities such as finding out a new skill can enhance memory function and help your brain become more versatile in some areas. This can assist make up for age-related modifications in the brain.
- Physical motion: Exercise can give you the strength to keep doing activities that you love. Strength exercises can let your body move better, making it much easier to climb stairs or get your groceries.
- Social interactions: Finding function, having a healthy emotional life, and keeping social connections not just make life more pleasurable, they make it healthier. Religious or spiritual activity is related to lower rates of hypertension and less discomfort from illness. And an active social life decreases depression and can assist extend life.
- Healthy diet: Nutritious meals in the dining rooms, an on-site gym with classes, swimming pools, and even individual fitness instructors facilitate caring for your body.
See: Longevity Spinach & Health Benefits
- Neighborhood programs, resident clubs, and activities help you discover, broaden your horizons and construct relationships with others.
And numerous communities have religious services, Bible research studies, meditation classes, support systems, or on-site therapists to assist you to stay spiritually connected and mentally healthy.
- Holistic care: Holistic care is a method for general health and recovery, including physical and psychological wellness. Many senior healthcare and wellness programs take a holistic approach to their patients, particularly those experiencing psychological injury and self-confidence issues.
Here are several ways seniors can age with dignity and realize their capacity at the same time. - Gardening for Seniors: Maintaining an edible garden allows elders to have some kind of workout daily. They’d likewise have something to look forward to in the months to come, be it fruits, veggies, or flowers in their garden. A neighborhood garden is also a terrific way to expand your holistic health care program. A garden provides citizens an opportunity to engage in light exercise while also hanging out outdoors. Being outside has significant advantages for health and well-being- permitting seniors to get fresh air and take pleasure in nature.
See: Anti-Aging & Longevity Natural Home Remedies
- Writing or Journaling: Keeping an appreciation journal allows senior citizens to preserve a favorable personality. They can do this in the early morning, right after breakfast.
- Painting, or Playing a Musical Instrument: Visual arts and music are excellent forms of individual expression. Studies also reveal that these activities are therapeutic as they help individuals find relaxation while doing these crafts.
- Playing Games and Puzzles: Psychological health is important for elders. They are able to keep their mind sharp by playing puzzles and board games.
- Family pet ownership: Any family pet owner will tell you about the bond and friendship they share with their animals. Research study shows that individuals with animals are frequently better and healthier than those without.
Aside from the state of mind elevation and heightened self-confidence, pet owners tend to be more physically fit and less lonesome. Pet ownership also has exceptional health advantages, such as low cholesterol and triglyceride levels and enhanced heart health. Pet ownership likewise results in greater oxytocin levels (the love hormone) which helps decrease stress and blood pressure. These health benefits can have an extensive impact on the lifestyle of senior citizens.
See: Anti-Aging Foods For Your Diet
Ayurveda holistic health for seniors
Ayurveda focuses on balancing your dosha, enhancing your gut health, and rejuvenation.
- Balancing Vata – Unbalanced Vata (Dosha of air and ether) causes dryness, degeneration, feeling cold, joint conditions, minimized bone density, and gastrointestinal and sleep disruptions. These boost in fall and early winter. Discover tips on stabilizing Vata here. See: Ayurveda Vata Diet – Vata Pacifying Diet
- Enhancing Ojas is the body’s strength and vigor responsible for our immunity and psychological resistance against stress.
- Use rejuvenating, anti-aging methods, herbs, and treatments.
Ayurvedic Tips for Aging: Here are some methods to include Ayurveda into your life as you journey through the Vata phase.
- Hydrate.
- Stay mobile.
- Use oil on the body & in the food.
- Eat cooked foods, not frozen or cold foods
- Meditate.
- Stay linked to the neighborhood.
- Discover something new.
- Make lunch your biggest meal.
- Get to bed early.
- Cultivate thankfulness.
See: Panchakarma Cleanse & Treatment Benefits
Meditation— Ayurveda recommends meditation to protect and improve Ojas. There are multiple studies about how meditation postpones the procedure of aging through tension reduction, physical and mental benefits, enhanced cognitive function, improved neuroplasticity, and offsetting age-related cortical thinning of the brain.
See: How to Lengthen Telomeres & Delay Aging
Panchakarma – Panchakarma is a powerful rejuvenating, cleansing treatment in Ayurveda, embellished to assist chronic and degenerative disorders. It helps flow, cerebral blood flow, lymphatic drainage, and prevents the recurrence of conditions. Panchakarma includes a pretreatment, main treatment, and most significantly, posttreatment restoration with herbs, dietary, and lifestyle modifications.
See: Longevity Diet For Healthy Aging
Yoga therapy for seniors
Chair yoga is a terrific way for older adults to get the incredible health advantages of yoga. Staying seated means that even frail seniors or those who aren’t versatile can securely do the workouts. Yoga is an excellent method for older adults to loosen and stretch unpleasant muscles, lower stress, and improve blood circulation.
See: Yoga to make you feel good all the time
Massage for elderly
Massage has lots of health and stress advantages, which can be particularly useful for senior citizens. Deep tissue massage has improved immune system reaction by increasing white blood cell counts among many older individuals. Nevertheless, it may not be safe for some senior citizens with delicate muscles and major pain problems. Even mild massage can unwind clenched muscles and bring hypertension under control.
A therapeutic massage also minimizes cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and launches endorphins that can increase joy and confidence. For seniors experiencing arthritis, carpal tunnel, or other chronic hand pain problems, a gentle hand massage can help enhance hand, wrist, and finger movement and series of motions.
Tai-Chi for seniors
For seniors, the focused, low-impact motions can assist clear the mind, similar to meditation. Older grownups can also experience numerous other advantages of this kind of workout, including increased strength, improved mobility, much better flexibility, and stronger immunity.
Among the very best aspects of tai chi is that you can experience all of these health advantages without a big investment in unique equipment. Plus, you do not need to have exceptional coordination or strength to get going. You can even practice the motions in a chair. That adaptability is one reason that this practice is a good workout for elders who might have physical limitations.
Healthy relationship for seniors
The look for love and friendship exists in practically everyone, and it isn’t something that disappears with age. According to Harvard University, excellent connections can enhance health and increase longevity.
Family Time For Elderly
Investing quality time with enjoyed ones has a big favorable impact on overall health, specifically senior citizens. Having any type of social connection supplies many health advantages (as discussed above), mainly centered around stress and anxiety, which are typically related to seclusion. Research studies have shown that individuals in healthy relationships survive on average 3.7 years longer than those who live alone. Frequent see with family and enjoyed ones make them feel valued by their children. This enhances their self-confidence and gives their life value.
Music therapy
Music brings happiness and comfort. It also stimulates memories. Individuals of all ages can gain from music therapy, which uses music to treat clients’ physical, cognitive, and emotional problems.
Music, mainly instrumental tunes, has been found to assist individuals in dealing with stress by improving cardiac health and reducing cortisol. It likewise improves cognitive ability in older grownups, particularly those who have suffered a stroke.
Summary
Your well-being and your health have a lot to do with the options you make. Fortunately is that it’s never far too late to start making better options for a much better life. Utilize our neighborhood locator tool to discover a senior living neighborhood near you.
