5 Ideas for Finding the Fountain of Youth in Retirement

A happy retirement is a healthy one. And health is usually considered a youthful trait. So are happiness and youth unattainable in retirement? Hardly. It just takes a different approach than it might for someone in their 20s. Retirement doesn’t have to mean slowing down and getting soft in the middle. You can help preserve some of that youthful vitality, and enjoy a happier retirement because of it.

Here are 5 ways to help you stay healthy — no matter your age: 1. Keep Your Youthful Voice It’s a sad fact of life that as a person ages, so does her speaking voice. But many experts believe that just as exercise helps keep muscles toned an in shape, exercising the vocal cords can help preserve a youthful voice. AARP offers several ways to exercise the vocal cords, from simply humming into a straw and singing along to the radio to taking professional voice lessons. That’s not as unrealistic as it might seem. And if you start tucking away a little extra money for it now, you can afford a coach later. Although you probably aren’t planning to sing at the Met any time soon, a vocal coach can teach you the right way to exercise your voice without risking damage to delicate vocal cords.

2. Learn Something New Keeping your brain engaged is an important element part of keeping a young mindset. The world is full of new things to learn. Just because you already know how to balance your checkbook, operate the electronics in your home and maybe even change the oil in your car doesn’t mean there isn’t more. BHIA Health believes that you really are never too old to learn new things. Setting a goal to learn more all the time keeps your brain engaged, and gives you a reason to look forward to every new day. You could travel the world to gain new experiences, but that’s probably not necessary. Chances are, your community has a wealth of things to learn that you never realized. You could take a community college course, or maybe even do the research and write a new bestseller. The same as with a vocal coach, saving just a little extra now can help you afford tuition for a class or travel fare to research your novel. 3. Stay Active for Years to Come In conjunction with keeping your brain active is keeping your whole body active. Even if you have physical limitations, there’s probably more that you can do. The Wall Street Journal recommends Road Scholar programs. But you don’t need something quite so organized. The important thing is to keep moving. Sure, the sofa is comfy and there are plenty of TV shows to entertain. But what’s one constant among most of the shows that you’ll watch? Hardly anyone on TV sits down to watch TV. Don’t live vicariously through the activity of people on your favorite show; go out and be active on your own. Take up a sport, go for walks, or just go outside and garden. If you can’t do any of those things, use the abilities that you have to a greater extent than you do. Keep your body in better condition and it will serve you better in the long run. Staying fit can also save you money on health care and prescriptions later on.

4. Manage Your Weight Rounding out this list is weight management. If you’re active, you’ll stand a better chance at keeping your weight under control without a lot of diet restrictions. But metabolism does get slower as the years go by, so you might need to make more of an effort. Baptist Medical Group says that the first important thing to remember is that your weight goals in retirement probably won’t be what they were when you were 25. And setting an unrealistic goal just leads to disappointment. Even losing 5 percent of your current body weight can make a big difference. And for most people, that just means cutting out about 500 calories a day. Keep a food diary, and you’ll learn how to pinpoint the junk food and eradicate it. And when you manage your weight, you’ll be less likely to develop conditions such as diabetes. Retirement doesn’t have to automatically mean people of a certain age, those who are slowing down, and those who just aren’t interested in trying anything new. Youth and retirement aren’t opposing ideas. Retirement is just another phase of life. And like every other phase, the more do you and the healthier you are, the more you’re likely to enjoy it. 5. Make Sure Your Retirement Plan Can Support Your Long Healthy Life! Nothing ages you like stress — especially financial stress.  To remain healthy and youthful, make sure you have and maintain a solid retirement plan. Boldin can help you get more out of life now and in the future. We have the tools that can help you save more, invest better, and go into retirement in the best financial condition possible. With the right planning, you’ll even have money for those voice lessons. Check out our retirement calculator and get started today.