Every January, you mark your calendar with promises to take better care of yourself, but end up making resolutions that are too unrealistic to keep for long.
Data shows that the top three New Year’s resolutions are about making healthier lifestyle choices, but by the second Friday in January, most resolutions are abandoned. The sports app Strava has even coined a name for it: ‘Quitter’s Day’.
Let’s break the cycle. As the calendar flips to January 2024, let’s make health resolutions that are small, manageable, and doable. The goal is to make them a habit; that means sticking to our New Year’s resolutions for at least three months straight.
For seniors looking to live a better, healthier life, it’s best to start with the basics. Here are four easy ways to be healthier in 2024:
- Drink enough water to stay hydrated.
- Get enough sleep.
- Exercise more, with a focus on building muscle strength and bone mass.
- Learn something new to improve your mental health.
1. Drink Enough Water
How much water should you drink in a day? The widespread belief is that you’re supposed to drink eight glasses of water a day, but that’s not necessarily true. Everyone has different water requirements depending on their weight, diet, the climate where they live, and the kind of physical activities they do.
Some studies have shown that most Americans over 65 don’t drink as much water as they should. You should discuss your specific daily routine with your healthcare provider. They can help you calculate how much water you should be drinking.
Memory loss is a common side effect of aging, and sometimes older people forget to drink water. This leads to dehydration, which damages your mental functions and causes more memory loss.
Another side effect of aging is that your body loses the ability to tell you when you’re thirsty. If you wait to feel thirsty before taking a drink of water, you could already be dehydrated and not even know it.
Dehydration puts you at risk of developing kidney stones and urinary tract infections, as well as heatstroke, seizures, and shock.
Four easy tips to up your fluid intake in 2024
- Keep water easily accessible. When you see it, you’re more likely to remember to drink it. Place bottles all around your living space, especially in areas where you spend the most time.
- Carry a reusable water bottle with you at all times, especially when going out.
- Take small sips of water throughout the day instead of chugging a big glassful.
- Incorporate sugar-free juices, herbal teas, broths, soups, and water-rich foods such as cucumber and watermelon in your diet.
2. Get Enough Sleep
You’ve had an exhausting day, but even though you’ve been in bed for an hour already, you’re still wide awake. If so, you could be suffering from insomnia. According to the National Institute on Aging, insomnia is a common problem among people aged 60 and above.
The CDC recommends seven to eight hours of sleep a night for people 65 and older, but this has to be deep, restful sleep.
Older people tend to sleep lightly and can wake up several times during the night without even realizing it. This can be because of sleep disorders such as restless legs syndrome, sleep apnea, and shifting sleep patterns that occur with age.
Some medications can prevent you from sleeping deeply. Talk with your doctor to see if that might be the case. They may prescribe a different medication that reduces sleep disruptions.
Not getting enough sleep can have serious consequences for older adults, including depression, obesity, fatigue, diabetes, and hypertension. Lack of adequate sleep can also cause confusion and memory problems and damage your quality of life.
Four simple tips to sleep better in 2024
- Get into a routine and go to bed at the same time every night.
- Keep your room as dark as possible. Cover the windows with light-blocking curtains or slip on an eye mask.
- Put your phone away, preferably in another room. For even better sleep, remove all electronic gadgets, including your TV, from your bedroom.
- Eat your last meal of the day two to four hours before going to bed. Restrict alcohol to four hours, and caffeine to six hours before bedtime.
3. Exercise More
The CDC advises 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each week for people 65 and over. A brisk 30-minute walk, five days a week, is great for increasing energy, and you can add some low-impact workouts like yoga or tai chi to your routine.
Strength training twice a week can help build muscle mass and slow down the weakening of bones. This reduces the risk of falling and breaking a hip — research published by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons shows that more than 300,000 Americans are hospitalized annually because of a fractured hip.
Before starting an exercise regime, consider booking an appointment at your local healthcare center to measure your bone density and determine your risk of osteoporosis. Your doctor can then advise you on how to create an effective gym routine.
If going to the gym is not possible, look up dance classes in your town. Dancing is an excellent way to build muscle memory and improve your balance. Dancing is also fun, boosts your mood, helps you socialize more, and it can be as relaxed or intense as you like.
Four effective tips to get into shape in 2024
- Start with one of the easiest low-impact exercises: walking. Aim for 30 minutes at a brisk pace, five days a week.
- Exercise your arms and build upper body strength with lightweight dumbbells.
- Visit your local health clubs to see what sports activities they offer. Swimming can improve cardiovascular health and is easy on your joints, making it a perfect activity if you suffer from arthritis.
- Sign up for ballroom dancing. Research shows that it benefits not only the body, but also the brain.
4. Learn Something New
Cognitive functions are your abilities to perform day-to-day tasks. It is the ability to think clearly, analyze a problem using logic and reasoning, and then solve it. Cognitive functions also include being able to listen to what is being said to you, understand and process it, and produce an appropriate response.
As you age, your cognitive abilities decrease, but the good news is that you can slow this decline. Studies show that when older adults learn a new skill, they display improvement in memory and other brain functions and score progressively higher in tests that measure their cognitive skills.
The benefits of picking up a new skill or hobby are immense. Hobbies can bring great emotional satisfaction to seniors who are retired and don’t know what to do with all the extra time on their hands. Hobbies also inspire feelings of joy and accomplishment, and lead to more social interaction as you engage with other enthusiasts.
In one study of 93,300 seniors from 16 countries, researchers found that having a having a hobby resulted in “enhanced levels of health, happiness, and life satisfaction.”
Four new hobbies to take up in 2024
- Learn a new language. It can reduce your risk of developing dementia and other mental health problems. Another benefit is that you can go beyond vocabulary and immerse yourself in a new culture and way of life.
- Join an online gaming community. You can play the classics such as Scrabble, chess, or Sudoku, or you can experiment with something different.
- Pick up a craft that keeps your fingers moving, such as knitting or crochet. This will improve flexibility in your hands, fine-tune your motor skills, and strengthen your hand-eye coordination.
- Start your own social media channel. You can cook, sew, woodwork, or even just talk and share your thoughts with everyone in the world.
The new year is a great time to make small but meaningful changes in your life. Making small changes in your lifestyle can lead to big changes in your quality of life.