Your Good Health Article
Living With Retirement: Seven Strategies for a Healthier Life
Scott A. Gese
There are a number of strategies you can employ to stay healthy during your retirement years. Here are seven you can start today.
Marcus Aurelius/PexelsYou've put in the years of hard work and the finish line has finally been crossed. My guess is there were days when you hated the alarm and you hated your job. Just getting out of bed in the morning was a major accomplishment. The working life was a long slog but you got through it day by day, month by month, year by year.
Savor the moment. Take some time off to enjoy your new freedom. Throw away your alarm clock. Sleep in and spend the day in your slippers. It's a new experience worthy of reveling in for a few days. But don't over do it. Don't even think about slacking off on such things as keeping yourself healthy. Your health is the most important aspect of your whole retirement program. If you don't have your health all the long hours and hard work you put in to get where you are doesn't stand for shit.
Not to worry. Staying healthy doesn't have to be strenuous or take up a lot of your time. No one says you have to bust your ass at a gym lifting heavy weights or jog miles a day in order to keep fit and healthy. There are things you can incorporate into your daily routine that will go a long way to keep you in good condition so you can enjoy your retirement. Here are a few of them.
Healthy Food Choices and Eating Habits
We all have to eat and the process takes up a big chunk of our time. Planning and repairing meals is a daily chore for most of us. (Some people love it and more power to them for it.) Purchasing food is a weekly ritual many of us would rather not have to deal with. We go through the motions without really thinking about how those items we buy impact our health. We buy what's cheap, we buy what tastes good and we buy because the advertising on the label appeals to us. This way of shopping for food is not a recipe for good health.
Pay attention to what you're buying. If you don't, you could end up paying a heavy price. A price well beyond what you might have paid for better food choices at the grocery store.
That price being unexpected medical bills and a deterioration of your good health.
Know what you're putting into your body
If you don't read food labels you should start. Find out what's in that box of cereal or TV dinner you're thinking of putting into your cart. Make a habit of reading those ingredients and know how they affect your health. Once you know that certain ingredients and food additives are not good for your health you will start making better food choices.
If you choose not to educate yourself it's at your own demise. If that's the case, the best advice I can give you is to stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Buy whole foods like fruits and vegetables. Make sure they're organic and non GMO.
The time spent researching what's healthy and the extra money spent on healthy food will make a big difference in the health of your body. Food is the fuel your body needs to maintain good health.
Intermittent Fasting
What is it? Intermittent fasting is a system of eating only within an eight hour window of time and fasting for the other sixteen hours each day. According to the Mayo Clinic intermittent fasting is beneficial in reducing inflammation. This can improve certain inflammatory conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, asthma and even stroke. It should be noted that this type of fasting is not for everyone. If you try it but find yourself suffering from hunger, fatigue, nausea or headaches, intermittent fasting may not be the thing for you. If you can handle it, it will make a big difference in your overall health.
Better Sleep
We all need a good nights sleep. Suffering from any form of insomnia can affect your health and your quality of life. Some of the more common reasons for not getting a good nights sleep are:
- stress
- an uncomfortable bed
- bright lights before bed
- using electronic devices too late in the evening.
Here are a couple of things you can do to help get a good nights sleep.
- Turn off as many LED lights in your house as possible during the evening hours.
- Wear blue light blocking glasses in the evening. Blue light waves from LED lights, your phone, computer and television screens influence your alertness and hormone production. This contributes to keeping you from getting a good nights sleep. It also affects your circadian rhythms. These rhythms are closely aligned with the rising and setting of the sun.
- Stop using your electronic devices including your television at least one hour and preferably two before you go to bed. Using this time to sit quietly and relax while reading a book will go a long way in helping you get a good nights sleep.
<<Here's a good article on Blue Light if you want to know more.>>
A couple other more radical things you might try include flipping off the breaker to the power in your bedroom. The electrical wires in your walls emit EMF's (Electromagnetic Fields) which may be playing a role in keeping you from a good nights sleep. Speaking of EMF, you might also try turning off your router and all your electronic devices at night. In fact leaving all your electronic devices out of the bedroom while you sleep is a good idea. Lastly you might try sleeping on what's called a Earthing Mat. Find out more about earthing below.
Earthing
When you walk on the earth in your bare feet or even in shoes with leather soles (if you can still find such a thing) negative ions from the earth enter your body. These negative ions help neutralize those pesky free radicals your body built up during the day due to stress. Stress increases inflammation and earthing helps to reduce inflammation. But that's not all. Earthing can help to improve your sleep, improve your blood flow and your energy level. You can purchase a mat for your bed and stay connected to the earth while you sleep.
Exercise
Exercise is important for the good health of your body. It doesn't have to be lifting heavy weights. There are plenty of low impact exercises out there that are very beneficial to your overall health. Qi Gong, Ti Chi, yoga and even walking will do your body good.
<<Here are four articles on low impact exercises.>>
Turn off your TV
This would include your computer and your phone as well. Your electronic gadgets keep you from moving around. I realize there are times when you need to be on your phone or computer. Especially if you use these things to make a living. But once the work is done, turn it off. Use your free time to move around. Sitting on your ass for hours at a time is detrimental to your good health. Don't do it any longer than necessary. A sedentary lifestyle is an unhealthy lifestyle. Not only from a physical standpoint but from a mental standpoint as well. It's a bad habit to fall into. You are only here on this earth for a relatively short period of time. Get outside and get moving. Breath some fresh air, enjoy nature and live a healthy life.
Drink More Water
Water is life. At any given time there are a certain percentage of Americans who are chronically dehydrated. Articles on the internet say up to 75%, but I can't find any peer reviewed documentation to substantiate this number. So let's just leave it at an unknown percentage. Needless to say, water is important to your good health. If you don't drink enough water each day, complications such as fatigue, headaches, joint pain and other more serious symptoms can develop.
Tap water is better than nothing but it's not the best. It contains chemicals used to treat it. It can also contain residue of prescription drugs from people who flush them down the toilet. (I've heard tap water referred to as “antiseptic sewage”). I don't drink water straight from the tap and neither should you.
You should get yourself a good filtration system if you don't already have one.
How do you know if you've been drinking enough water? Watch the color of your pee. If it's clear or light in color, you're good. If it's dark, you need more water.
If you feel thirsty, you're already dehydrated. Drink more water.
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This short article only touches on a few of the many ways to improve your health. There is plenty more research that can be done about any one of these suggestions. I encourage you start doing your own research to learn more. Start with small steps as you work toward a more healthy life. Your health is your most important asset especially during your retirement years. You have the tools and the ability to hang on to it. Don't let it slip away .
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