Moving up the aging ladder requires a constant adjustment to life simplification. You have a decent understanding of certain elements of your life which work fantastic. One also must adapt to interruptions and changes, not only in your own body, but with your surroundings. Think you have an injury or surgery, someone close to you needs support and or there is a pandemic!
As a former professional dancer when your body is your livelihood you develop a keen sense of how crucial steady and consistent routines are for physical and mental maintenance aka survival. Now as a mature individual I find these routines a super boon to aging gracefully.
I consider the following five routines fundamental to enhancing wellbeing.
- Make nutrition simple
- Have short physical routines for maintenance
- Develop a regular sleep routine
- Integrate your hobbies with regularity
- Celebrate your success
Make Nutrition Simple
One of my mottos as a health coach is “control your food, control your health.” None of us are going to be celebrity chefs. Better off not trying to emulate one.
Find 4 to 5 go to meals that you like to cook; your household enjoys and celebrate the meals together! If you want to experiment, go for it. Rid your house of junk and processed food-like products. Find real food choices and go for meals, not snacks. Snacks that come in the house will get eaten in the house.
Think old school is cool! Batch cooking, food prep, have leftovers, and do weekly planning. If you leave nutrition to the last minute your health suffers and all the negativity rolls in, guilt, shame, and poor energy. Everything goes on the calendar when it comes to nutrition! Plan, plan and plan some more.
Short Maintenance Routines
Probably every single one of us could admit to dealing with a tricky back, bum knee, weak ankle, difficult shoulder or maybe all the above. Coming to grips with how to best move forward naturally takes a lot of experimentation. Working with a physical therapist, a trainer, a medical advisor and just doing your own testing of what works and what doesn’t work.
Once you find this routine, I’m here to say, YOU HAVE TO DO IT. There is just no getting around it. Part of aging is realizing you cannot forgo maintenance. You will pay a heavy price if you let your “rehab” routines fall by the wayside.
Here’s the deal most of these routines, be it for your shoulder, hip, ankle or back usually at max take only 5 to 10 minutes. In the grand scheme of life, that’s nothing. You will pay the price at the front end or back end, so choose your poison and start picking a time in the week at a minimum 2 to 3 times whatever works with your current schedule.
Regular Sleep Routine
Our house rises at 5:30 am and closes the lights between 9:00 and 10:00 pm., weekdays and weekends! The regularity serves us well not only in our work situations but also in our desire to spend time outdoors in the weekends.
I’m not here to say you must get up early, but consistency is crucial. The body loves regular routines that support good sleep hygiene. There is also ample research demonstrating positive results in improving metabolic health markers with proper sleep patterns.
If sleep is not easy for you start making small routine changes to see if it can be enhanced. Turning electronic devices off for 1 to 2 hours before attempting sleep, keeping your bed area cool, dark, and quiet. Make more time between your last meal and bedtime. Maybe a glass of warm tea or enjoy a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in water for digestion.
Invest in Your Hobby
I have a whole post on why total wellbeing is positively reinforced by our hobbies and passions, link here. Bottom line is all the components of our health, body, mind and spirit need to be regularly fulfilled. We often focus solely on the elements that get the most press, like exercise and nutrition. While both of those are vital for vibrant health, never underestimate the power of feeding our souls through our creative outlets.
Use the summertime to rekindle a favorite hobby or recreational sport. Bring back the fun and play into your daily life. Maybe your hobby is just wandering around an art gallery or park, with no agenda. Maybe it is learning to play pickleball with friends, whatever the desire go for it.
Celebrate Success
In the work of Stanford University Behavioral Scientist B.J. Fogg, PhD he highlights the importance of celebrating our success in achieving behavioral change, at any level. Fogg advocates for starting small, as in the habit must take only 1 to 3 minutes. You can increase as you move along but tiny wins create larger victories.
Fogg’s book Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything is a practical investigation into how to create small habits that augment your life, work and overall health. How does this apply to you? In a nutshell, it means, taking time (read routine) to reflect, pause and celebrate pieces of your wellness investment that you feel good about.
It can be a simple as, while enjoying your morning coffee, reflect on the day before and let yourself smile about any small win. It might be you got up and felt energized! That’s a win to celebrate. Keep practicing this and you might just find you start to string small wins along into bigger accomplishments.
“Remember, it’s the perfections of the smallest details that make big things happen.”
Coach John Wooden
