Planning for Successful Aging: 7 Key Areas
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Planning for Successful Aging: 7 Key Areas

By December 24, 2020February 4th, 2021No Comments

If you are middle-aged, listen up!  Most of us know that things we do today will impact us tomorrow.  This is especially true during the middle years, where we have one final chance to prepare the body and mind for what it will experience in the later years of life.

Engaging in a healthy lifestyle now will help you in later life, while engaging in risky and unhealthy behaviors now will make aging more difficult.  For instance, those who exercise regularly in midlife are more likely to have better brain functioning in later life, as well as a reduced risk of developing dementia.1  Those who have high stress now are more likely to have a disability in older age.2 If you do not learn healthy coping skills now, they will be more challenging to learn in older age.  These are all concepts of successful aging.  Just as you planned for a career, prepared for a game, or planned for financial security, it is also important to plan for successful aging.

The main areas that older adults find important are: 1) good health; 2) being able to function physically and mentally; 3) social engagement; 4) engaging in meaningful activity; 5) a sense of belonging; 6) being spiritually healthy; and 7) financial security.

Ask yourself if what you are doing today will ensure you are satisfied in these seven areas later.  If so, great! Stay on track. If not, what changes can you make to plan for your own successful aging?

Here are a few tips that may help you set goals for a more successful transition into your next phase of life.

  • Foster positive relationships
  • Consider the harm tobacco, drugs, and excessive alcohol has on your body.
  • Rethink your diet.
  • Stay hydrated.
  • Do what you can to minimize stress.
  • Make saving money a priority, and review your retirement plan.
  • Exercise more.
  • Challenge your brain.
  • Focus on your spirituality.
  • Find activities or events that interest you.
  • Know your community resources.

These are just a few ways you can prepare to age successfully.  Every person is different in how they age.  There are no set behaviors or conditions that define older age. No one can predict exactly what you will experience as you age.  These tips are very general and only intended as a guide, and should be modified based on your own experiences.

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?–Satchel Paige

 

  1. DeFina, L.F., Willis, B.L., Radford, N.B., Gao, A., Leonard, D., Haskell, W.L., & Berry, J.D. (2013). The association between midlife cardiorespiratory fitness levels and later-life dementia: A cohort study.Annals of Internal Medicine,158:162–168. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-158-3-201302050-00005.
  2. Kulmala, J.U., Von Bonsdorff, M.B., Stenholm, S., Tormakangas, T., Von Bonsdorff, M.E., Nygard, C., & Rantanen, T. (2013). Perceived stress symptoms in midlife predict disability in old age: A 28-year prospective cohort study. Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, 68:984–991.

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