Living Healthy as a 60-Year-Old and Beyond

Begin a New Approach to Healthy Living

In your 60s, you may be able to take advantage of new opportunities for fitness and healthy living. Senior clubs and discounts on memberships may make it more affordable to start a new activity or participate in something you used to enjoy like tennis or swimming.

Additionally, staying active can help keep bones strong and slow bone loss. Activities that can help keep bones healthy include:

• Brisk walking
• Pickleball
• Dancing
• Tai chi
• Climbing stairs

The changes you make now can significantly improve your health.

Healthy steps like getting your weight under control, eating lots of fruits and vegetables, exercising at least two and a half hours a week, and not smoking can improve your health and longevity at any age.

Find Brain Stimulating Activities

The brain likes problems. It thrives when it has something to puzzle over or figure out and it's healthiest when challenged to learn new things. In fact, while brain health experts once believed the brain stops making new neuron connections as a person ages, it turns out this isn't the case at all. Your brain remains nimble and capable of physical change and growth throughout life.

Research has, in fact, shown, that people who take up new hobbies or make strides to move out of their mental comfort zone stay both mentally and physically younger than their years.

Brain-stimulating activities may include:

• Engaging in meaningful conversations
• Taking up a musical instrument or hobby
• Reading a new book
• Listening to music
• Taking a course that interests you
• Playing board or card games
• Learning a new language

Try not to get stuck in a physical or mental rut. Switch up your daily routine and workout once in a while and keep your brain engaged by learning new skills.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

As you get older, maintaining a healthy weight can help reduce your risk of developing certain health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes. That said, it's important to invest in a healthy lifestyle full of eating well, exercising, and more.

Eat a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean proteins. Aim to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week.

It's never too late to lose weight or start exercising. Although your metabolism slows down as you get older, it doesn't mean you can't get to or maintain a healthy weight.

Nor does it mean you can't benefit from physical activity. For example, there's plenty of evidence that people can continue to build muscle mass no matter their age.

For example, a meta-analysis of 39 studies looking at aging and resistance exercise (lifting weights or using exercise bands, for example), revealed that in more than 1,300 adults over the age of 50 who did some form of this kind of training, muscle mass increased by an average of nearly 2.5 pounds in just five months.

Keep Up Your Sex Life

Sex is an important aspect of overall health and well-being throughout your life, including in your 60s and beyond. In fact, a sexually active lifestyle has been associated with a decrease in certain medical conditions.

For example, regular sex is essential to vaginal health after menopause, according to the North American Menopause Society, because it "stimulates blood flow, helps keep your vaginal muscles toned, and maintains your vagina’s length and stretchiness."

In addition, a 2010 study in the American Journal of Cardiology found that those who had sex two or fewer times per week were at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

In another study, both older males and older females who had sex regularly with a partner reported feeling happier and more satisfied with life in general than those who did not.

The same study found among couples who did not regularly have sex, it often was associated with specific issues: for men, sexual function, and for women, desire. Given there are ways to deal with both problems, it may be worth you and/or your partner addressing them for the sake of your overall sense of wellness.

Learn About Hormones and Aging

Your hormones continue to change throughout your life, including as you age. Some people believe that these changes in hormones are what causes aging. It's more complicated than that.

Before you look into hormone therapies, take some time to learn the facts about hormones and aging, and be sure to talk to a healthcare provider (who isn't selling anything) about if and how hormone supplements might be able to help you.

Hormone therapies may help:

• Relieve menopause symptoms
• Prevent osteoporosis
• Maintain muscle strength
• Improve libido

Stay Positive

How you feel about getting older can have a significant impact on how you experience life and even on how long you live, research shows. In one study of more than 70,000 people, an optimistic outlook was directly linked to an 11% to 15% increase in longevity and greater odds of living to at least 85—what the researchers termed "exceptional longevity."

Having a positive attitude affects how your body deals with stress and how it impacts your behavior. If you feel depressed or nervous about the idea of aging, spend some time thinking about the positive aspects of this stage of life, such as having more time for your own spiritual growth.

Take Care of Oral Health

Older adults can face a number of oral health challenges including tooth decay, gum disease, tooth loss, and even oral cancer.

That said, it's important to take steps to maintain good oral health. That includes:

• Brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste
• Flossing daily
• Visiting your dentist at least once a year
• Avoiding tobacco products and limiting alcoholic drinks

See Your Healthcare Provider as Recommended

Yearly physical exams, including preventative care and screenings, can help you stay healthy and avoid injury and disease. Make sure you keep these up on the schedule recommended by your healthcare providers.

This may include vision tests and screenings for breast, cervical, colorectal, and/or lung cancers. It might start to seem like a lot of exams and tests, but they can help detect illness early when it can be treated with the highest rate of success.

How often you need to have certain screenings can change with age and based on previous results, so make sure you are clear about when to schedule your appointments. If you're not sure, ask.

Understand Bladder Health

As you age, it's important to maintain bladder health. Common problems that affect older adults include:

• Leakage or urinary incontinence
• Urinary retention
• Bladder and urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• Urinating more at night

You can improve your bladder health by:

• Using the bathroom often and avoiding holding urine in your bladder for too long 
• Urinating in a relaxed position to make it easier to empty the bladder
• Wiping from front to back (if you're female) to prevent UTIs
• Urinating shortly after sex to lower the risk of a bladder infection
• Doing Kegel exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles
• Drinking enough fluids

Let your healthcare provider know if you have any urinary symptoms that are severe or concerning.

Maintain Your Social Life

Many plan financially for retirement, but they don't plan for the social aspect of this phase of life. If you are going from an active working environment where you interact with others throughout the day to being home, the shift in socialization can be quite stark.

It can be easy to fall into the habit of spending your day doing sedentary things like watching TV. That said, make a plan for getting out and being with people on a regular basis.

Make a conscious effort to limit activities that don't engage your body, mind, and soul. For example, set up a daily walking "appointment" with a friend or consider joining a hobby group or a local sports club.

Interacting with people helps you manage emotions and stress and maintain good habits. Studies show spending lots of time with family and friends may even help you live longer.