Once you enter retirement, you will have a great deal more time on your hands than you may have been used to. You’ll want to make that time as enjoyable as possible and be sure you stay in tip-top condition to make the most of this time for many more years to come.
This is not the time for feeling run down, letting yourself go, and getting bored. These should be some of the most gratifying days of your life, so it’s important to take care of yourself, do the things you love and look and feel good while you’re doing them.
This is the ultimate guide to spending your retirement the right way and gives you tips and ideas on making the most of the free time you’ve worked so hard for, so read on and find out how to turn heads, feel young at heart and have the utmost fun during your retirement.
Stay healthy
Eat well:Eating healthily is never more important than in later life. It’s important to have a balanced diet incorporating a wide range of foods to ensure you are getting the nutrients needed to stay healthy.
Along with Carbohydrates, protein, and fruit, and vegetables, make sure to eat foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, fiber, iron, vitamins C, D, B12, and magnesium.
Exercise: Many people see retirement as the time to start taking it easy, and while you may find yourself less active than you were in your youth, it’s still important to stay active. That does not mean you need to be pumping iron at the gym three times a week buttaking walks or choosing hobbies that require physical activity like gardening are great ways to keep fit.
Always seek medical advice before undertaking new exercise regimes, but if you do feel up totrying a new activity, yoga, Pilates, and swimming are all great low-impact exercises to consider.
Accept support:If you find certain activities more difficult, such as bathing or remembering to take daily medications, or if you would like help with things like making meals, it makes no sense to keep struggling on and spoiling your retirement, worrying about how you will manage.
This is where assisted living might make all the difference to you. When choosing a place, make sure to ask about the training and qualifications staff receive. Each state has its own laws regarding assisted living; for example, California requires Residential Care Facility for the Elderly administrators to complete RCFE certification. Others have no formal qualification requirements, so under those circumstances,you will want to investigate what has been carried out voluntarily.
Do the things you love
Say no:By now, you will probably have realized just how precious life is. In addition to this, you have almost certainly earned the right to say no to the things which don’t serve you.
You don’t need to be a grumpy grandma or grandpa, but if someone asks you to do something that is just not the way you want to be spending retirement, you are perfectly entitled to decline. This could be anything from your child asking too much in the way of babysitting duties (it’s great to see the grand kids but make sure it’s on your terms) to a friend who is insisting you go along to a class you are not interested in.
Bucket list: There are many things you may have dreamed of doing but raising a family and being in full-time employment often leaves little time for anything else. Now is the time to look at that list and see how much you can tick off, and don’t let your age put you off trying new things.
Whether you’vedreamt of seeing more of the world, always wanted to learn how to paint, or never found the time to make your way through War and Peace, now you can set about making these things happen.
It can be easy to fall into the trap of feeling like you don’t have a purpose when you get older, but the real purpose now is to put yourself first for a change and do the things you love, so grab a paper and pen and make that retirement bucket list.
Connect with loved ones
Be social:Spending time with the people you love, who make you laugh, and who you make you feel at home in their company is so restorative and gives your whole well-being a boost.
As well as taking care of your physical health during retirement, it’s just as important to look after your mental health too. Making sure you stay social, maintaining plenty of human contact, and spending time in the company of friends and family works wonders for boosting your mood and helping you to stay positive in the first place.
A study has shown that daily visits with friends reduced a senior person’s chance of dementia by 12 percent compared to those who only met up every few months.It’s also understood that social isolation is linked to health issues such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and depression.
Get connected:There are countless ways to stay in touch with loved ones, from meeting friends in person, on the phone, or connecting via social media. Since the instigation of lockdown restrictions during the pandemic, there has also been a surge in seniors using video calling technology to keep in touch with the people they have been separated from.
Take time for you
Looking good: No one is getting any younger, so why let your age determine how much effort you put into your appearance?
Why not take the chance to give your closet a complete overhaul. Pull everything out and then only put back the things you love. Think about the activities you will be getting up to and consider switching the business suit for an equally smart loose-fitting pantsuit that combines style with comfort. Throw out the sky-high heels and replace them with cute flats that will serve you better when getting out and about, traveling, dancing, and who knows what else.
Treat yourself to a trip to the salon, not to please anyone else, simply for your own enjoyment. It’s a great way to spend a relaxing afternoon, feel pampered, and look great afterward.
Forget about fashion trends and how you think you should dress orwear your hair or make-up. For once, style yourself in your own individual way, and don’t worry what anyone else thinks.
Take time to rest: Remember, you don’t need to be on the go 100 percent of the time. Getting rest, spending time in your own company, and finding relaxing hobbies for the days you need to wind down is important too.
Get yourself a book stack of great fiction that you can get lost in when you feel the need to curl up in a cozy chair and close the door to the outside world for a while.
Having a movie night at home with you and a bowl of popcorn is another restful way to enjoy your own company.
No one can tell you how to spend your retirement; that will come down to what you enjoy doing the most, but as long as you look after your physical and mental health, keep yourself busy while remembering to take time to rest too, and spend time with the people who make you feel good, you will be doing everything you can to make sure you have a long and happy retirement.
