As you get older, life tends to throw more and more stressors at you. If you don’t learn how to manage your stress, it can lead to serious health issues. Fortunately, if you’re willing to make some changes in your daily routine, there are tons of ways to manage your stress without sacrificing the activities you love most! You should take stress management for seniors seriously if you want to feel younger than your years and maintain optimal health for many years to come. Thankfully, the stress management tips below can help you better manage your stress levels and allow you to age gracefully into your 80s and beyond.
Sleep Better
Stress can lead to insomnia. If you’re feeling stressed, one of your biggest tasks is getting some sleep. This will go a long way toward helping you feel calmer. One study found that people who slept for five hours or less per night were more likely to feel stressed out on a daily basis, compared with those who logged at least seven hours of shut-eye. Experts also say that it’s important to practice good sleep habits, avoid caffeine late in the day, and schedule relaxing activities before bedtime, like taking a bath or meditating (if it doesn’t make you feel worse).
Control Your Weight
Many people who are stressed out find that their stress triggers unhealthy eating habits. It’s easy to turn to junk food when you’re feeling pressured, but healthily dealing with stress can help you get back on track if you have some weight issues. By choosing healthier foods over comfort foods when you’re stressed, you can still eat while dealing with your problems, hopefully minimizing any further weight gain. And because food choices affect how your body feels daily, managing stress more effectively is yet another way to manage chronic pain—and stay on an active schedule—over time.
Get Sick Less Often
We store fat to maintain blood sugar levels when we are under stress, which causes our blood sugar levels to fluctuate wildly. You can avoid storing unwanted fat and keep your blood sugar on an even keel by managing stress. Stress also has been shown to make it harder for people who are overweight or obese to lose weight—not a great combination! Taking control of stress levels helps control our waistlines.
Feel Better Faster When You Do Get Sick
Stress has a profound effect on your immune system, making you less resistant to infection and healing slower when you get sick. It also ages your body by speeding up cellular degeneration and creating free radicals that damage cells in ways similar to radiation. There’s no substitute for getting regular exercise when it comes to stress management for Golden-age adults. Exercise improves blood flow and helps distribute nutrients through your body. Plus, when you exercise regularly, your body releases higher levels of endorphins. These feel-good neurotransmitters help counter stress-related hormones and chemicals in your brain and help keep you feeling better overall than you would otherwise.
Have Less Muscle Tension
Regular exercise can help reduce stress-related tension headaches, constipation, backache, and sleep problems. A good routine of moderate physical activity also makes you less prone to develop new aches and pains. Exercise makes your muscles more flexible, so they are less likely to be injured or strained while at work or play. It’s important to follow a regular exercise program for overall flexibility throughout your life. Being active can help relieve tension in your muscles, often responsible for aches and pains that people experience daily.
Be In a Better Mood
Stress can be so debilitating; it’s no wonder stress is tied to symptoms like headaches, stomachaches, and lethargy. You may not realize that these symptoms are caused by stress, but it all makes sense when you think about how your body reacts to high-stress situations—your heart rate increases, which isn’t great for people with conditions like heart disease.
