Being old does not have to mean that you should feel tired all the time. Let’s look at how to increase energy levels among the elderly in this guide.
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Your body goes through many mental and emotional challenges as you grow old. The challenges, work, anxieties, etc., take away most of your energy.
Thus, it has become a common notion that you tend to lose most of your energy with old age – this, however, entirely depends on one’s mindset.
Yes, even if you are above 65 years of age, you can still boost your energy levels by following a few rules and practices and living a healthy and happy life. Read on to know more.
Why Do Elders Seem To Have Less Energy?
The energy level of each person differs, and honestly, age has nothing much to do with it. You can see a 16-year old unable to move from his bed while a 60-year old wakes up early in the morning and goes for a run.
Thus, the first thing to manage is your mental strength and flexibility – convince your mind that you are a powerhouse of energy, and your subconscious will present you with the same.
Secondly, some hormonal changes take place as you grow older. The decrease in the levels of a variety of hormones, such as estrogen (the primary female sex hormone) in women and testosterone (the primary male sex hormone), is another reason why your body goes through changes.
The body also has difficulty producing new muscle tissues. Body metabolism slows down; body tissues start to thin, digestive ability goes down, nutrition is absorbed less, and so on. All of these contribute to keeping the energy levels of the body low. The good thing is that there are ways that allow you to be high on energy all the time.
Decrease in energy can also be health-related
While you try to maintain healthy habits and lifestyles to keep your energy levels up, you must also understand that the drop in your energy level can also be because of some underlying illness or another health-related issue.
Many common diseases can deplete your energy levels and create chronic fatigue in your body, making you feel weak.
Some of the prominent reasons for low energy levels in not only elders but young people can be due to lack of sleep, lack of exercise, viral or bacterial infections, flu, sinus, chemotherapy, arthritis, sleep apnea, diabetes, thyroid problems, cancer, pulmonary problems, and more.
The good part is that these illnesses and problems can be treated and healed even in old age. Thus, you can go ahead and get yourself tested before starting with energy-boosting tools and ways.
Proper Diet & Exercise is The Key
Since you have passed 65 years of age, the best thing to boost your energy level is a healthy diet. It is recommended to connect with a good nutritionist or dietician to include all the needed vitamins and food that increase your body’s energy levels.
The next thing should be exercise followed by drinking plenty of water daily. If you keep yourself hydrated, eat nutritious food, and exercise regularly, the chances of getting low on energy will be less.
Now that you have a glimpse of the main three steps to stay high on energy, that is, a good diet, drinking water, and exercising, you can jump into the more ways to increase your power as an adult.
How To Increase Energy Levels in Elders
According to the experts, lifestyle changes associated with aging can be pretty impactful and, thus, are highly recommended to bring into your routine. Some of the many lifestyle changes that you can get into your routine include-
Physical Activity
As mentioned already, regular exercise and movement of the body can keep the diseases and lethargy away from you. Either laziness or functional body movements can stay in your body – remember either one of them, not both.
So, choose your battle and get your body moving. Exercising doesn’t specifically mean that you have to lift weight or work out for an hour. Exercise can also be moving your body from time to time, going on walks, dancing to your favorite tunes, practicing yoga and breathwork, etc.
Proper Diet
This one is probably the most important way to boost your energy levels. Consult a professional and get your diet chart to follow regularly.
Eat live food (fruits, green vegetables, salads, etc.) rather than junk food. Vegetarian food is the best way to keep your body healthy. Also, do not stuff your stomach with food all the time. Fast at least two days a week to get the energy flowing inside your body.
Quit Smoking, Alcohol & Other Habit Forming Substances
This is no rocket science, but we all know how difficult it can be for a smoker or an alcoholic to quit these habits. Nonetheless, it is essential to convince your subconscious to stop on these things and find happiness through therapeutic measures such as creating art, writing, cooking, and other exciting ways.
Drink Plenty of Water
We cannot stress how important it is to regularly drink at least 6-8 cups of water. You must start your day by drinking at least one cup of water before you go and get fresh. Drinking more water becomes essential, especially when you are aging. So, go ahead and make it a point to drink a lot of water regularly and boost your energy levels.
Sleep Better
Most older adults have a problem of not sleeping fully and deeply at night. Even if they do, their sleep breaks in the middle of the night. Thus, it is essential to understand that poor sleep hygiene can lead to many psychological, mental, and emotional problems with time. Consult a professional if you have to, and sleep excellent and healthy.
Join a group or friend circle
Loneliness often leads to depression, and isolating oneself is one of the most common lifestyle troubles in elders. Thus, it is essential to have someone, family, friend, spouse, or anyone else to keep the loneliness at bay.
Man is a social animal, and even if it feels right to stay alone for a while, don’t let it grow on you, and whenever you feel comfortable, step out and meet people.
Healthy Habits To Maintain Energy Levels
Now that you know how to bring your energy levels up let’s also look at how to keep them going so that you don’t become tired and jaded quickly. You can include the following healthy habits in your schedule to keep high energy in and around you.
Mindfulness
Practice mindfulness via meditation, journaling, yoga, and deep breathing to reduce daily stress and anxiety. This will drive out the unwanted energy from your body and allow you to become a better version of yourself since the energy level will be consistently high.
Seek Help, if Needed
Most older people suffer in their heads more than in reality. Sadly, nobody taught us to take care of our minds and body while taking care of our lives and business. Thus, it is essential to educate ourselves on our mental health and connect with a specialist to understand ourselves better.
Even if you do not have any visible mental issue or problem, you can still have a therapist talk about everything that bothers you. Sometimes, you bid goodbye to anxiety, depression, and other health problems by letting it all out of your system.
Make Sure to Get Your Vitamins
You can resort to multivitamins, nutrient supplements, and other energy-boosting supplements that contribute to keeping your energy levels high and going. However, it is essential to consult a physician or medical professional before taking any of these supplements, considering they suit your body type.
Regular Health Check-ups
Even though this should be considered very average, most of us aren’t taught to take care of our bodies as well as we take care of other people. Yes, the main reason behind it is the fear of detecting an unwanted illness, but we forget that life is precious, and if we have a problem, sooner or later, it will show up sooner or later. Thus, you must get regular check-ups and take care of any problem in the results.
Connect With Loved Ones
Even though staying cooped in your room or favorite chair feels good, the human touch is essential for a healthy and charged life. Make sure that you connect with at least one person daily to keep the happy hormones flowing. Believe it or not, it is essential, and once you start doing it, you will notice how you are positively affected by this new practice.
Be More Positive
Yes, perhaps the most important on this list is to talk to yourself like you would speak to a baby – with love and kindness. The voices in your head that are rude aren’t even yours; it is the world that has been cruel to you. Thus, it is essential to talk to yourself with love and always try to think happy and positive thoughts.
Spend Some Time Alone
Even though socializing is necessary, we have to agree, spending time alone with yourself is even more critical. Yes, you must explore various sides of yourself and get to know yourself more and more by spending time with yourself and talking to your inner child. Trust us, your healing will take no time, and energy shall always remain high when you start doing that.
How To Staying Motivated For Exercise?
The best way to stay motivated to exercise is to make short-term goals. Don’tDon’t start with heavy work-outs on your first day. That will take away the motivation since our brains are designed to break down tasks and then perform them.
However, each human brain works differently, and thus, it should be considered that different exercise routines work for other people. So, you will have to personally design a method to stay motivated to exercise.
The best reasoning would be to understand that prevention is better than cure and, thus, take care of your body since it takes care of you.
Can Emotions Cause Fatigue?
The straightforward answer to this question is yes; they can. Your body doesn’t know your reality, and thus, whatever you tell it, it will understand. If it only knows about losing energy and fatigue, it will feel exactly that.
Emotions are the language of the body, and this is your only way to communicate with it. Thus, the minute you start thinking positive and happy thoughts and sending love to your body, it starts picking up on the love energy and responding with the same emotion.
If you constantly feel tired, your emotions will send the same signals to your body and cause fatigue. The good thing is that you have unlimited power to transform your negative or sad emotions into happy and positive ones.
The Power of Positive Thoughts and Emotions
Even at an old age, you must not lose your power of recognizing your emotions or start learning about your feelings and feelings (in case you haven’t).
The term for it is emotional intelligence, and if you have a high sense of EI, then the chances are that you can easily influence your and other people’s emotions. Emotional intelligence is the capacity for resilience, stress management, motivation, empathy, reasoning, communication, etc.
Even if you aren’t emotionally intelligent on a certain level, you can very quickly learn to understand your emotions and transform them into a positive influence – this is truly life-changing in every sense of the word.
Some of the best tips to charge your emotions with good energy and, thus, keep it high are given below.
Be grateful
Be grateful for whatever you are going through or wherever you are in life. Just give thanks for your presence in this world. Thank the universe for your existence and for making you this powerful.
When you constantly live in a state of gratitude, the universe brings you more reasons to be in this state. Remember, whatever you focus on creates more of it – the simple law of the universe.
Move your body
You must move your body from time to time for the energy to move inside and around you. Energy loves moving, and the more you remain stagnant, the more it will stay so. So, take a walk, dance, practice yoga, work out, etc., to keep it moving, and you will see positive changes in your body.
Surround yourself with positive people
The people around you play an essential role in your well-being. Please do not feel shy or bad in removing some people from your life if it feels like they are taking away more than adding to your life.
Those who pass judgments towards you and others without focusing on their lives, talk bad about you behind your back, have no goals, etc., aren’t your people.
Declutter your mind
Most people are so busy in their lives that they do not give their minds the time and space to declutter and close the unimportant tabs.
Yes, we aren’t taught the power of cleansing our minds when it is one of the essential practices to have high energy and a positive attitude.
You can meditate, journal, do deep breathwork, etc., to declutter your mind and focus your energy on better things.
Energy Booster Foods For Seniors
The best way to boost one’s energy is via eating naturals (alive food) such as watermelons, Greek yogurt, green vegetables, eggs, dark chocolate, and various mood and health-boosting supplements.
However, for the latter, you must first consult a health practitioner. The foods mentioned above contain a high concentration of vitamins, minerals, and fibers needed to increase energy levels in humans.
Vitamins and Minerals to Boost Energy Levels
There are 11 main elements needed to increase energy levels in elders. These include
- Ashwagandha for lifting mood and relaxation
- Vitamin B12 for transforming food into energy
- Melatonin for better sleep and alleviating insomnia
- Creatine for boosting energy quickly
- Iron for the production of hemoglobin
- Tyrosine for producing neurotransmitters
- Beetroot powder for relaxing blood vessels and increasing blood flow
- Citrulline for blood circulation
- CoQ10 for production of energy in the cells
- Rhodiola Rosea for enhancing the body’s ability to cope with stress,
- Omega-3 fatty acids to reduce depression and fatigue.
Are bananas good for the elderly?
Bananas contain high quantities of potassium, vitamin B6, and fibers, which promote muscle strength and help in sustaining energy.
Banana is also a good source for moderating sugar levels and has potent antioxidants, amongst other qualities. So, yes, bananas are suitable for older people and should be included in their meals.
Wrapping up
As an elderly, it can be challenging to transform yourself initially, but with regular practice and strong willpower, you can run like a child even at your age.
There are many examples of older adults who have shown the way on how to enhance and maintain energy levels. Ultimately, it’s more mind over matter than anything else.
We hope that the tips and tricks in this article will help you identify some action points to keep yourself full of energy and enthusiasm as you age.
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