September is Healthy Aging month and the mission behind it is to draw attention to the importance of healthy lifestyles for adults. The last few years have been hard with everyone hunkering down, changing the way we communicate, work, and play. Here are some tips for physical, social, and mental wellness in recognition of September as Health Aging Month. Let us start with mental wellness. The highest levels of anxiety and depression are now being reported since the pandemic began. Ask for help before your anxiety level gets too high to ensure that your stress and anxiety levels do not hinder your ability to remain active. Keeping fit helps improve cognition, reduces the risk of dementia, builds, and maintains skeletal muscle strength, and endurance. We are meant to move! Exercise improves the quality of life, reduces anxiety, the risk for depression and improves sleep. Statistically, Americans have grown over the past two years due to the pandemic causing everyone to eat more, gain weight, and increase our consumption of alcohol. What to do? Easier said than done, but we need to reset our diets. Choose a diet that emphasizes fruits, veggies, whole grains, and fat-free milk products. With a better-balanced diet, we will have more energy, move more, and feel better about life. Lastly, we need to get back to socializing. We are social animals and are healthier when we can socialize with others. If we can implement at least some of the suggested ways to lower stress and anxiety, eat a better diet, and exercise, we can age healthier and more gracefully.

The Nurse.