Coping up with age after Sixty
Updated on September 25th, 2022
Ageing is inevitable and everyone has to go through it. With improved health consciousness and medical facilities, the Life Expectancy has increased across the world and the definition of becoming old has undergone a change. Today, 60 is the new 40. One has nearly 30 to 40 yrs more to live after 60. With age one goes through certain physical, mental and psychological changes. One needs to be aware about these changes and accept them gracefully. Enjoy your golden years of life by taking good care of your physical, mental and emotional health.
Changes after Age 60
Changing Priorities after 60
So your priorities in life change after 60. Till 60, you are presumably employed and have a busy life. Your priorities generally are your job, career, health and your family, in that order. However, after retirement when reaching 60, your priorities change to Health, your post-retirement finances, living life meaningfully, staying relevant, being socially active and fulfilling your Bucket List.
Physical Changes after 60
With ageing, You will gradually start seeing changes in your body. Don’t get disturbed when you observe wrinkles, sagging of skin or shrinking body shape due to loss of muscle mass, increase in weight, greying/balding of hair etc. There will be other physical changes too which happen gradually as we age like painful joints, stiffening of arteries, loss of hearing and change in your vision. Accept these changes positively as a part of your ageing process. Do your best and take care of your body by staying physically and mentally active.
Mental Changes after 60
There are mental changes too. You may realise that you are not mentally as sharp as you used to be. You may have difficulty in recalling names, recognising people and remembering facts. Stimulate your brain by undertaking activities like jigsaw puzzles, playing cards, building your vocabulary, learning new skill, painting, playing music etc. Remember that mental health has an impact on physical health and vice versa. Use your experience, knowledge and wisdom effectively to stay mentally active and arrest you cognitive decline.
Psychological changes after 60
Gradually, one also starts to feel the loss of identity, the purpose of life and how to be meaningfully and productively occupied. The feeling of ageing with fear of sickness and health also start haunting, at times. The older you grow, the more isolated you become. There are times when you are anxious, worried and lethargic for no specific reason. Life appears worthless to you. This is when one starts having bouts of anxiety and stress which further harms both the physical and mental health.The main causes of these psychological effects are:
Availability of more time for yourself after retirement than before and the freedom to pass this time the way you want to do
Reduction in disposable income with stoppage of regular monthly paycheques and fear of losing out on finances
The realisation of the need to make your life relevant by being helpful and contributing to society in any manner.
The greater need for a fulfilling social relationship and feeling of being wanted.
The realisation of Living life Meaningfully with a Purpose.
The need to rework your Life-style-activity plan factoring lower income and increasing expenditure on health and wellness in future.
Desire to engage in productive activities so as to leave a mark behind when you depart from this world
What 60 Plus must do to cope up
Maintain a good Health
Always remember, you are an asset to this world so long as you enjoy a good health or else you become a liability. Your holistic health includes physical, cognitive, emotional and spiritual health.
Keep a check on your Biological and Subjective age to remain younger than your age.
There are three ages, chronological, biological, and subjective or psychological. The first is calculated based on our date of birth; the second is determined by the health conditions and the third is how old you feel you are. While we don’t have control over the first, we have some control over the later two. You can reduce your Biological age with Exercise, Nutrition, Emotional State and control over stress levels. A positive attitude and optimistic thinking can reverse the third age. It makes you feel younger. Lower ‘subjective age’ or ‘psychological age’ has a significant effect on your physical and mental health.
Add balance, flexibility & strength exercises in your daily routine. It improves your balance, posture, and the quality of your walking. It also reduces your risk of falling or fear of falls.
Always keep Learning something new
Learning something new adds value to your life and keeps you sharp. Learning builds your brainpower, keeps you sharp and extends your life. Every time you learn something, your brain grows new cells. It will always keeps you young, no matter what your age is. Your experience, knowledge and wisdom will decay if you don’t boost it by continued learning.
Monitor your Finances
Most retirees have mainly retirement corpus, pension and social security (in some countries) to live on. You may have income from any part-time job that you may undertake or rental income, if any. You have not only to preserve your nest egg but also make efforts to make it bigger through investment to last your entire life.
Be Relevant through Meaningful engagement
After Retirement, it is easy to while away this time by sleeping late, watching TV, doing household chores or playing with your grandchildren. These activities may keep you busy but will not give you a sense of fulfilment. So engage in activities which add value to your life like learning a new language or skill, starting a new venture or doing something which contributes to the community. Before departing from this world, you must leave a mark, create a memory or make as many people happy as possible.
Have a Good Social Life
It gives you a sense of belonging and makes you feel wanted. It makes your life worthwhile and enjoyable. It provides support and help keeping your stress levels in check.
Make & Fulfil your Bucket List
Make a Bucket List, if you do not have one. Make all out efforts to achieve all items in it before it is too late. Your list may include places to travel, skills to learn, people to meet, and doing anything else that matter to you most. Life is not endless, and you may not have the adequate strength to achieve many of the activities, if you postpone it indefinitely.
Modify your Life Style
Make a routine which balances leisure and entertainment with activities which give you a feeling of fulfilment. Your routine must cater for time for your wellness activities, your productive pastimes, entertainment and socialisation.
Exploit your Experience and Knowledge
Volunteer and use your knowledge and experience for the benefits of others. Consider activities like coaching and mentoring to help others. Your mind will always remain sharp.
Have a good night sleep
Sleep is as important after sixty as in childhood. You need 7 to 9 hours of slumber every night.
Overcome the fear of death
by going spiritual. Spirituality frees you from the psychological fear of dying which is a common cause of worry and anxiety.
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