Welcome to Spotlight.
I’m Katy Blake.
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.
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,
“I decided to do everything I could to increase my chances of aging well.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
“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.”
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.
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:
“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.”
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.
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’.
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.