How Older Adults Can Stay Healthy by Mentoring the Next Generation

How older adults can stay healthy by mentoring the next generation, a lot is to be learned from those who already experienced it. With decades of developing skills and experience, seniors are in the unique position of being able to teach younger generations a variety of lessons. In a healthy culture, the young look for advice from their elders when they need it. The best way for older adults to help those younger than them is to lead by example. Let’s explore a few areas seniors can mentor the next generation below:

Mentoring the Next Generation: Exercise and Movement

Staying fit and active while you age presents great opportunities to show the younger generations that regular exercise is important to a life full of longevity and healthy habits. The workouts you perform change throughout your life based on what your body needs. As a younger person, you work on building muscle and endurance.

As a senior, your mindset shifts
to pro-aging and introduces new movements to engage different parts of your body. The idea of pro-aging is not to look any younger but to be the best you can be at your age and feel better overall. This includes balancing workouts to help mitigate the potential for accidents throughout your day-to-day life. Fall prevention is key to living a healthy life as an older adult, so adding
exercises that promote keeping your full range of motion allows you to feel more in control of your health and wellness. Some exercises for fall prevention  that are beneficial as you age are:

● Sit to Stands
● Standing Marches
● Light Stretching
● Walking
Try to incorporate these exercises into your daily routine in order to ensure you’re in the best physical shape you can be. Look around your area to see if there are any senior fitness classes or groups to take part in. Don’t be afraid to sign up for a personal trainer or physical therapist as they can create a routine that best fits your injuries, health, and habits. Creating time to take care of yourself is rewarding and showing the younger generations that you’re still doing so as you age is a great example to set for them. Exercise and movement aren’t only great for your physical health, but also your mental health. Being able to stay active as a senior will ensure you’re living your life to the very best.

Community Involvement

Staying active applies to your social life as well. Having a full social calendar of different events guarantees you’re connecting with others around you, which in turn encourages positive and healthy relationships. Whether you’re looking for some group activities or one-on-one time, there are many ways you can add social interaction to your calendar. Consider joining exercise programs for seniors with friends as a way to engage your mental and physical health all at once. Community events are also a great way to spend time with others and may give you a goal to focus on reaching to keep you stimulated. Being active in your community and in your relationships allows you to have deep and meaningful connections with yourself and those in your life. Encourage your family members to visit and be open with expressing when you’d like to see them whether you’re aging in place  or at a care facility.

Communication is key when it comes to seeing the ones you love, especially if they’re not within the area. By cultivating your relationships with your children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren, the younger generation around you will see how important it is to maintain family relationships. Ask them if they’d be able to take you grocery shopping or out on the town to the movies to do something fun. Consider asking them if they want to come by and visit during specific activities or see if it’s possible for you to be transported to a family member’s home for a holiday.

Starting the conversation is a great step to ensuring you can stay connected with your family as much as possible. This is a great way to keep your mind sharp and stay social as you age as well.If you’re at a care facility, look into the different clubs or organizations available online in your home or even externally. There may be opportunities to volunteer locally for non-profits, the library or other places nearby. Joining these is a great way to be stimulated mentally, give you some added purpose in your day-to-day, and even meet new people. It’s never too late in life to make new friends or try something new. If you’re interested in cultivating the youth, you can even be an elder mentor  to people of different ages. This is a great way to spread your knowledge and guidance to kids. These connections and activities foster a feeling of purpose and prevent loneliness from setting in.

Mentoring the Next Generation: Financial Health

Your financial health is important at any stage of life. Being tactful with budgeting throughout your life will establish your financial security as an older adult. Having strong financial literacy skills will allow you to create many teachable moments with others in your circle and set a good example for the generations that follow you. The younger people in your life can take stock of their monetary responsibilities and determine what they need to do in order to stay financially fit. This could include making the choice to deposit more into their savings account, determining if debt consolidation can help them save money, or even looking into the benefits of other earning tools, like certificates of deposit or investing. Being an example of financial wellness and being open to having honest conversations about money and how to manage it will help create a lifetime of positive saving habits for yourself and others in your life.

Leading by example is a great way to mentor the next generation. It allows them to see a success story right in front of their eyes. Having the opportunity to guide a young person through the challenges of life and give them tools to succeed will ensure all of your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed while in turn making you feel accomplished.