Normal Aging Process
Why do I have to have the television sound set to 30 when I used to hear it just fine when set to 15?
Why can”t I read that sign unless someone holds it 2 feet away from me?
These are just two examples of the normal aging process; golden years, HA!
You don’t have to let them get you down though, let’s look at some other wonderful things that happen to us as we age gracefully!
At Assisted Living Made Simple we understand firsthand the aging process. For many of our clients, they have progressed in the process where they need that extra special assistance and that is why we are passionate about finding them the perfect assisted living communities.
We’ll start with hearing and vision.
Hearing
When you were young did you listen to music loudly, or workaround loud machinery?
These are just two factors that play roles in your hearing declining as you age. However, you may just be susceptible to hearing loss, such as if it’s hereditary.
Music may not sound as “crisp” as it once did, or you may have trouble understanding what people are saying, it may sound to you as if they are mumbling.
Unfortunately, this comes with age and there’s not much we can do about it other than purchase hearing aids.
Eyesight
If you’re one of the lucky ones you won’t understand this one, but you would be one in a million!!
Most people experience some kind of vision loss as we age, whether it be near or farsightedness, changes in the ability to tell colors apart, needing more light to read that paper, or OH NO, reading glasses!!
There are many people who develop what are called “floaters”, tiny black specks that they see moving in front of them.
Bones
Do you ever get up out of bed and feel stiff or everything cracks? I sure do!
It’s because as we age, our bones become less dense and brittle; you can help ease this by taking supplements of vitamin D and Calcium.
Our bodies become depleted of calcium and vitamin d naturally and you need to replenish these into your system to help strengthen your bones.
Muscle
Loss of muscle mass is also normal because as we age our physical activity seems to diminish. Regular exercise is the only way to strengthen your muscle mass. You can exercise no matter your condition, please check out my blog, Senior Friendly Activities , to learn how you can exercise even if you can’t walk.
Exercise is so important, not only for your physical well-being but for your mental well-being as well.
If you are able to walk, please take walks outside, the natural Vitamin D is always the best form for you!
Body Fat
Our body fat tends to increase as we age, partly due to the lack of exercise, but also because we don’t eat as healthy anymore. Too much body fat can lead to worse things like diabetes and no one wants that.
Try to reduce your amount of body fat by not only exercising but eating a healthier diet. Not only will you lose body fat, but you’ll feel better too!
Digestive System
Were you able to eat a big fat bowl of cereal with 100% whole milk when you were a kid? Yeah? Me too!! Not now, it would kill me!!
More and more people are becoming lactose intolerant because the digestive system produces less lactase, the enzyme the body needs to digest milk. This is why we see so many different kinds of milk out there and some of them are pretty darn good.
My mother is 93 and she told me every time she eats her cereal she drinks the milk and feels sick shortly thereafter.
The first thing I asked her was what kind of milk, and she said whole milk. I told her NO!! That is the worst thing! And then to drink the rest of it from the bowl, OH MY!!
The next few times she ate cereal she told me she used very little milk and didn’t drink it and felt so much better. There are things we have to give up as we age; we may not like it, but we have to do it!
Immune System
Our immune systems don’t work like they did when we were young! It seems like if there is something blowing in the wind we catch it, what’s that about? Because this happens, we are less likely to have the internal ability to fight off things like pneumonia, colds, the flu, and cancer.
That’s why immunizations are so important.
Now with COVID never going away, we are so much more susceptible to catching it even with the vaccine. However, if you are NOT vaccinated, PLEASE consider getting the vaccine; think about your family members if not yourself, how will they go on without you?
Now that we know what happens as we get older, do we still want to get older? I’m not sure, but the alternative is not any better so I think I’ll continue to age.
If you’re looking for other senior living articles and resources then click here.
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