5 Tips for Growing Old Better

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Do you ever think of growing old? Katy Blake and Adam Navis give 5 simple tips for staying healthy as you get older. This program ends our series on Tips for Healthy Living.

Voice 1 

Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Katy Blake.

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And I’m Adam Navis. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1 

Susan Saunders was just a young mother. But her own mother began to suffer from dementia. Dementia is not a disease. It is a general loss of skills such as memory, language, and problem-solving skills. A person with dementia cannot do normal things on their own. This can happen for several medical reasons. Saunders knew that she did not want her own daughters to have to watch her getting old this way. She began to research how to stay healthy while growing old. She told the news website The Guardian,

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“I decided to do everything I could to increase my chances of aging well.”

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Voice 2 

Some people say that age is just a number. But everyone grows old. As people age, their bodies and minds change. They are not able to move as fast or be as strong as they once were. Sometimes people get diseases that they cannot prevent. However, there are things people can do to get the best chance of living a long and healthy life. Today’s Spotlight is on tips for living a healthy life as you grow old.

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In many ways, what people need in their lives is always the same. People need to eat good food. They need to avoid smoking and other harmful things. However, older people may need to do a little more. They need to be more careful because they may not recover quickly if something goes wrong.

A glass of water;
A glass of water; Image by Ulrike Leone from Pixabay 
Voice 2 

The first tip to living well is to drink enough water.  There are three reasons why drinking water is important as people age. First, as people grow older their bodies begin to contain less water. Second, the kidneys stop working as well. These organs clean the body’s water. And third, research shows that older people do not feel thirsty as soon as younger people.

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Under good conditions this is usually not a big problem. But if there is a medical problem that leads to blood loss, or even a very hot day, older people can become dehydrated and sick. In fact, in France during the summer of 2003 over 14,000 people died because of causes related to not drinking enough water. Most of these people were old people.

Voice 2 

The second tip for healthy living is to spend time outside. Scientists are discovering that being outside has many health benefits. Fresh air and sunshine improve lungs and skin. It can also reduce stress. But as people grow old, they may not be able to walk as well. People can struggle to get outside, especially if there is snow or ice. Older people can sometimes spend weeks or months without going outside. But research shows that even 30 minutes outside can make a big difference to a person’s health and attitude.

An older couple spend some time outside;
An older couple spend some time outside; Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels
Voice 1 

The third tip to living a healthy life as you get older is to think about the past in a healthy way. The average length of life is different depending on where in the world you live. But all aging people understand that they have less time left to live. This can make them ask a lot of questions. Erik Erikson was a famous psychologist. He developed a series of steps of human life. Kendra Cherry wrote about Erikson’s work for the website VeryWellMind.com. She writes:

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“Success at this older time of life means that people are able to look back at their life with a sense of happiness. They can face the end of life with a sense of wisdom and no regrets. Erikson defined this wisdom as an “informed and detached concern with life itself even in the face of death itself.” Those who feel proud of their achievements will feel a sense of wholeness. These individuals will get wisdom, even when looking at death. Those who are not successful during this time of life will feel that their life has been wasted. They will experience many regrets. This person will be left with feelings of bitterness and no hope.”

Voice 2 

The fourth tip to living a healthy life in old age is to give to your community. A person can give money. But adding to your community is so much more than money. Throughout life, a person learns a lot of different skills. Some skills are learned at work. But some skills are learned through hobbies or other life experiences. A person can use the skills he has learned to improve the community around him. A person can discover meaning and purpose to life when they find a way to add to their community. It is also a good way to help those people that they care about.

A grandmother teaches her grandchild how to knit;
A grandmother teaches her grandchild how to knit; Photo by Alex Green from Pexels
Voice 1 

The last tip for living a healthy life as we age is to keep learning. Erika Andersen is a writer for Forbes. She says in many places of the world people are living longer. But they are not always living better. She thinks one solution is to stay connected to the world through learning. This could be reading about something you do not know much about. It could be trying a new food – or even meeting a new person. Andersen writes:

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“One of the best ways to stay active as you get older is to always choose to learn new things. The least interesting older people I know are those who find a comfortable place and stop. They do the same things. They have the same conversations. They express the same opinions. Choose to learn something totally new every week or every month. There is nothing like being bad at something to wake you up and shake you out of your understanding. And when you start to get good at it, it can make you feel as excited as a six-year-old.”

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What about you? How will you stay healthy as you grow older? Do you know an older person who follows these tips? What advice would you give? Tell us about it. You can leave a comment on our website. Or email us at contact@spotlightenglish.com. You can also find us on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Voice 1 

The writer of this program was Adam Navis. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.spotlightenglish.com. This program is called, ‘5 Tips for Growing Old Better’.

Voice 2 

Visit our website to download our free official app for Android and Apple devices. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

Question:

How will you live a healthy life as you grow older? Do you ever think of growing old?

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51 comments
  • I think these tips are right. However, it seems hard to practice. Older people usually feel tired and bored. I see some old age people around me, they close their doors, be alone in their homes, sleep all a day, and always be proud of their past without studying some new things else. So, I really admire who can do these tips to have a healthy old life. They must be so determined!

  • I think that is beatiful to learn new things, to know new persons, countries because development more security, and to give love to the family, friends, to the comunity around your live and living longer.

  • I agree with a five tips for healthy living but I wanna add the important tip I think a healthy food is a important tip to healthy living

  • Unfortunetly im thinking only in bad thinks and iam very a fraid from my future i cant thinking positivlly becouse there is alot of bad thinks happened to me l spend all night pray to god to chang my live and to help me feel better

  • Wow, five tips are very usefull, so certainly I completely agree. When I was listening the program, I imagined about my age old, athough it seem likely far-fetched for me. I think these tips extremly suited for anyone consist young people, so I will remember these tips to use it for good healthy as I get older. Thanks to this program. I hope see you in the next program.

  • Yes i agree, especially spending time outside, It gives them the feeling that they are still young and that they are active members of society.

  • I have remembered my sister who is about 53 years old and she is always trying to learn new things . She has recently learned how drive . I am really proud of her.

  • I would be still learning more things ,do what I feel in love and passion ,the revive people the soul of people that things I can do for I feel it that the seem.❤️

  • I think being close to Allah is another tip to grow old healthy, cause if u were close to Allah then all your problems gonna disappear and u gonna be satisfied for no matter disease u have, cause u are with Allah, he gonna give u hope and please.
    And yeah I do think about getting older, and I do a lot of things for that even that I’m pretty young ( 19 years old ) but it really matters for me. So I eat healthy food, and I drink a lot of water, also I stopped eating sugar, walking every day at least for 30 minutes.

  • Eat healthy food drink more water and do exercises yeah sometimes I think about it i will be more healthier and read books and sewing for my grandchildren

  • honestly, I prefer learning every day, learning new things, I think learning is necessary for life, but practising sports are also necessary for living a healthy life .
    yes, I know many older people who follow these tips, but my mother does not follow any tips, although I advise her every day, she didn’t follow them.
    I advise her to eat healthy food, go outside for fresh air and sunshine and learn new things, all those tips for her health.

  • I found the tips in the above speech to be extremely useful in staying healthy as i grew up; i also remind myself on a daily basis to drink enough of water to keep my body healthy. Exercise, in my view, can also help you have a healthy physique as you grow up, or playing a sport like and keeping practice is a very excellent method, this may also help you reduce stress and have better sleep.

  • Thank you for your sharing. I think the most important thing to be healthier while getting older is maintain a healthy lifestyle, surround yourself with people you love, and do things that bring you joy.

  • I eat healthy and do sports as much as possible, and I lern always something new like a foreign language
    For example my father and mother lernt German at 60 which I find it amazing.

  • I would watch my diet. Yes, my grandfather eats healthy and is in very good health. The advice I will give to others is to exercise constantly and eat healthy.

  • THE ANSWER IS EASY , YOU CAN LIVE A HEALTY LIFE WITH A DETITIAN, THEY CAN HELP YOU TO EAT A GOOD FOOD AND LIVE MORE YEARS AND DOING EXCERCISE. I NEVER THINK ABOUT THIS THEME

  • Everyone on the planet is getting older, and there isn’t much to do at this point, which may sound boring, but it is very important to always do somethings that may increase your wisdom, such as learning, reading, or exercise. I believe that all of these can benefit me or everyone greatly, as life is not as long as some people believe.

  • The Tips are really useful. I also want to have healthy good when I grow old. So I will apply tips for my life from now on.

  • As a Muslim I will stay healthy by flowing the orders of my god and his prophet they had teach us everything about the live and how can you be healthy people

  • Hello, spotlighte thank you to these good lisstening lessens. In fact for me when I be come old man my favorite tip is the last tip is learning the new thing every week or every month beacause this will help me to know something new every period the poor old men is diffcult to use these tips because they can’t stay home beacause a lot of old men work, the old men work for living their family and these tips can use them the financaily comfortable. The last thing is that the old men must be patient.

  • To be honest, I’m worried about my healthy because I worked in a hospital so I meet every day a lot of patients with a lot of diseases. I smoked for eleven years then I stopped it. Now I run for 60 kilometres every month five kilometres per week and I go to the gym five times per week. Now I am better than before. My healthy, mind and my psyche also my thinking about my life. Thank you spotlight to give me this chance to lesson to this podcast and let me a chance to write here. I know my English is so bad but I will improve it soon.

  • For my community is believed when you are over 60 years ago you have to stay home and dont go out , it considers going out causes alot of diseases especially reaction allergic

  • We will have been growing old day by day. Time past so fast. We take almost time to study, working, take care of family… Some old people are lossing of skills such as memory, language, and problem-solving skills. Other, they have apain or a disease on their body. How to stay healthy as you grow older? This is not easy to answer. If older person who follows these tips in the article, they will a happy life.

  • We will have been growing old day by day. Time past so fast. We take almost time to study, working, take care of family… Some old people are lossing of skills such as memory, language, and problem-solving skills. Others, they have pain or disease on their body. How to stay healthy as you grow older? This is not easy to answer. If older person who follows these tips in the article, they will a happy life.

  • This is good. As you grow up choose to learn something new every week or every month, give your skills and experience to the community and stay connected to the world.
    Also, when you grow up, learn more about your religion, keep your prayers, read the Holy Qur’an and try to memorize it, because it will intercede for you on the Day of Resurrection and enter you into Paradise.

  • I will live a healthy life as my grow older depended on healthy food like calcium such as milk and protine like eggs, yagourate,and l eat a lot of friuts and vegetable because it build a body strengh diseases free. In addition, I spend a more time outside for enjoy of Landscape and also I practise sport of rambling or nature walk it’s very important for better old. I never thinking for growing old.

  • Yes I think before of growing old , I try to eat healthy and practice workout.
    I prefer to have a healthy body and healthy skin and healthy hair.
    I use a mask for my hair and my skin.

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