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Successful Aging: Go bare(foot) and improve your life
By Angelyn Frankenberg Feb 16, 2015 From the Post Independent/Citizen Telegram
Test your balance by standing on one foot with your arms crossed in front of your chest and raising one leg so your foot is near but not touching your other ankle. How long can you hold the position? The average durations by age group are: 40-49, 42 seconds; 50 to 59, 41 seconds; 60-69, 32 seconds; 70-79, 21 seconds. If you are 50-plus and physically active, you probably will experience better-than-average duration.
Now try the same test with your eyes closed. Even if you are very active — unless you start your day with balance beam gymnastics or a unicycle ride — do not be surprised to find your time is not above average for your age group: 40-49, 13 seconds; 50-59, 8 seconds; 60-69, 4 seconds; 70-79, 3 seconds.
Maintaining a good sense of balance is a cornerstone of successful aging. It helps prevent falls and the fear of falling and contributes to a general sense of well-being, of feeling at home in one’s own body. Balance involves a complex interplay of physical and mental factors but depends on three sensory components: vision, the inner-ear (vestibular) system and proprioception, the subconscious sense of movement and position. For a detailed look at all three systems, see Scott McCredie’s “Balance: In Search of the Lost Sense.”
Get Fit to Age At Home
by Rachel Adelson Huffington Post October 10, 2014
Why do we do it? It’s not for immortality, that’s for sure. We’re old enough to rule that one out.
No, it’s probably some mixture of hope, fear and vanity, layered onto the fact that working out can actually leave one feeling pretty good. Beyond the immediate rewards, though, there are:
Hope that muscle strength and stamina will help us stay independent longer, helping us carry out daily activities in better health. This tactic is central to any personal strategy for aging at home
Fear that being weak will leave us unable to carry our own bags, more likely to fall, more vulnerable to dependending on others.
Vanity about looking good, having good posture, fitting into cute clothes, avoiding “dowager’s hump” (a dated term for ‘kyphosis’), and being able to dance at weddings. Read the rest of this entry