Autumn Years Summer 2024

HEALTH & WELFARE

Fit for Life My Get-Up-and-Go Got Up and Left ! By Roger Anthony It’s frustrating. We remember when it felt like our energy seemed inex haustible. Like human Energizer bunnies, we would go on for hours, mov ing seamlessly from one task to another. But as the years pass we find our selves slowing down and requiring frequent pauses. It takes much longer for us to do most everything. Even if we maintain much of our strength and flexibility, it becomes increasingly difficult to sustain our energy. We begin to move slower and tire faster. We lose our stamina!

prove our range of motion and flexibility. However, another important and some times overlooked component of func tionality is of course stamina, the ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort. Even though we get stronger and heart healthier, we may notice that we “run out of gas” much sooner than ever. This unwelcomed loss of stamina can significantly impact seniors’ overall qual ity of life. It can lead to decreased endur ance, making everyday activities of living like walking, climbing stairs, self-care and household chores more challenging and time consuming. We may not be able to complete the task(s) at hand without pausing to recover. Sometimes, instead of continuing to pursue, we even stop alto gether and abandon hope of achieving the goal. We just give in or give up. Contributing factors A continued decline may lead to a very sedentary lifestyle, further exacerbat ing muscle weakness, joint stiffness and weight gain. It is insidious, progressive and cumulative and can lead to more suscep tibility to falls and injuries that bring on a whole host of other debilitating issues. Another consideration for seniors is nutrition. Our bodies cannot function properly without adequate fuel. When poor dietary habits or inadequate intake of essential nutrients come into play, weakness and fatigue result in inability to sustain physical activity. Additionally, de hydration is very common in older adults

“The older I get, the better I used to be.” –Lee Trevino

A s we age, it should be no surprise that our energy levels begin to diminish. Most of what happens is physiological. Our bodies are changing. We begin losing muscle mass (sarcope nia) starting around age 30 when the amount of muscle tissue and muscle fibers begin to decrease and continue to do so throughout our life. After age 40 there can be a decline of 1- to-2 percent per year in lean body mass and 1.5- to-5 percent per year in strength. Bones also become less dense, cartilage begins to thin and ligaments begin to lose elastic ity, all of which results in progressive weakness, loss of flexibility and vulner ability to injury. Also, changes in our cardiovascular system result in decreased oxygen uptake, and cardiac output causes us to tire sooner.

Chronic or even acute health condi tions also play a role—everything from heart disease (a major player in seniors) to diabetes, respiratory disorders, ar thritis, cancer, etc. And ironically, often the very medications used to treat these issues may have side effects that further exacerbate loss of stamina. Consequently, we have come to expect that the loss of strength and cardiovascu lar capacity, which are commensurate with age, will ultimately impose some limita tions on things that we used to do easily. Running out of gas Many of us are doing what we can to hang on to our functionality. We exercise. We do “cardio” exercises like walking, running, biking, etc., to get our hearts pounding. We use resistance like weights, bands and gym equipment to maintain our muscle and bone strength. We get into stretching, yoga, tai chi, etc., to im

12 AUTUMN YEARS I SUMMER 2024