**Video of Event: **
"How Can Positive Ageing be Achieved" held on August 18, 2022.
Speakers: Dr P T Sivakumar, Professor of Psychiatry & Head, Geriatric Psychiatry Unit, Dept. of Psychiatry, NIMHANS
Dr Rekha Bhatkhande, Consultant Gastroenterologist, Dean, Shushrusha Hospital, Mumbai
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8R_m6oK7zI
Article:
How Can Positive Ageing be Achieved
Can you be happy is a question that we may ask ourselves when we cross 60. But positive ageing means accomplishing something, not in spite of aging, but because of aging. Maturity can be a catalyst for rich new experiences, offering a way to renew passions and reinvent yourself.
You can aim for positive ageing by:
· Exercising
· Eating a Healthy Diet
· Socializing
· Practicing Calming techniques
· Staying up to date
· Having a Sense of Purpose
· Taking care of your appearance
· Laughing a lot
Try to Exercise Every Day
Exercising lifts your spirit and energy levels because your body releases feel-good hormones known as endorphins. If you have not been exercising previously, it is not too late to start. Incorporating light workouts into your routine, even if you did not exercise before, reduces your chances of getting disabled by 25%.
Exercise also helps relieve chronic pain from conditions like arthritis and pinched nerves. It helps us maintain weight; therefore, preventing us from developing diseases such as obesity and diabetes, improves our metabolism, lowers blood pressure, and strengthens our immune system.
Eat a Healthy Diet
Eating a healthy diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean proteins (egg white, curd, milk, soya) and whole grains keeps your spirits up. This is because about 95% of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate our moods, is produced in your gastrointestinal tract. Along with your food make sure to drink plenty of water.
Eating a nutritious diet is as important as physical activity because though your body is experiencing some changes, meal times can still be fun. Eat with a friend or family member to avoid feeling lonely and to catch up. Also, make an effort to ensure your food is tasty and well presented to trigger your senses and improve your appetite.
Consult your doctor whether you need to take supplements like calcium and magnesium.
Socialise
Stay in touch with family and friends to stay healthy as you grow older. Ensure you interact with at least one person every day. If your friends have moved away or passed on, it is time for new friends. Join clubs with activities that interest you or volunteer where you are likely to meet people who share your interests and values.
Practice Calming Techniques
Meditation, yoga and focused breathing exercises help to lower stress levels and may help treat depression. Yoga — which incorporates mindful breathing — can provide relief not only while you're doing it, but also cumulatively, over time, as well. When you slow your breathing, it regulates your heart rate and calms down your body.
Stay up to date
Sign up for social media sites like Twitter and Facebook as a way to keep in touch with your younger friends and relatives as well as stay abreast of what is happening in the world.
Have a Sense of Purpose
Structure Your Day
If you have a regular routine in which every minute is filled with activity, there will be no time for negative thoughts to creep into your mind!
Learn Something New Every Day
There’s no greater way to keep your brain alert than this. Studies show that breaking out of your pattern to learn something new can improve your memory. Learn a new instrument, or language or skill. If you like to cook, you could learn a new cuisine. If you use the same route to the store, you can try using a different one.
Volunteer: Try your hand at volunteering, by mentoring or teaching students who need extra tutoring. Contact a local NGO and ask if they need any help.
Get Busy with a Hobby: Developing a hobby or reviving an old one is a great way to pass the time and learn something new. In addition, you can make new friends with whom you will have something in common.
Take care of your appearance
Just because you are advancing in years should not mean that you can’t do it in style. When you look good, you feel even better. Wear sunscreen when you go out into the sun to protect your skin, drink plenty of water and indulge in a little makeup if you like that sort of thing.
A great haircut can transform your face or even changing your hair colour. A dark hair colour makes your features look severe while a lighter skin tone softens them.
Looking good will make you feel confident and make you purposeful.
Laugh a Lot
Laughing lowers the stress hormone cortisol. According to a study conducted in 2014, 20 minutes spent watching funny videos helped improve the memory in seniors. Some research also shows a link between happiness and lower risk of heart illness. So, laugh as much as you can because laughter really is the best medicine!
Positive Aging
Give up distractions that make you do stupid things and instead focus on what’s important to you. Don’t worry about things that might happen - choose to adapt to whatever happens. You have influence over whether you let things upset you.
Creativity is not limited to young people. At any age, it can open people up new possibilities and add richness to your life. Creativity can benefit aging by strengthening morale, improving physical health, enriching relationships and establishing a legacy.
It is possible to maintain purpose and meaning in life even in the face of significant disease and disability, impaired mental and physical functioning and limited participation in activities.
Positive aging is a state of mind that is positive, optimistic, courageous, and able to adapt and cope in flexible ways with life’s changes. Go for it!
- Edited and Compiled by Anita Natu
Sources:
“The End of Old Age” by Dr Marc E. Agronin
“Happiness Is a Choice You Make,” by John Leland
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/well/finding-meaning-and-happiness-in-old-age.html
https://aging.com/the-way-of-living-being-happy-and-healthy-at-an-old-age/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/08/grow-happier-with-age_n_7487742.html
http://www.countryliving.co.uk/wellbeing/news/a1371/how-to-be-happy-old-age
https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2021/depression-in-women.html