Exercise for Seniors in Atlanta

Exercise In Senior Living Facilities

When living a healthy lifestyle, there are many things to consider and exercise needs to be one of the top items on your list. If you are looking at senior living facilities in Atlanta, it will be very important to know whether the community provides the right environment and support for healthy living including ways to stay active. Orchard at Brookhaven is one such community and is thrilled to offer residents 40 thousand square feet of outdoor greenspace inside the Atlanta perimeter. This outdoor space in Brookhaven, Georgia will encourage residents daily exercise routines and includes a large exercise patio and equipment to use personally or in combination with doctor recommended physical therapists from Healthpro Heritage, who are available onsite daily.

Benefits of Exercise For Seniors

Exercise has proven to be extremely important to healthy living. Exercise has been shown to improve mood and decrease feelings of depression, anxiety and stress. Here are some additional benefits:

  • It produces changes in the parts of the brain that regulate stress and anxiety.
  • Exercise can increase the production of endorphins, which are known to help produce positive feelings and reduce the perception of pain.
  • Exercise has been shown to reduce symptoms in people suffering from anxiety.

Exercise & Preventing Weight Gain For Seniors

Some studies have shown that inactivity is a major factor in weight gain and obesity. To understand the effect of exercise on weight reduction, it is important to understand the relationship between exercise and energy expenditure. Your body spends energy in three ways:

  1. Digesting food
  2. Exercising
  3. maintaining body functions like your heartbeat and breathing

While dieting, a reduced calorie intake will lower your metabolic rate, which will delay weight loss. On the contrary, regular exercise has been shown to increase your metabolic rate, which will burn more calories and help you lose weight.

Maintaining Strong Muscles and Bones

Exercise plays a vital role in building and maintaining strong muscles and bones. Physical activity like weight lifting can stimulate muscle building with the proper amount of protein in your diet.

With age, people tend to lose muscle mass and function. This can lead to injuries and decreased abilities. Practicing regular physical activity is essential to reducing muscle loss and maintaining strength as you age.

Exercise & Increased Energy

Exercise can increase energy. One study found that six weeks of regular exercise reduced feelings of being tired for 36 healthy people who had reported persistent fatigue. Studies have also found that chronic disease has been linked to a lack of regular exercise.

Regular exercise has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular fitness and, decrease blood pressure and blood fat levels.

Can Exercise Help Your Memory?

Exercise can improve brain function and protect memory and thinking skills. Here are some points to consider:

  • Exercise increases heart rate, which promotes the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain.
  • Exercise can prevent chronic disease which can turn into benefits for the brain, since its function can be affected by these diseases.
  • Regular physical activity is especially important in older adults because it reduces the stress and inflammation that occur during aging and promotes changes in brain structure and function.
  • Exercise has been shown to cause the hippocampus to grow in size. The hippocampus is a part of the brain that’s vital for memory and learning.

Exercise & Sleep Benfits

Regular exercise can help increase relaxation and better sleep. Here are a couple points:

  • Exercise stimulates recuperative processes during sleep.
  • The increase in body temperature that occurs during exercise is thought to improve sleep quality by helping it drop during sleep.
  • One study found that 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week can provide up to a 65% improvement in sleep quality.

Exercise & Chronic Pain

Exercise can reduce chronic pain. A review of several studies indicates that exercise helps participants with chronic pain reduce their pain and improve their quality of life. Several studies have also shown that exercise can help control pain that is associated with various health conditions, including but not limited to, chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia and chronic soft tissue shoulder disorder.

There is a lot of information about exercise, and it might be difficult to know where to start. The next article from Orchard at Brookhaven will review different types of exercise and how to start becoming more active. Please always consult with your physician before beginning a new exercise program.