Mental Health Tips for Healthy Aging

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsPhysical FitnessResilienceSocial ConnectionLearn New ThingsKeep Stress At BayTreat DepressionHave Fun

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Physical Fitness

Resilience

Social Connection

Learn New Things

Keep Stress At Bay

Treat Depression

Have Fun

This article will focus primarily on psycho-social activities you can increase doing which have been proven to aid in healthy aging. It will also incorporate mental health tips that will better your chances of living a good life in your advanced years.

It Begins With Physical Health

Although you will learn mental health tips for successful aging, we have to start with your daily activities which involves taking good care of your body. To assist you in living your best life in your senior years, adopt these habits for a healthy lifestyle:

The New Focus on Psychology and Resilience

To promote healthy aging and resiliency, researchers have found we need to expand our understanding of psychological and social well-being.Rather than do studies exclusively about cutting risk factors for chronic disease (evidence suggests that disability is increasing and life expectancy levels are decreasing), we have to include other factors.

These other factors include resilience, psychosocial well-being, and social well-being. By including these factors, scientists believe they can find new ways to enhance quality of life and the prolonged health of seniors.

An essential way to age in a healthy manner is to continue to interact with family and friends. Because older adults might suffer fromhearingorvision loss, or not be able to drive at night, it’s important they don’t feel socially isolated.

Social isolation andlonelinesscan have dire consequences. The National Institute on Aging says social isolation and loneliness have been linked to higher risks for heart disease,obesity, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline andAlzheimer’s disease.

Being socially active is important for older adults. Building social networks can boostself-esteemand increase physical activity.

Research about older adults cultivating new social ties found that developing new social contacts was associated with improved (self-reported) physical and psychological well-being.

An easy way to keep those connections strong is to call your family members once a week and either text or email a friend or new social contact every day or two. Just be sure to strengthen and nurture your relationships.

Learn New Things for Healthy Cognitive Function

In a study of adults 60 and older, scientists aimed to find out if sustained engagement in learning cognitively demanding novel skills over a period of time would improve cognitive function. Participants learned to quilt, do digital photography, or engaged in both activities for an average of 16.51 hours a week for 3 months.

The findings show clear evidence that sustained engagement in these challenging and new activities did enhance participants’ memory function. But limited benefits were shown for sustained engagement in social activities.

So, engaging your mind in educational activities is a big positive for your brain. That could mean learning a new craft, instrument or skill. Learning in this way might be key to maintaining healthy cognitive function as you age.

We all get stressed at times in our life. The important thing is to find ways to deal with it better to support healthy aging because stress has many negative consequences. Here are typical, but not good ways to deal with stress.

Unhealthy reactions to stressmight include these behaviors:

Rather than let stress build up and adversely affect you, incorporate these actions in your everyday life to prevent stress:

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Treat Feelings of Depression

Common causes fordepression in older adultsare the the death of a spouse, family member, friend or pet. Dealing with health issues, changes in the body and the natural process of aging might also cause sadness and depression.

But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), depression is a treatable medical condition, “not a normal part of aging.”Seek out a mental health counselor if you think you’re depressed. They will be there to help you.

Unfortunately, seniors might feel they’re just getting old. Or they might not even realize they’re depressed. If you feelemptiness, numbness, lose sleep or your appetite, these could also be symptoms of depression.

If seniors recognize they’re depressed, they could very well refuse treatment. A recent survey showed thatolder adults wouldn’t seek help for their depression.

To prevent yourself from falling into a state of depression, fortify yourself with these actions alongside traditional forms of treatment such as therapy:

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Do all those leisure activities that you had no time to do while you were working. Go to a jazz concert or a play. Or dance to a garage band. The arts have been shown to promote well-being.

You should take that creative writing class you always wanted to take. Or sign up for the painting class at the local art center.Creativity positively impacts your health. Art therapy has been shown to slow down cognitive deterioration related to dementia.

Older adults should not hesitate to tap into theirresilience. By using your strengths and past history, you can better cope with your challenges and problem-solve.

6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kim ES, Tkatch R, Martin D, MacLeod S, Sandy L, Yeh C.Resilient Aging: Psychological Well-Being and Social Well-Being as Targets for the Promotion of Healthy Aging.Gerontol Geriatr Med. 2021;7:23337214211002951. doi:10.1177/23337214211002951National Institute on Aging.Social isolation, loneliness in older people pose health risks.Cornwell B, Laumann EO.The health benefits of network growth: new evidence from a national survey of older adults.Soc Sci Med. 2015;125:94-106. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.011Park DC, Lodi-Smith J, Drew L, et al.The impact of sustained engagement on cognitive function in older adults: the Synapse Project.Psychol Sci. 2014;25(1):103-112. doi:10.1177/0956797613499592Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Depression is not a normal part of growing older.Deshmukh SR, Holmes J, Cardno A.Art therapy for people with dementia.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018;9(9):CD011073. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011073.pub2

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kim ES, Tkatch R, Martin D, MacLeod S, Sandy L, Yeh C.Resilient Aging: Psychological Well-Being and Social Well-Being as Targets for the Promotion of Healthy Aging.Gerontol Geriatr Med. 2021;7:23337214211002951. doi:10.1177/23337214211002951National Institute on Aging.Social isolation, loneliness in older people pose health risks.Cornwell B, Laumann EO.The health benefits of network growth: new evidence from a national survey of older adults.Soc Sci Med. 2015;125:94-106. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.011Park DC, Lodi-Smith J, Drew L, et al.The impact of sustained engagement on cognitive function in older adults: the Synapse Project.Psychol Sci. 2014;25(1):103-112. doi:10.1177/0956797613499592Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Depression is not a normal part of growing older.Deshmukh SR, Holmes J, Cardno A.Art therapy for people with dementia.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018;9(9):CD011073. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011073.pub2

Kim ES, Tkatch R, Martin D, MacLeod S, Sandy L, Yeh C.Resilient Aging: Psychological Well-Being and Social Well-Being as Targets for the Promotion of Healthy Aging.Gerontol Geriatr Med. 2021;7:23337214211002951. doi:10.1177/23337214211002951National Institute on Aging.Social isolation, loneliness in older people pose health risks.Cornwell B, Laumann EO.The health benefits of network growth: new evidence from a national survey of older adults.Soc Sci Med. 2015;125:94-106. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.011Park DC, Lodi-Smith J, Drew L, et al.The impact of sustained engagement on cognitive function in older adults: the Synapse Project.Psychol Sci. 2014;25(1):103-112. doi:10.1177/0956797613499592Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Depression is not a normal part of growing older.Deshmukh SR, Holmes J, Cardno A.Art therapy for people with dementia.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018;9(9):CD011073. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011073.pub2

National Institute on Aging.Social isolation, loneliness in older people pose health risks.

Cornwell B, Laumann EO.The health benefits of network growth: new evidence from a national survey of older adults.Soc Sci Med. 2015;125:94-106. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.011

Park DC, Lodi-Smith J, Drew L, et al.The impact of sustained engagement on cognitive function in older adults: the Synapse Project.Psychol Sci. 2014;25(1):103-112. doi:10.1177/0956797613499592

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Depression is not a normal part of growing older.

Deshmukh SR, Holmes J, Cardno A.Art therapy for people with dementia.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018;9(9):CD011073. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011073.pub2

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It Begins With Physical Health#

The New Focus on Psychology and Resilience#

Maintain Social Connections#

Learn New Things for Healthy Cognitive Function#

Treat Feelings of Depression#

It Begins With Physical Health

The New Focus on Psychology and Resilience

Maintain Social Connections

Learn New Things for Healthy Cognitive Function

Treat Feelings of Depression