3 Health Benefits Seniors Can Get From Walking Regularly

When you're a senior, it's more important than ever before to get out and get moving. Seniors struggle more than any other age group with staying active, because seniors more often than not tend to struggle with concerns like mobility, balance, and diseases like osteoporosis and arthritis. While these concerns aren't exclusive to seniors, they do still tend to feature more prominently in the older generation, which makes regular exercise vital to their continued health and wellbeing.

But did you know that an exercise as simple as walking can have amazing health benefits? Whether you're living on your own or in our senior living apartments here at The Reserve at Red Run, getting out and going for a walk can do amazing things for your health.

Here are just a few benefits that seniors can get from walking regularly:

1. Reduce your anxiety and depression

Seniors consistently struggle with anxiety and depression, especially those who have moved into senior living apartments. Being in a new home that's different from the one you've been in for years, being apart from family and friends, and just the massive change in routine can disrupt your emotional health in a significant way. Walking, however, can help you to ease that somewhat.

Getting out and being active isn't only good for your physical health, it's great for your mental health as well. The fresh air of an outdoor walk or the companionship that comes from an indoor walk can give you significant benefits that you might not realize apart from a good workout. If you're feeling a little down in the dumps, try heading out for a walk!

2. Lower your risk of disease

While exercise can't completely prevent disease, it does help to lower your risk of diseases often found in seniors like heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Getting even just 15 or 30 minutes of exercise every day can significantly lower your risk.

If you struggle with mobility or balance, don't worry. Heading out on a walk in your walker or even pulling yourself around in a rolling chair is better for you than deciding not to get active at all!

3. Help maintain your weight

Weight maintenance is difficult for seniors, as your body begins to metabolize food a bit differently as you age. This means that seniors tend to be less or more hungry, eat certain foods, and move around less, which can result in drastic weight shifts. Regular exercise can help to prevent drastic weight gain or weight loss. Exercising gets your body moving and your heart pumping, while also making you feel hungry for your next - healthy - meal. It's a way to help keep seniors on a steady weight who tend to struggle with doing so!

4. Boosts Your Immune System

As an individual grows older, the risk of catching infections also increases. Regular exercise helps maintain a healthy and energetic body to defend against colds and other infections more easily. It also helps to promote healthy sleep and stimulate your immune health by increasing your blood flow, reducing stress and inflammation, and strengthening antibodies.

The Best Senior Living Apartments

Here at Reserve at Red Run, we believe that keeping our senior residents active, happy, and engaged is the key to giving them a meaningful experience with us and helping them to live a meaningful life even after they may feel like it's over. Our luxury senior living apartments are a testament to that.

If you're interested in seeing everything that Reserve at Red Run has to offer you or the seniors in your life, contact us and schedule a tour today!