HEALTHY AGING

 This is a topic that is often discussed. Most women concentrate on the aesthetic parts of aging, investing a lot of time and money in fillers, Botox, micro needling, facelifts, etc. to improve their appearance. We want to discuss the latest evidence on aging gracefully and having a healthy mind and body. 

New evidence supports the beneficial effects of mindfulness meditation and its effect in reducing anxiety and slowing down memory loss in elderly patients. We know that dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are more common among females. This could be something we can discuss with our post-menopausal women when we see them for their routine gynae check-ups. Self-compassion and physical activity have been linked to improved mental health, well-being, and quality of life. Self-compassion refers to a feeling of kindness towards oneself and a rather positive mindset towards negative thoughts. 

This evidence comes from a clinical trial involving 147 patients from clinics with a special interest in memory disorders in France, Germany, and the UK all of whom reported subjective cognitive decline. Patients who attended the 8 week mindfulness meditation classes showed improved self compassion and increased physical activity and cognition. 

These findings support various interventions that focus on mindfulness and encourage physical activity in older people to promote healthy aging. We know as we age there is a reduction in physical activity, muscle mass and coordination. This can have multiple ,mental and physical adverse effects such as weight gain, falls and bone fractures. We all know once the elderly experience a fracture it causes severe morbidity and mortality and prevention is always better than cure. 

 














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