Entering senior years is often a trying time as energy levels tend to decline. While retirement is a chance to look back and reflect, seniors often get fatigued easily as the body ages. All that’s needed is to find ways to keep elderly people going by rebuilding their energy levels.
Australians Report Feeling Drained Daily
In 2019, Entity Health polled 1,008 Australians on their daily lives and energy status, with the responses being a very mixed bag. For instance, evaluators said 55 per cent of respondents over 60 years old reported feelings of drained power at some points of the day, but the younger generation has things much worse – at 76 per cent of those under 30 and 79 per cent of people between 30 to 40 years old.
Common Causes of Fatigue in Seniors
To start building and maintaining energy levels during senior life, it is important to understand as well what are the common issues that cause seniors to be fatigued.
Existing medical conditions
If you have been diagnosed with certain ailments, there’s a chance they sap you of the vital energy you need to get through the day. Ailments that can cause these include heart conditions, diabetes, and kidney disease.
Lack of activity
An evident period of inactivity can lead a senior’s muscle mass to start atrophying and increase the danger of lesser stamina and rapid fatigue. The Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science stated that lack of physical inactivity may bring the onset of sarcopenia.
Medications
It is an established fact that health is at a premium in older age, and to maintain it requires, among others, taking a bevy of medical supplements. However, even when prescribed by a GP, some of these medicines may carry fatigue as one of the side effects.
Mental health issues
As individuals age, they frequently encounter challenges to their mental well-being, including depression, feelings of loneliness, and, unfortunately, a decline in the will to live. The compounding effect on this is an increased feeling of fatigue.
Food intake
The kinds of food you eat may contribute to an energy crash and compound any existing health conditions in the process. You may even know some elderly people who have an affinity for eating a certain variety of food despite counsel against excessively eating them due to health issues (for example, processed meat products containing carcinogens).
Sleep deprivation
Some seniors will have problems trying to get to sleep at night. This reduces the optimal number of hours they must sleep to be refreshed the following day – according to the IRT retirement village chain, seniors need to sleep for over seven hours. At the same time, a number of studies indicate that a lack of sleep raises the odds of onset dementia and Alzheimer’s between 20 to 50 per cent, not to mention weight gain and reduced immune functions.
Building and Maintaining Energy Levels For Seniors
Even with the above information, all is not lost and you can turn things around.
Consulting your GP
Take the time to discuss your situation with the GP and be honest with the entire problem. They will help you draft a treatment and diet plan, including possible referrals to other specialists, like a physiotherapist for addressing mobility issues.
Going outside
One way to keep the energy levels flowing is to step outside of the house, even more so on a clear day. Sunlight is already an ample source of Vitamin D, which aids in calcium absorption for your bones. Once outside, there’s more opportunities to get around, especially when exploring new places in your community.
Water
Even with the spread of health drinks in the market offering certain benefits such as high energy levels, some people still believe water is the best health drink around. A common rule of thumb is to drink up to two litres per day. The net effects of consuming abundant water, among others, is to aid in getting rid of body waste via sweat, urination, and faeces, maintaining electrolyte levels to keep muscles active, and transport nutrients and oxygen to the rest of your body.
Eating right
A well-balanced diet will be a vital part of keeping an elderly person’s energy levels at above-average levels. Many nutritionists claim that food rich in protein, magnesium, and complex carbohydrates can help the body generate more fuel to power through the day. For protein, definite sources include chicken, fish, beans, and boiled eggs (especially during breakfast). Magnesium can be found in eating whole-grain bread, oatmeal, and nuts.
Look to pasta, potatoes, and black/red/brown rice as starting sources for complex carbs; white rice is not advisable, according to YourLifeChoices AU, because of moderately high sodium content and high glycaemic score. Add fruits and vegetables for intake of multiple vitamins.
No smoking
Seniors’ life may be the time to finally stop smoking, as it already forces the heart and lungs to work harder and cause fatigue in the process, plus depression. Smoking tar results in the lungs gradually shrivelling and becoming black when healthy lungs should be a bright pink.
Mind exercises
Challenge yourself with various exercises to test your mental acuity. Board games and short walks around the block are already starting options to keep the brain stimuli flowing.
Getting physical
Aside from the abovementioned short walks, take up more physical exercises such as running and yoga to burn more calories and test your fitness levels. Doing it with others through community sessions also adds to the motivation.
Increasing sleep time
Energy levels can be replenished by sleeping at least eight hours a night and establishing habits to ensure you get ample sleep. In some cases, taking brief naps in the afternoon can work especially if the earlier part of the day was very taxing for you.
The A.S.A.G. Reverse Mortgage
The A.S.A.G. Reverse Mortgage could be used to finance a lifestyle programme based on building high energy levels for a senior person. The money can fund activities or cover daily expenses such as buying healthier food supplies for easy cooking at home. Take time to call A.S.A.G. at 1300 002 724 or email info@asagfirst.com.au.
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