Welcome to the first of many “Age Well” messages from Youville Place. Residents at Youville Place are focused on aging well, which includes getting physically fit and staying cognitively sharp. Youville Place programs offer you the opportunity to exercise your body, stimulate your mind and rejuvenate your soul. The new “Get Fit, Stay Sharp, Age Well” program provides not only exciting programs, but information about ways to improve your fitness level, and additional resources to support you.
We want to help you better understand the benefits of programs offered at Youville Place, and help you to take advantage of those that will most benefit your individual needs, while providing a balanced lifestyle. Aging well has a lot to do with the genes we are born with, but lifestyle definitely contributes to how well we age. Exercise, proper diet, and inner peace also contribute greatly to our quality of life.
Physical exercise helps keep your heart healthy, your bones strong and your muscles fit. But did you know you can reverse bone loss, improve balance and flexibility, and prevent falls by exercising? Exercise also releases endorphins which make us feel alive and joyful! There are many options for physical exercise available, but which exercises should you choose? Choosing exercises that suit you not only ensure that you will get the most benefit from participation, but you are more likely to include it in your regular routine if you enjoy the experience. Knowing which choices will work best for you, and how often to participate for the maximum benefit are important. The Programs Department offers a daily morning exercise class, along with many other activities designed to help you stay active.
What about nutrition? A well-balanced diet keeps us fit and trim, and also contributes to heart and brain health. Maintaining a proper weight helps you avoid falls, and allows you to be more active. Your energy level will increase for walking and dancing! Which foods are healthy foods? How much is too much? Is that bowl of ice cream really bad for me? Youville Place offers a wide variety of options on our daily menu. We have heart healthy options that are lower in fat and cholesterol, low sugar options, and reduced sodium options as well. These choices are marked right on the menu so you can select the foods best for you. If you feel you need professional assistance in determining what choices would be best for your individual needs, we have a nutrition specialist available to meet with you.
Let’s not forget our brains! Exercising this critical part of our body is essential to aging well. You can stay sharp by reading, doing crosswords, and challenging your mind. Did you know that learning new skills such as playing the piano or playing chess, creates new brain paths? The more brain paths we create, the stronger our memory and cognitive health. Simple cognitive games designed to improve response time, recall and word finding are great brain path builders!
Youville Place will soon be offering a new and exciting program called “Cognifit,” a personalized brain fitness program. This program was designed as an effective way to improve not just your short-term memory, but all fourteen of your essential cognitive abilities. Research has shown that keeping your mind active and your memory sharp, is key to overall health and well being, contributing to a better quality of life overall.
Prayer, meditation and other spiritual practices bring us inner peace. This too, is key to aging well. By learning to understand the negative effect stress plays on our health, we can focus on creating opportunities that support inner peace, and generate positive health effects.
We invite you to join us as we continue to explore interesting, creative and fun ways to “Get Fit, Stay Sharp and Age Well” at Youville Place. Look for the corresponding symbols next to descriptions of our monthly programs, and on featured, daily signs to help identify which programs specifically relate to getting fit, staying sharp and aging well.
