When we hit middle-age, with our children growing up fast and retirement drawing closer and closer, it’s time to pause to plan the next big chapter of our lives: old age. While for some it might be just around the corner, while for others old age might lie another 20 years hence, there are some actions you can take to prepare yourself – and your loved ones – for your aging into your silver years. The advice given below aims to help you do just that, protecting you and your family from the impact of age on your lifestyle.
Long-Term Health
As you feel you’re soon to transition into old age from middle age, it’s worth going to the doctor to talk about your long-term health moving forwards. What new health issues might you face? How might you expect your body to feel and develop as you age? Your doctor can compassionately answer these answers, or else there is a wide range of online resources to help you understand the impact of aging on individuals who’re passing through their fifties into their sixties.
Understand Risks
With this advice, you’ll hopefully have a better understanding of the types of health risks that are more prominent for individuals in your age category. These may include:
- Various forms of cancer
- Diabetes (especially type two diabetes.)
- Cardiovascular disease, especially prevalent in obese individuals.
- Diseases that affect cognitive functioning (dementia and Alzheimer’s.)
As well as these risks – generic across the whole population – you can also visit a specialist who’ll be able to take a look at your DNA to give you personal information about the risks you might face as you age. Genetic counselors unpick your genes to present you with accurate – and unprecedented – information about your susceptibility to diseases, helping you prepare yourself and keeping you alert to certain type of symptoms.
Death or Incapacitation
Morbid but necessary, it’s the duty of all individuals moving from middle age into old age to think frankly about death. This includes considerations around their last will and testament and arrangements for the rest of the family in the event of incapacitation through medical difficulties. With many illnesses striking fast and ruthlessly, it’s better to make these preparations in your own time in case you suffer a sudden and debilitating health issue.
Keeping Active
Old age, in the public imagination, means afternoon naps, pottering in the garden and generally a sedentary lifestyle. Goodness knows you’ll have earnt it after years of toil and childbearing. However, if you’re serious about your health going forward into the coming decades, you really ought to make a resolution to keep active even as you head into old age and your muscles and joints feel a little less flexible than they once were. Remaining active is the best way for aging people to stave off the worst effects of aging – immobility – so make sure you’re out on walks, jogs and swims to keep your body in ship shape as you grow old.
Bear these tips in mind to help you prepare for retirement old age with dignity and confidence.
