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Activities Promoting Healthy Aging

Lack of activity can prevent you from living healthy. When you do not enjoy activities, you may feel fatigue or find it difficult to sleep at night. When you awake in the morning, you may feel tired until you finally fall asleep. As we age our bodies change and we have to make changes to accommodate our lives.

Having a good night sleep makes the mind think more clearly. A good night sleep also boosts your energy while controlling your weight. You can also make decisions with less stress. Sleeping well at night makes our immune system stronger to keep us healthier.

Researchers have proven that a good night's sleep is necessary for our health. They have also found that a lack of sleep reduces the growth hormones in our bodies, since it changes muscles to fat. Sleep overall is most important, yet it stands behind activities. To improve your health, try walking each day.

Walking helps loosen our muscles, reduces stress and depression along with anxiety. By relieving these things, it will help us to sleep for a longer and deeper period. So, when we wake up in the morning we feel happier and more rested.

When you exercise, you get a good night sleep, which promotes metabolism. Without the right amount of sleep, our bodies crave energy. Our body will release insulin or glucose into the bloodstream, which slows down metabolism. This action causes the body to gain weight, rather than control weight.

When a person feels exhausted, they feel weak and repressed from enjoying activity. This leads to additional problems. Getting enough sleep gives us more energy leading to more activity that will satisfy our sleep needs.

Things to avoid
To rest proper and feel active you must reduce your intake of caffeine, nicotine, harmful chemicals, such as over-the-counter meds that keep you awake, alcohol and so on. These chemicals and substances will keep you awake. Try to avoid drinking anything after 8 p.m. in the evening. Nicotine should be avoided if possible, yet if you must smoke try to avoid smoking after 8 p.m.

Start a walking program in the morning to help wake you up, while boosting your energy. You will feel better since the joints will feel flexible enough to move freely. In addition, walking will help you burn fat and calories. You will notice a big change in how you feel the rest of the day. Start out walking at a slow steady pace for as far as you are comfortable. Each day pick up the pace a bit and walk further.

Just remember when walking that you want to work up to a steady brisk walk to make you sweat but not out of breath. Take a short walk before and after meals to calm your nerves, and burn calories too, it will give you energy, relieve that stress from the long day and help you sleep.

If you start a walking program for yourself, it is a lot more fun if you have someone to go with you. Talk to that neighbor you do not know and maybe they will walk with you. Just think about it; you will be acquainted with someone new, talk about new things and get in you exercise as well. This might help that neighbor too who maybe has not seen or talked to anyone in a couple of days and then they can sleep better at night.

After a brisk walk, be sure to cool down. When walking at a vigorous pace your heart rate rises, and it needs to be back to normal. Just walk slowly and relax until you have cooled down.

If you cannot sleep at night, instead of getting up and turning on the TV try pacing around the house. Do some stretching and shake your arms and legs. Even walking around the house can relax you, especially when everyone else is in bed.

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