The golden years bring about different challenges,depending on your gender. While men have higher chances of dealing with heart disease and diabetes as they age, women have other things to contend with. This is why women should follow these three important tips:
1. Have a Plan for Retirement
It’s common knowledge that women tend to live longer than men. In 2019, the average life expectancy in the country was 80 years old for men and 84 years old for women.
What does this mean for retirement? It means that you should plan to save more money for your comfortable retirement. You have to stretch those savings over a longer period of time. So, you’ll want to squirrel away as much as you can.
You’ll also want to think about your living space, too. Maintaining your home may get harder as you get older, especially if the space is not designed for the elderly — think of features like high cupboards, steep staircases and narrow hallways.
To plan ahead, you could renovate your home to make it much more manageable as you get older. Or you could find a retirement community that encourages independent age in place living with accessible apartments and professional care options. This gives you the option to live independently in your suite and to sign on for services like memory care when you need it. Making this one choice now can give you a variety of helpful choices later on.
2. Try to Prevent Arthritis
Women are more likely to get diagnosed with arthritis as they get older. Arthritis can be very painful. It often leaves people with stiff, swollen joints. It can limit their mobility, making them slower to move and raising their chances of having accidents like trips and falls.
While you can live with arthritis, it would be better to avoid it if you can help it. You should take the initiative now to reduce your chances of a diagnosis. Here are some of the things that you can do:
- Eat foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids
- Exercise regularly
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Get your essential 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night
- Quit smoking
- Protect your joints from injury
3. Take Care of Your Bones
As if joint trouble wasn’t enough, you can also have bone problems as you get older. Women tend to lose their bone density as they age. The most dramatic drop in bone density is often after menopause, which increases the risk of developing osteoporosis. Osteoporosis leads to frail and brittle bones that are easier to fracture when injured.
How do you prevent this? There are a few things that you can do to keep your bones strong and avoid osteoporosis:
- Have a diet that’s rich in calcium and bone-building foods
- Exercise regularly
- Focus on building muscle and strength
- Quit smoking
- Ask your doctor about supplements like Vitamin D and Vitamin K
You don’t have to be caught by surprise by the challenges of ageing. Now that you know what to do, you can raise your chances of having a long, healthy and happy retirement.