Holistic Wellness: Mind, Body, and Spirit Tips for Older Adults

There are many elements of wellness. It’s everything from how we’re doing physically, mentally, and emotionally, to the social connections we have. Wellness is important at every stage of life, but it changes as we age. Hear from healthcare professionals about how your nutrition, hydration, exercise, sleep, socialization, and more work together to impact your wellness. Plus, hear their tips for improving your wellness, listening to your body, and being kind to yourself.

Chapters

• 1:54 Tips for Healthy Nutrition and Hydration Habits
• 4:26 Incorporating Exercise into Daily Routines
• 8:39 Creating Healthy Sleeping Habits and Getting Enough Sleep
• 11:03 Activities to Boost Mental Health
• 14:23 Tactics to Support Emotional Wellness
• 17:00 Strategies to Increase Social Interactions
• 19:45 Additional Tips

Transcript

0:05

Hi everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Senior Living Today. With me today is Jessica Oakley and Lori Wedding. Ladies, thank you both so much for joining me today. Before we dive into today's topic, would you mind telling our listeners a little bit about yourself and how you got started in your careers? You can go first, Jess. Okay. So I've been a nurse now for 19 years, and I also have a background in EMS. I had an incident in high school where a family member was involved in a car accident and realized that I wanted to be able to help people. So that's kind of what sparked my interest into nursing. And that's how I got my start. I have been a nurse since 1999. I graduated then. I also have a background in EMS. I've been on my local EMS department for 31 years now. Oh my goodness. That makes me feel really old. But my mom said that since the day I was three years old, I wanted to be a nurse, so I, I don't really know wanting to be anything else. I also do have an advanced degree as a nurse practitioner that I work in an emergency room very, very irregularly, at times. But it's. It's. It's a nice thing. My full time job is actually as a flight nurse. So, along with Jessica. I think given both of your backgrounds, you are the perfect guests for today's topic. So we are going to be discussing wellness tips, including mental, social, emotional and physical wellness and why overall wellness is so important for the older adult population. Having a strong foundation is a key factor in health and well-being, and that means that we're having a healthy, active lifestyle, positive nutritional habits, proper hydration, suitable exercise routines, and a good night's sleep. So there's a lot of different aspects that go into maintaining that health and wellness overall. The first thing I want to talk about with our listeners today is the benefits of healthy nutrition and staying adequately hydrated. So are there some tips that you have that you can share with our listeners to help support their healthy nutrition and hydration habits? So I think one of the easiest things to do is to eat a variety of colors. And kind of what that means is your fruits and vegetables need to be different colors because you get different things from them. So for example, your orange and yellow fruits and vegetables, they give you vitamin C, they give you vitamin A, where your dark green, leafy like romaine lettuce, spinach, things like that will give you iron, vitamin K, and calcium. In addition to that, eating whole grains like rice, whole whole wheat bread, oatmeal is great for fiber that helps to keep you full and gives you a little bit of energy. I think another thing, especially as we have the, the privilege of aging is to make sure that you eat good lean protein. Poultry and fish are good. They provide a lot of healthy benefits for your heart. As well as beans and tofu. All of these good lean proteins, they help you maintain your muscle. And maintaining muscle is key when it comes to maintaining balance and preventing falls. So you've got to you got to keep your muscles strong. And a good way to do that is to eat lean protein. To do that. Another part of that is, you know, we also talk about lowering our fat intake. But one of the important things is to eat healthy fats. Things like avocados and nuts. Another great thing is olive oil, though. Those are great for heart health. They also help keep us full so that we eat maybe less bad stuff. But I will say probably one of the most important things that every age group struggles with is staying hydrated. None of us really drink enough throughout the day. So staying hydrated is very important. And you can do that by different things. Not just drinking water, but eating hydrating foods like watermelons, cucumbers, oranges, soups are a great way to do that, especially in the cool weather. We're coming up on summer, so not as many people want to eat soups, but that's a great way to eat. Hydrating foods to stay hydrated as well. So another thing that we know that's important in maintaining our physical health is incorporating an exercise routine. This can also help to improve cardiovascular health, muscle tone, and joint mobility in older adults. It can help with strength, flexibility, and balance, all of which are important to maintain as we're aging. What are some tips for older adults that might be looking to incorporate exercise into their daily routines? So I think if you don't have an exercise routine, that's something you want to kind of start slow. Make sure that you have the permission of your doctor to start a routine and start out with things just as walking, you know, be more active through the day. If you're going out to the grocery store, you can park a little bit further away instead of circling the parking lot trying to find the closest spot, you know, things like that. I think swimming is also another great option. I like to go to the Y. And there seems to be a lot of elderly people there that are part of exercise groups, and that's a great way to get some social interaction as well. You know, they have a variety of different classes that you can attend. They also have weight training, and they have bikes, you know, things that are kind of lower impact if you have issues with joints. And as Lori mentioned before, that all helps to build your muscles so that, you know, falls are a big concern in the elderly. So to help improve that and improve your balance, to prevent those falls. I think a big thing to focus on with activity, like I said before, was maintaining muscle strength so that you don't fall, like Jessica said. But a big part of that is flexibility, too. As as we move and make sudden movements, having that flexibility and that strength to control those movements is key. And, to continue doing those activities is is the key to being able to continue to do those activities. When when I've talked to people in the past, how do you stay active and they just say we just keep moving. And it sounds kind of silly, but to keep moving, you just have to keep moving and you're going to have days where it hurts, but you still have to get up and do it. So that that is a huge thing. And part of that flexibility and, and keeping falls from happening is balance. One interesting exercise that started doing is just standing on one foot while I brush my teeth. That is helping my balance tremendously. Keeping those ankles strong will help on those uneven steps to keep you from falling. So that that has been a huge help for me and I can hopefully continue to keep my balance getting a little bit better just by doing simple little things like that. It doesn't have to take your whole day. It doesn't have to take a lot of time, all of the time to do it. I will say it's recommended that you aim for 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. That is the goal. I know that's hard for a lot of people. But one of the ways you can maintain a lot of health is to do it in groups. Like Jessica said, go to the Y with a group of friends and walk and do these things together. That way you maintain multiple aspects of your health. Yeah. And a good way to know if it's, you know, moderate exercise is you should be focusing on can I do whatever activity activity that is, you know, bicycling, walking, things like that. Can I still continue a conversation? Your heart rate should fill up a little bit. You may feel a little, breathless, but you should still be able to carry on a conversation. And that's kind of where you know you're at the target area. If you're to the point where you're unable to talk, you need to probably tune it down just a little bit so you can not overdo it. Yeah, I think that's great advice, because I also think a lot of people do get overwhelmed by thinking about incorporating an exercise routine into their daily life, but it does sound like there are some small changes that everyone can make that can have a big impact on health and wellness for them. So another important factor in staying healthy is getting enough sleep. So the National Institute of Aging actually suggests that older adults need around 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. And that if you don't get enough sleep there might be side effects such as irritability, having memory problems, feeling depressed, and can even have an increased risk of having falls or accidents. So what are some tips you can share with our listeners for creating healthy sleeping habits and trying to aim to get that adequate amount of sleep each night? Sometimes this is tough. I know it's tough for me personally. To get 7 to 9 hours that that takes a lot of your day. But some, some important things to think about when you're talking about sleep is when when your body's trying to heal itself. If you don't get enough sleep, your your body heals while you rest. Your body and your mind they heal while they rest. So this is very, very important. Some ways to do that is to create a relaxing sleep environment, make sure that it's quiet and it's dark. One thing that I know, at least the younger population, we like to be on our phones and watch TVs. That's it's really not good to be doing that. Limit that screen time, especially, before bedtime. That bright light, that blue light really affects falling asleep and sleeping well. The other thing is, along with the blue light is kind of have a routine. You know, maybe you go up, you take a shower, you brush your teeth, you know, you lay in your bed, you maybe read a book for a few minutes, shut the lights off, and then go to sleep. And kind of being in a consistent routine kind of gets your mind ready. That okay I know what's happening next. I know the next thing is sleeping. And just like Lori mentioned, limiting the blue light and everything before bed, you also want to limit caffeine as well, and alcohol that can actually make it harder to sleep. So you want to limit that. You want to have that during the day, you know, don't be drinking coffee right before trying to go to bed. That’s not a good combination. And as we mentioned before, exercise also will help you sleep, you know, being active during the day your body is ready to rest and heal overnight. But don't do that activity right before bedtime. Do it earlier in the day. Correct. Correct. And then maintaining mental health and wellness is just as important as maintaining our physical health. So what are some activities that older adults can engage in to help boost their mental health? I'm going to guess jess wants me to talk about this. Absolutely. O have kind of been a mental health advocate within our department. And just for just because it's a personal it's a personal thing with me. Mental health is very important to overall health. So there's lots of things that we can do that, there's cognitive health goes along with mental health too, because when one is bad, usually the other is poor as well. And some of the things that we can do to help that is read. Read encouraging things, read things that are positive. Just reading in general, whether it's newspapers, magazines, reading really keeps your mind active. And when your mind is active, it seems to be more positive. And there's some fun ways to do things too, like crossword puzzles. Brainteasers. There's lots of things like Sudoku. Even doing a jigsaw puzzle that really keeps your mind active. And you can do that with a group of friends. So, being social with your friends is another way to do that. One of the tough things that I've seen, even with my parents, is embracing technology. And as much as it can be frustrating sometimes, there's many ways that that technology can help you. And it keeps you in contact with family. You can play some of these engaging games, like, I know you can do crossword puzzles and Sudoku on your phone as well. So if you can embrace that technology that that will help keep your cognitive function and your mind better. And the last thing that I want to say about the cognitive part is just stay curious. Visit places, go places. If you have a bucket list of places you want to see, go do it. There's not a better time to do it than right now. And it helps your mind and and it helps you stay, in the thought process that that helps your cognitive function. Yeah. And I'll echo Lori in saying, you know, stay curious. You know, learn about different topics that you maybe don't have experience with. And you can do that in a variety of ways. If you're not able to get out there's podcasts on all different types, topics and interests. My son and I were driving last night, and we were listening about ancient Egypt, and then we went to World War Two, and everything is so readily accessible nowadays. At your fingertips, you know, you can have such a variety of different topics to learn about and that keeps your mind engaged. And I learned things that I didn't realize. We were learning that the Egyptians invented toothpaste. So those fun facts, you know, keep your mind active. And then, as Lori said, embracing technology and a good way to include that is if you have grandchildren or children, that gives you time to kind of interact and bond over that, have them show you...I know my kids still show me things on my phone. And they think it's hilarious, but I learned something, and you get that interaction with somebody else as well. Absolutely. And I think, emotional wellness is something that kind of goes hand in hand with our mental wellness. So do you guys have any advice for our listeners on tactics to help deal with emotional wellness? Oh, there's there's lots. Go ahead, Jess. Sorry. I was going to say there's lots of resources available. I think one of the realities of aging is that you tend to lose people, and recognizing that, hey, I may need to seek counseling and, you know, recognizing that, you know, losing a partner, losing, you know, loved ones and things is hard. And you don't have to go through that alone and that you can seek out, join a support group, talk to a counselor, you know, be involved as much as you can and get get the help that you need. You don't have to suffer alone. So get that help if you need it. Absolutely. There's and there's lots of ways to do that too. Just even being around your family, staying connected with people that you love, whether it's family, friends, if you're involved in a church community, those are great places to find some of those resources. They are usually very helpful about that. I think another fun way to do that is if you like to paint or you like to write or you like music. Use those things to your advantage. I know me personally, I love music. I drive a lot for my job, so I listen to music all the time, and that can be very encouraging. If you choose the right kind of music. Anyway. So I think all of that helps your your emotional well-being and just in general find those activities that you enjoy. Because if you find something you enjoy, it's going to help all aspects of your body, your physical part, your cognitive part, your emotional part. And the most important thing, and I think no matter what age group you're in, is you need to practice self-compassion. We are not kind enough to ourselves. We we judge ourselves constantly. We are really hard on ourselves and we need to we need to step back sometimes and say, you know, it's, it's okay. It's okay that I'm sad today, tomorrow will be better. Let's find something that will will help a little bit, whether it's reading a book, listening to a song. But we all really, every age group, every person out there we need we need to be easier on ourselves. So something that you've both touched on a few times throughout this episode is really the importance of social interaction and having those meaningful relationships with those around you. Unfortunately for the older adult population isolation is something that we see them struggle with quite a bit. So do you have any advice or strategies that can help older adults boost their social interactions? I think one of the things that you can do is, you know, we talked about staying in contact with your family, and that may not be your blood related family. That may be family that you choose, that may be neighbors, that may be a church family, you know, being connected with them. That may be a group that you go with to exercise or an exercise group, things like that. The other options that you have is to join a club. You know, I participate in a euchre club. It's once a month, and it gets a kind of everybody out of the house, and you get to interact and see everybody. And it's a great, just opportunity to kind of catch up what's going on in people's lives. You know, I had a lady who had some things going on who was able to, I was able to connect her with the right resources. So just, you know, staying connected where if you stay isolated, you may not have that. Another big opportunity is to volunteer. Everywhere, I think, always needs help. And I think it makes you feel good to give of yourself to a project to help them out. And again, you know, it helps with that social interaction. There are some great resources in your community that I know that I am not super great about knowing about. But I do know that each community has senior centers. And if you, if you get involved in the senior centers, they can guide you to a lot of great places too, as well as they have activities there. And you can meet new people there that you have similar likes and and stuff with. And you can be active that way. You can participate in those classes or workshops too, and they can guide you that direction. So there's there are some great resources out there in your community. You just have to get involved with those. And I think another thing is not being too stubborn and too set in your ways. I know we tried to get my papaw to, you know, go to the senior center, you know, and he said, well, he goes, I don't know, there's old people there. And I'm like, papaw, you're 85. I think you qualify for that. So not being so stuck in your ways to, you know, experience new things and create new relationships and friendships. Well, I think that's all great advice. I know we've covered a lot of ground today. Is there anything else that you can think of that we missed, or any additional advice you have for our listeners? So the one thing that I want to say is always take time to listen to your body. Don't ignore things that may feel off. Don't just kind of like, “Oh I’m sure it'll be fine.” Listen to your body. Nobody knows it better than yourself, so take the time to listen to it. You know, an example is if you're having pain or things like that that just doesn't seem normal. Get that checked out as well as, you know, if you are exercising and you've got a consistent routine and you are just like, oh, I just feel like I need a rest day. Take that rest day. Don't don't push yourself. Take the rest day. Listen to your body. It's the biggest piece of advice that I would have. I think, for me, the biggest piece of advice that I have is if there's something on your mind, something that, you know, maybe I should reach out to this person or that person or, hey, I want to go there and I want to do this, or I want to see that. If you have the physical capability do it. Don't ever put off tomorrow what's on your heart and on your mind today. Because none of us, no matter what age we are, are promised tomorrow. So if there is something that's heavy on your heart or on your mind, do it. Do it to the best of your ability. So I think that's great advice, and I want to thank you both again for joining us today. You did a wonderful job educating our listeners on the importance of wellness for older adults. I know I learned a lot as well. So thank you both. Thank you for having us. As always, for our listeners, be sure to like and subscribe to the Senior Living Today podcast so that you never miss a new episode. And we will be back again in two weeks.