Health promotion for the elderly
The elderly constitute a very diverse group, both in terms of age and health. You must pay close attention to your health throughout your life and prepare well for your senior year.
Preventive measures such as health promotion all through life are important to reduce the need for health care later in life.
Regular physical activity has a multi-faceted value for health and wellbeing at all stages of life. It supports the pursuit of other healthy lifestyles and combats and improves various diseases and health conditions.
Research confirms importance of physical activity for older people
Better brain health
Less likely to fall
Generally increased ability to perform daily tasks
In addition to promoting better mental and physical health, exercise promotes social interaction and activity in general
Municipalities have worked for the past decades to improve facilities for diverse physical activity, both indoors and outdoors. These include indoor facilities for gyms, outdoor exercise equipment, heated walkways and classes to rest on at regular intervals.
Exercising at least three times a week must be such that the pulse rises, you get up and sweat a bit. The benefits are unquestionable.
In most municipalities, exercise of various kinds is available to older people. Bjartur lífstíll (in Icelandic) one can find an overview by zip codes of what is available.
Many municipalities pay older residents grants to subsidize various training. Here you can find a Here you find recommendations for older people on excercises (in Icelandic).
Research shows that physical, cognitive, and social activity are important to all and play a big role in slowing down diseases like dementia. Examples of everyday cognitive functioning are:
Learn something new, like language or an instrument
Solving crossword puzzles and Sudoku
Solve Wordle
Various puzzles that can be reached in various apps. For example, experts recommend the app Lumosity https://www.lumosity.com/en/ for which you can buy a subscription. The advantage of it is that the level of difficulty changes depending on the ability of the person using it.
Jigsaws
Many people tend to stop meeting other people when they retire.
It is important to continue or start participating in some kind of club or social activity.
If individuals withdraw from such work they are in danger of becoming isolated and their health deteriorates.
Much and powerful social work is carried out in many parts of the country, either by village associations or associations of senior citizens.
Far too many people are anxious about quitting their paid jobs and do „nothing“. It is essential to prepare well for this period of life and envision how the days will be spent. Life it self needs to be reorganized as well as finances.
Many people are surprised when the step has been taken how quickly the days pass. For those who lack ideas, you can find 120 ideas about what to do when you have enough time and are in good health.
There is, for example, a list of many projects that can be done as a volunteer, which many people find very rewarding.
It is well worth stopping and thinking about the proposals that are presented there.