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Moving your body and engaging your mind can reduce your chances of illness, injury, and cognitive decline in retirement.
- Set yourself up for success
Set realistic goals, get involved with friends, do the activities that you like, explore your local community centers, and prioritize safety.
- Get physical
Tips to increase your physical activity, keep your muscles strong, and improve your balance.
- Exercise your mind
Experience the benefits that come with challenging your brain.
Focus on your body and your mind
You’ve worked hard to get to retirement. Congratulations! Now it’s time to enjoy a long and healthy one. Staying active is one of the best ways to do this. By moving your body and engaging your mind you’ll feel better—and reduce your chances of illness, injury, and cognitive decline.
It doesn’t take much to make a positive impact. Increasing physical activity by even 10 minutes a day could prevent 110,000 deaths a year among adults in the U.S.*
And it’s just as important to keep your mind active. Activities that challenge your brain and expose your mind to new topics can have short- and long-term benefits.** You’ll be working on your brain just like you exercise your muscles.
To see more benefits of activity, check out this report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
**Source: Alzheimer’s Association.
Set yourself up for success
- Set realistic goals. Try for something you know you can achieve.
- Get involved with a friend or a group of people. Having others with you can make any activity fun—and encourage you to keep going.
- Focus on activities you like. You’re more likely to continue doing the things you like to do. Try something you’ve wanted to try but never had time for—like yoga, pottery classes, or Italian lessons for your trip to Venice.
- Explore your local community centers. Their events and classes can be a tremendous resource for your well-being and your social life.
- Prioritize safety. Listen to your body. And remember to talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program.
It’s time to get physical
Exercise is good for you. Really good. It can lower your risk of heart disease and stroke, may lower your blood pressure, and can make you healthier and stronger. But the benefits don’t stop there. A recent study showed that physical activity can help ease symptoms of anxiety and depression, help you relax, and give you a sense of well-being.*** For ways to improve your emotional well-being in retirement, check out these tips.
Physical activity isn’t just running laps or lifting weights, so find something you like to do. This could be riding a bike around your neighborhood, playing tennis, or hiking through nature with your family.
To get you started, here are some tips: ****
- Try for about 150 minutes of aerobic activity a week
That’s about 20 minutes a day. You don’t have to jog on a treadmill to get the moderate intensity you’re looking for. You don’t even have to think of it as exercise—just a way to get your heart beating a bit faster. You can try:
- Walking.
- Dancing.
- Raking leaves.
- Swimming.
- Taking water aerobics.
Pro tip: Start slowly if you haven’t been physically active. You can build up your activity level over time. And of course, talk with your doctor first.
- Don’t forget those muscles
Do things to strengthen your muscles 2 days a week. You don’t need Olympic barbells, fancy dumbbells, or a gym membership. You can try:
- Hand weights.
- Resistance bands.
- Books, cans of food, or even water bottles.
- Body weight exercises (like doing pushups against a wall).
Do you like gardening? Then count digging or shoveling as an activity.
And remember your core—those muscles that help you balance, get out of a chair, and more.**** Check out this article from Harvard Health Publishing for some of the best core exercises for older adults.†
Pro tip: Breathe naturally. Holding your breath can change your blood pressure.
- Work on your balance
Falls are the leading cause of injury for those aged 65 and older in the U.S.†† Working on your balance can help reduce your risk. You can try:
- Practice standing on 1 foot (you can hold on to a chair if you’d like).
- Try yoga, either in person or by watching a video.
- Learn tai chi, a mind-body exercise.
For more tips on staying physically active, check out this article from the Office of Disease Prevention and Control.
****Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
†Source: Harvard Health Publishing. The best core exercises for older adults. 2021.
††Source: Moreland B, Kakara R, Henry A. Trends in Nonfatal Falls and Fall-Related Injuries Among Adults Aged
≥65 Years—United States, 2012–2018. 2020.
Exercise your mind
No matter your age, challenge yourself to think and learn. Activities that challenge your brain and expose your mind to new topics can have short- and long-term benefits. Continuing your education can also help, whether it’s taking classes at a community college, picking up a new language, or learning how to play a musical instrument.
Importantly, finding things you like to do can increase the odds that you’ll keep them up. Here are some ideas:
- Explore new activities or hobbies.
- Learn a new trade or skill.
- Rediscover play (such as games of strategy).
- Do puzzles.
Get your rest too
A good night’s sleep benefits your brain, heart, and lungs. It can protect you from disease and improve your mood. But not getting enough sleep can hurt you, increasing your risk of high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease. Adults need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night.†††
Some healthy sleep tips for older adults include:
- Following a regular sleep schedule.
- Using a bedtime routine (such as reading a book, listening to calm music, or taking a warm bath).
- Keeping the temperature in your room comfortable.
- Talking to your doctor if you have problems sleeping.
Read more about healthy sleep for older adults in this article from the National Institute on Aging.