Healthy ageing - stay involved

Humans are social animals who need contact and intimacy with others to feel good about life. This is even more important after retirement, when the social contact that comes with being in the workforce is gone.

Factors such as low income, reduced physical mobility due to illness, or lack of access to transport can leave some people at home alone with nothing much to do. If this is the case, retirement may lead to social isolation, loneliness and depression. But there are lots of ways to stay involved in the wider community.

Ways to stay involved
Reach out to the immediate world around you for fun, a sense of achievement, social contact and mental stimulation. Some suggestions include:

• Improve your health
• Widen your circle of friends
• Volunteer in the classroom, community centre or organisation
• Become a mentor
• Get computer savvy
• Increase your physical activity.

Improve your health
For some seniors, health problems are a barrier to participation in the wider community. Suggestions include:

• Control existing health issues in close consultation with your doctor. Ask for self-help suggestions to better manage your condition.
• Maintain an appropriate and regular exercise routine. Walk or do strength training or water aerobics. Exercise improves physical health and boosts cognitive abilities such as memory and logic.
• Eat a healthy diet.
• Don’t smoke.
• Limit your alcohol intake.
• Turn off the television. Sitting in front of the TV for long periods every day tends to ‘sedate’ the body and mind.
• Stimulate your brain with activities such as reading, crossword puzzles or ‘thinking’ games such as Scrabble, Sudoku or Trivial Pursuit.
• Lively conversation is effective and fun exercise for the brain. Make an effort to be more sociable; for example, regularly invite family or friends over for a cup of tea and a chat.
• If you are feeling persistently depressed or sad, see your doctor.