**This guest blog was written and submitted by Kaytie Elizabeth Pascale**
Taking care of yourself can prove to be a chore the older you get, especially if you’re the primary caretaker of your family. Prioritizing your health is important to ensure you’re in the best shape possible and can continue living a happy and healthy life. To get started on prioritizing your mind, body, and spirit, take a look at the following tips.
1. Schedule Physical Fitness Each Week
According to House Method, seniors should try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise each day. Whether you decide to go on a long walk or practice yoga, this time is essential to improving heart health and maintaining a healthy weight. If you are new to working out, be sure to start small and work yourself up. As a rule of thumb, you should be able to carry on a conversation while working out. If you feel out of breath at any point, try and take it a little easier.
2. Make Time for Hobbies
Be sure to take time to do what you enjoy on a regular basis without any interruptions. Whether you enjoy crafts, golfing, or just diving into a good book, being able to enjoy doing what you love is essential. If you live a busy life, consider planning this time in your schedule and be firm about your boundaries. It’s all too easy to get sucked into making different plans, especially if you have family always around, but setting a schedule will allow everyone to know your plans for the day.
3. Try Out Holistic Healing When Available
Did you know that men and women between the ages of 65–69 fill 14 prescriptions a year? This number increases to 18 for ages between 80–84. If you want to consider natural options to help take care of your health, let your doctor know that you’d like to investigate holistic avenues of healing before jumping into a prescription. This will help mitigate the chances of medication being mixed with other medications that don’t work well together along with enjoying not having to take another pill each day.
4. Get Enough Sleep
The amount of sleep you need each night varies from person to person, but you should aim to get anywhere from seven to nine hours of sleep. If you’re feeling run down as the day goes on, you may not be getting enough sleep. Experiment with your sleep schedule and gauge how you are feeling each day, adjusting accordingly. If you’re feeling tired, get more sleep; if you feel wired before bed, maybe you need less sleep.
5. Create a Nourishing Meal Plan
While it’s been well known that eating right has a direct effect on how we feel and our overall health, it is also the biggest factor that gets overlooked. If your diet has long been a struggle for you, try working in smaller steps to get on the path to healthy eating. Maybe try adding something healthy into one meal each day. Then work it up to two meals, and so on. More than anything else, eating right is the best way to prioritize self-care.
