REGAIN LOST FITNESS AND GET EVEN FITTER, PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY
Although the term fitness has images of young people in gyms or playing sport it is now recognised that fitness becomes even more important the longer you live . There are two aspects of fitness. The first your maximum level of ability for example to climb two flights of stairs without stopping, the other is your resilience, your ability to respond to a challenge such as a trip or stumble or indeed a period of inactivity such as a week in hospital. There are four dimensions of physical fitness
Mental fitness can also be increased. Some mental functions do deteriorate with age , notably quick decision making and short term memory but forgetting the names of people or books is no an early sign of dementia Interestingly some types of mental fitness, notably the ability to cope with complex challenges get better the longer you live because you have more experience and Oscar Wilde said that experience is the name we give our mistakes. Mental fitness, or Brainability as it is sometimes called can be increased at any age, ideally by getting more involved with others and being challenged more and of course isolation resulting from disability of from hearing and vision problems does not make this easy.
There is an increasing number of opportunities and AgeUK has launched a campaign Act Now Age Better which will see significant increase in interest and activities designed to enable people to increase activity
Although the term fitness has images of young people in gyms or playing sport it is now recognised that fitness becomes even more important the longer you live . There are two aspects of fitness. The first your maximum level of ability for example to climb two flights of stairs without stopping, the other is your resilience, your ability to respond to a challenge such as a trip or stumble or indeed a period of inactivity such as a week in hospital. There are four dimensions of physical fitness
- Strength
- Stamina
- Suppleness
- Skill
Mental fitness can also be increased. Some mental functions do deteriorate with age , notably quick decision making and short term memory but forgetting the names of people or books is no an early sign of dementia Interestingly some types of mental fitness, notably the ability to cope with complex challenges get better the longer you live because you have more experience and Oscar Wilde said that experience is the name we give our mistakes. Mental fitness, or Brainability as it is sometimes called can be increased at any age, ideally by getting more involved with others and being challenged more and of course isolation resulting from disability of from hearing and vision problems does not make this easy.
There is an increasing number of opportunities and AgeUK has launched a campaign Act Now Age Better which will see significant increase in interest and activities designed to enable people to increase activity