More Seniors Exercising To Improve Quality Of Life
By Katy Millberg
Seventy-six year old Anthony Yannello always considered himself an active senior. He mowed his own lawn, washed his own car, painted rooms in his home, and even cleaned his own gutters. But he never set foot in a gym until the doctor prescribed a daily workout as part of his healing. “I had open heart surgery and the doctor told me I had to get on the treadmill for 30 minutes at least three times a week,” says Yannello. “Now I have more energy. I sleep better. I’ve never felt better. Workouts have truly changed my life and my attitude. I tell all my friends to ‘get to the gym’.”
Anthony is one of a growing number of seniors who have added physical exercise to their weekly routines. And now, Senior Helpers, the fastest growing provider of in-home senior care, is encouraging its caregivers to persuade senior clients to get out of the house and into an exercise routine. “Exercise doesn’t have to mean two hours of lifting weights and sweating at the gym,” says Shaun Phelan, owner of Scottsdale Senior Helpers. “It can mean walking through the mall or taking the dog for a stroll around the block. If a senior isn’t motivated to go it alone, our caregivers go along with them so they feel like they have a walking or workout buddy.”
Medical research shows that even moderate exercise can dramatically improve the quality of a senior’s life. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a study and found exercise can have a dramatic influence on seniors’ checkbooks in addition to their health. Seniors who went to the gym two or more times a week over a two year period averaged at least $1,252 less in healthcare costs that those who went to a gym less than once a week. If that chunk of change doesn’t convince seniors to get active, consider the following statistics provided by the American College of Sports Medicine.
Exercise can:
Lessen the risk of colon cancer by more than 60%
Decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by about 40%
Fight depression as effectively as Prozac or behavioral therapy
Reduce the occurrence of diabetes by about 50%
Lower the risk of stroke by 27%
Reduce the occurrence of high-blood pressure by about 40%
Decrease mortality and risk of recurrent breast cancer by approximately 40%
Plus, exercise has been proven to lessen the effects of arthritis. Research by the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the University North Carolina at Chapel Hill finds arthritis affects at least 46 million Americans, (many of them seniors) and costs the US $128 billion annually.
Exercise combats arthritis by:
Improving muscle strength around joints
Maintaining bone strength
Combating fatigue
Maintaining ideal body weight
Senior Helpers is working to spread this news and encourage seniors to include a reasonable amount of exercise in their daily routine. But how much exercise is enough? Experts are divided on the topic. No magic number of minutes of exercise per week will lead to perfect health. But many seem to agree with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute which recommends all adults spend at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days, if not every day. The Institute recommends that seniors who are not accustomed to frequent exercise add it to their routines slowly, beginning walking for 30 minutes, three days a week, then build to 45 minutes of more intense walking at least five days a week.
Walking daily does not seem difficult to some, but new exercise routines can be daunting for seniors, especially if they’re alone. Seniors often feel nervous and may need transportation to gyms. “It sometimes takes just a few words of encouragement from a family member or friend to get the senior up and active,” says Phelan of Scottsdale Senior Helpers. “So if you can’t be there for your elderly loved one, our caregivers can. They can work as sort of a life coach to remove obstacles to exercise and give seniors that little push they may need to get fit and healthy.”
