The vast majority of people who reside in active senior living communities in Santee still have a very good mental capacity. This is what allows them to live exceptional and fulfilling lives way past the age of 70 or 80. Unfortunately, as someone continues to age, it is natural for their mental abilities to slightly diminish. This effect accelerates even further if they are stricken with a mental disease such as Dementia or Alzheimer’s.
That is why someone in an active adult living community in Santee should consistently ensure they are doing things that are going to keep their mind nice and strong. Here are the best ways for an elderly individual to help keep their mind sharp as they continue to grow older.
Get Some Exercise
There are many different reasons why someone in an independent senior living community in El Cajon might want to exercise on a regular basis. After all, regular exercise is how someone keeps their body weight at a consistent level and avoids the numerous health problems associated with obesity.
There is also the fact that regular exercise is good for a person’s mental health as well. This is because vigorous physical activity has been shown to lower the risk of someone developing dementia. Therefore, by getting some exercise on a regular basis, an elderly person can help to protect their body as well as their mind from the dangerous impacts of dementia and other health issues.
However, for most people residing in a luxury independent living community in El Cajon, there are certain types of exercise that will not be a viable option. For example, if someone uses a walker or a cane to get around to most places, then there is very little chance that they will be able to do something as physically active as jogging or rock climbing. Therefore, they will need to find some sort of exercise that they are both physically capable of doing and also enjoy doing.
Some of the most popular forms of exercise that elderly individuals participate in are yoga, Zumba, water aerobics, or just plain old walking. It almost does not matter how much energy someone expels while doing these activities, just as long as they are performing them on a very consistent basis. By doing even just one of these things for 30 minutes every other day, it can do wonders to improve an elderly person’s mental capabilities.
Cut Out Drinking and Smoking
It is no surprise that drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco products are two things that actively harm a person’s physical health. After all, both of these activities involve the ingestion of serious toxins that can result in compounded health effects after numerous years of actively doing one or both of these activities.
What not everyone does know is that smoking and drinking are also putting a person’s mental health at risk as well. Just like with a lack of exercise, someone who smokes or drinks on a regular basis is putting themselves at a higher risk of developing dementia. That is why everyone in an independent living community in El Cajon needs to make sure that they are cutting out both of these activities from their life.
Smoking in any amount is going to have severely negative impacts on a person’s physical and mental wellbeing. However, small amounts of alcohol consumption are usually not too big of a deal when it comes to a person’s mental health. They just need to make sure that they are not consuming multiple drinks every week.
Consume Healthier Foods
A proper diet can do wonders for a person’s health, on both a physical and mental level. That is why each and every elderly individual should be adjusting their diets to include a lot more healthy items. Unfortunately, with the many different food studies coming out every month, it could be hard to stay up-to-date with what food is considered healthy and what food is not. This can make it slightly challenging to try and maintain a diet of healthy foods.
Luckily, one of the things that has not changed throughout the years is that the Mediterranean diet remains one of the healthiest things that a person can eat. This specific type of diet consists mainly of fish, vegetables, and olive oil. These are all types of food that have been shown to contain ingredients that are very beneficial to a person’s mental development.
For example, the fish in the Mediterranean diet contains high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, while the vegetables generally contain a lot of vitamins and nutrients, and the olive oil is packed full of healthy fats. By getting enough of all of these things, it allows someone to maintain strong mental capabilities even in their later years.
However, if someone does not really enjoy the taste of fish, then there are still plenty of ways that they can help to make their daily diet healthier. Some of the most important things are to stay away from saturated fats, processed foods, as well as cutting back on the amount of red meat that they eat on a regular basis. By following these tips, someone will allow their brains and bodies to get the health benefits that they need in order to keep their minds performing at full capacity for many years to come.
Be a Social Butterfly
It turns out that if someone wants to stay mentally strong well into their golden years, then one of the best things that they can do is make sure to get out and socialize with people on a regular basis. This is because communicating with other people in person is one of the best ways to stimulate the mind, which helps to keep it strong. Therefore, every elderly individual should be trying to get out and socialize for at least 30 to 60 minutes every single day in order to keep their mind nice and sharp.
