What is the secret to living a long and healthy life? The answer is simple, yet surprisingly complex and even profound: wellness.
“Wellness is the act of people making conscious, positive choices to create a better existence,” says Cindy Wirth, Executive Director of Bridges® by EPOCH at Sudbury, a memory care assisted living community in Sudbury, MA. “It’s an active process, which means it’s intentional, requires introspection and deliberation and involves daily choices on the behalf of the individual.”
Yes, it does sound a little vague. But when you start thinking about all the multifaceted aspects of our lives and our happiness, it starts to make sense. “For example, we know that ‘health’ is defined by more than just our blood pressure and cholesterol levels,” says Cindy. “‘Health’ also refers to our emotional health, our spiritual health and our mental health as well as our physical health. Everything is interconnected and builds upon each other – and the same goes for the idea of wellness.”
The Six Dimensions of Wellness
A healthy, well-rounded wellness plan requires paying attention to specific aspects, or dimensions, of our whole-person wellness. Dr. Bill Hettler, co-founder of The National Wellness Institute, defines six key dimensions of wellness:
- Physical: Physical wellness comes from eating well, getting enough sleep, exercising on a regular basis, and also paying attention to your body and making sure to seek medical health when necessary.
- Emotional: This includes how you feel about yourself, your life, understanding your feelings and being able express your emotions in a healthy way.
- Intellectual: Keeping your mind active, expanding your knowledge, staying curious, developing your knowledge and challenging yourself define intellectual wellness.
- Spiritual: Whether you are religious or not, spiritual wellness means recognizing and appreciating the greater world around you, understanding your personal values and acting in a way that is true to your beliefs.
- Occupational: This can mean working at a job, volunteering your time or becoming a mentor – but revolves around the idea of finding a purpose and passing on your skills and gifts in a way that’s meaningful to you.
- Social: Humans are social beings, and staying connected to friends, family and our community builds connections and relationships and rounds out our health.
A seventh and optional dimension of wellness is environmental, which is the understanding of our place in the natural world and taking steps to be responsible and kind to our natural resources (such as recycling, reducing waste and such).
How Wellness Helps Seniors Live Long, Happy Lives
Living well is a desirable goal for all of us at any age. But living well has particular benefits for older adults to help them live long, happy and fulfilled lives. Here are some statistics:
- Physical: A study done by the MacArthur Foundation found that how much we age – 70 percent of our physical aging and 50 percent of our mental aging – is determined by our daily lifestyle choices such as diet and exercise.
- Emotional: A Yale study on retirement and aging found that older adults who had a positive view of their lives lived approximately 7.5 years longer than those who had a negative view.
- Intellectual: Many studies have shown that engaging in activities that are interesting and intellectually stimulating can help seniors increase and maintain memory and cognitive function.
- Spiritual: Spiritual and religious involvement is associated with lower rates of hypertension, higher levels of well-being, less pain and fewer strokes.
- Occupational: Volunteering is good for our community and good for our health – it’s linked to lower mortality, delayed physical disability and a better sense of well-being, especially for seniors.
- Social: Staying socially active leads to a higher immune system, less risk of depression, better cardiovascular health and an overall longer (and happier) life.
Creating a Blueprint for a Long, Happy Life
It should come as no surprise that happy people live longer. So, what can you as a senior do to increase your happiness, increase your six dimensions of wellness and live the best life possible? Here are some ideas for helping you find the path to a long and happy life.
Be as physically healthy as possible.
- Visit your doctor on a regular basis for wellness exams and to keep on top of any health conditions you have or may develop.
- Get regular physical exercise. Don’t worry if you aren’t running five miles every day. Start with a nightly walk around the block and work up to the exercise level that helps you feel healthy and well.
- Eat a varied diet of whole foods including fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean meats and healthy fats. Limit your intake of salt, alcohol, fatty meats and processed foods.
Manage your emotional health.
- Be aware of your emotions and allow yourself to feel what you feel without judgement.
- Express your feelings in appropriate ways – it’s not healthy to bottle up any emotions, good or bad.
- Do something kind for yourself every day, whether it’s a relaxing bath, watching a favorite TV show or chatting with a friend.
- Visit a doctor or therapist if you feel you need assistance with depression or lingering sadness.
Remain intellectually engaged.
- Learn a new hobby or pick up an old favorite you’ve put to the side.
- Join a club that interests you.
- Challenge yourself to learn something new, like a new language or an interesting topic.
Find your purpose and share it with others.
- Volunteer for a cause you believe in or donate your time to something that’s enjoyable to you, such as becoming a mentor or helping people prepare their taxes.
- Consider a “second act” career doing something you want to do, whether it’s becoming a consultant or getting a job at a local hardware store.
Deepen your spiritual well-being.
- If you’re religious, consider joining a church or becoming more active in the place of worship you currently attend.
- If you’re not religious, take time to explore your spiritual side and think about what has purpose and meaning to you. You may wish to try meditation or another form of introspection.
Stay socially active.
- Reach out to friends and family to set up regular activities, such as lunch dates, dinner parties or weekly phone chats.
- Find ways to make new friends of all generations (joining clubs or becoming a mentor is a great way to do this).
- Remain in touch with the people who are important to you, even if it’s a quick text message to a friend across the globe.
By focusing on the six dimensions of wellness to nurture your entire mind, body and soul, seniors will be able to find what happiness means to them – which is the basis for a long, healthy and fulfilled life in their golden years.
Exceptional Care & Engaging Lifestyle
Bridges® by EPOCH at Sudbury provides exceptional memory care in a comfortable and engaging environment. Designed specifically to support those with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, our community delivers a wellness-focused lifestyle that respects individual preferences and abilities. Our teams receive ongoing, specialized training so they may help residents to safely exercise their independence in a secure, calm environment.
Dedicated Memory Care
Our expert dementia care and comprehensive services are tailored to meet the unique needs of our residents, wherever they are on their journey with memory loss. Our life enrichment programs are personalized to residents’ interests and abilities, providing joy and meaning in daily life and enhancing emotional well-being.
Purpose-Built Design
Bridges® by EPOCH at Sudbury is more than a safe, beautiful place to live; it’s truly a home, where compassionate, dementia-educated caregivers help people with memory loss live more fulfilling lives. Our research-based design features soft lighting and colors, non-glare flooring, directional cues, aromatherapy and interactive life-enrichment stations that empower residents to comfortably move about their home with confidence.
Contact us today to learn more.