14 | SENIOR LIVING • JUNE 29, 2011
Boomer basics: Easy and affordable tips to maintain an active, safe and healthy lifestyle Today’s baby boomers are growing older gracefully. And although more than 10,000 boomers each day will turn 65, most are not letting their age stop them from maintaining active and healthy lifestyles. Here are a few ways to ensure that you (or the ones you love) stay healthy, active and safe: • Maintain regular health screenings and immunizations. While it is important to have regular check-ups with your family doctor, it’s equally important to monitor vitals more frequently. Luckily, most local pharmacies offer free blood pressure and cholesterol checks, as well as seasonal flu shots. • Fight against falls. Falls are the most common cause of hospital visits for those older than 65, according to the Home Safety Council. To help prevent falls in the bathroom — while maintaining stylish decor in your home — add new Grab Bars with Integrated Accessories from Moen Home Care or similar manufacturers. These unique products combine functional acces-
sories, such as a shelf, towel bar and toilet paper holder, with the safety of a grab bar. • Travel safety. Once you’ve updated your own bathroom with safety features, be sure that you are surrounded with these safety devices when you’re visiting others or on vacation. Products such as the Suction Balance Assist Bar from Moen Home Care, or similar manufacturers offer a suction design that easily attaches directly to smooth, flat surfaces for a firm, secure grip in danger zones and easily unlocks from the wall for convenient transport when traveling away from home, staying with family or in a hotel or motel. • Ensure help is a call away. Cell phones are not just for social uses, they are a valuable emergency response tool — and they don’t have to come with a pricey monthly bill. In fact, plans are available for as low as $10 per month without a contract to AARP members . • Cease bad habits. Smokers will die 14 years sooner than non-smokers,
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reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No matter if you’ve been smoking for years or decades, your body will be better off if you stop. • Instill healthy habits. Being healthy doesn’t have to involve major lifestyle changes. For example, swap high-fat or high-calorie versions of your favorite foods with lower-fat, lowercalorie versions. Or, stock your fridge with healthy fruits and vegetables for snacks. These small diet changes can make big differences in your health. • Boost your activity levels. This does not mean running a marathon — but it does mean getting your body moving. Walking, playing golf or any other enjoyable activity that boosts your heart rate is a step in the right direction. • Keep your mind moving. Cognitive performance levels drop earlier in countries that have younger retirement age, according to a study published by the RAND Center for the Study of Aging and the University of Michigan, but if you are no longer in the
workforce, don’t worry. Just be sure to keep your brain busy with activities that combine social, physical and intellectual stimulation: for instance, card and board games, group hikes or water aerobics, book discussion groups or even attending community meetings of the area’s town councils and school boards. The Rim Country has a great array of clubs and organizations open to just about everyone and providing tremendous opportunities for social, physical and intellectual interaction. Check the listings on the Almanac and Organizations pages in every issue of the Payson Roundup for upcoming events and groups that meet regularly and invite interested residents to learn more about them. By following these simple tips, you can ensure the golden years will be happy, healthy and safe. For more information on Moen Home Care safety products, visit www.moen .com/homecare. From ARA Content
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