Prescription for Health, Easily Ignored
It’s not complicated. Just hard.
The formula for aging well is simple. And, I’m finding, devilishly hard to execute.
Perhaps it’s the turbulence of our later years that complicates the equation: the aches and pains of tissues going rigid, the distraction of holes that riddle our memories and words that we reach for to grab only air. Or maybe it’s just human nature: self-absorbtion, self-indulgence, excepting ourselves to prescriptions we make for others. Or it might be habit: having had so much success choosing ease over discomfort we shy away from hard work. Or maybe we’re just too tired to sustain the energy to toe the line day-in and day-out, drained from all the years that have come before.
Whatever the cause, too many of us are ignoring the recipe that we know works for health and longevity:
Use your body.
Fuel your body.
Rest your body.
Fill your soul.
Use Your Body
We are designed to move. But so many of us don’t move enough. Walking. Running. Hiking. Biking. Swimming. It doesn’t have to be structured movement — I like to incorporate walking into my plan for the day. I walk to work, to the grocery store, for errands during lunch. The movement is better if it bears our full body weight, but any movement works. And it doesn’t have to hurt — we don’t have to make ourselves short of breath or wake up too sore to move the next day.
But we do have to move. An hour a day, preferably all in one go. But that’s not a dealbreaker. So go to the gym. Or grab our partner or a friend for a walk around the neighborhood. Maybe the kids or grandkids would like to ride a bike down to the park. Let’s do something every day. For an hour.
Fuel Your Body
Our diets are atrocious. Way too much sugar and animal fats. Not nearly enough complex carbs. Too much protein. We should eat about five times a day. Three meals, two snacks. Every one should be at least half fruit and/or vegetables. We should treat ourselves to dessert once or twice a week.
I like sweets. I have them at lunch and at dinner too. And often as an afternoon snack too. If I bring candy and ice cream and potato chips and Thin Mints into my house I will eat them, and often in one sitting. So I resist bringing them through the door. I plan my meals for the week, and I make a list before I go to the store. If I want something that’s not on the list I have to wait until the next day to get it. I almost never go back to the store when I behave on the first trip.
Rest Your Body
We need sleep. Good quality, enough quantity. No, we don’t need as much sleep as we age. We burn calories more slowly as our metabolisms ratchet down, so we don’t need as much time to recoup. But we still need more than we normally get. And don’t forget the massive sleep debt almost all of us have accumulated throughout our adult lives — we’re starting well in the hole.
Like many, I struggle with transitions. I don’t like to move from one thing to another. And moving from something very engaging — watching a movie, reading, playing a game, talking to my partner — to something less interesting — like going to bed — seems a poor trade.
So I resist. It’s easy to read that next chapter or watch that next episode instead of putting the keyboard down and getting under the covers. But we need to do it.
We still use caffeine to get us going. Sometimes it’s habit, but often it’s because we’re not well-rested. Caffeine works very well, but it keeps us up too, disrupting the rhythms of our natural energy, making hit harder to get good-quality sleep. And around we go. We need to kick the caffeine habit. Or at least tone it WAY down.
Fill Your Soul
Almost all of us need people in our lives. I’m an introvert. A strong introvert. I love my own company, and I’m rarely bored inside my own head. But I relish my family and my friends and the time we spend together. I love to laugh with other people. I love to hear of their experiences. I love — really love — to share my own thoughts.
Hobbies and interests are wonderful too. Challenges to the mind and spirit keep us fresh and growing, even as our capacity to absorb new data diminishes. But relationships with people always refresh me. Apparently even strong introverts are social animals.
So, coffee. Beers. Bunko and/or poker nights. Book clubs; sewing circles; church bingo; cornhole, bocce, shuffleboard tournaments; neighborhood sing-a-longs with or without a block party; folk dancing, tap dancing, ballroom dancing, hip-hop dancing.
Wave to your neighbor. Walk across the street for a short conversation. Invite coworkers to lunch. Call your mother. Call your kids. Tailgate at the game and high-five the person next to you. Offer peace to the people behind your pew.
How hard can all that be?
Apparently much harder than it looks.
