7 Ways To Stay Young At Heart – Part 2
If you’re trying to keep yourself young at heart, the worst thing you can do is stay at home all the time. Too many seniors make this mistake when they retire. It ages them prematurely and leads to mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and loneliness.
That doesn’t mean you have to be out and about all the time like you were when you still worked. Far from it! It’s okay to slow down. There’s a big difference between being out most of the time and watching reruns on TV all day.
How often should you plan to get out of the house? That depends on your living situation. Do you live alone? With a significant other? With extended family? How many days you should be out doing something varies based on your home situation.
Regardless of how many people you live with, the most common recommendation is to leave your house at least three days a week, and more if you live alone. This doesn’t mean you should be gone all day on those days. Leaving for an hour or more can be enough to help you physically and psychologically.
What you do when you leave your house also matters a good deal. Running errands, paying bills, and seeing the doctor, are necessary parts of life. Still, they can’t be the only reasons you go somewhere!
You need to go places just for social interaction at least once or twice a week. It doesn’t matter what kind of social interaction you’re participating in; a book club meeting, a choir rehearsal, and a lunch with a friend will give you similar benefits. But it would be best to have regular social interactions and spend time with others.
If you have few social connections right now, you must make some. Your local community is bound to have groups or regular meetings for something that interests you. Look around, ask questions, call the senior center or the library, and make some connections.
Join a club, a church, or a gaming community. Start working with a nonprofit. You will find something that you like if you look hard enough.
Is it easy to maintain social connections and attend events as you age? No, of course not. But it’s imperative that you try.