Your senior years should be some of your best years. Seniors who are happy and active tend to live longer and enjoy a higher quality of life compared to seniors who feel isolated and lonely. So, what is the secrete to staying happy as you age? Here are some tips!
5 Tips for Happiness as You Age
#1. The Happiest Senior Citizens Stay Mentally Active
You might be retired from your lifelong occupation, but that doesn’t mean you should consider yourself fully retired. The happiest seniors find some sort of meaningful work to put their time into. That might be volunteering or starting up a business based around a lifelong hobby – like baking cookies or helping friends plan for retirement.
Research has found that the happiest retirees spend time working part-time as writers, teachers, board members, artists, speakers, and so forth.
You don’t have to go back to work, instead you could enroll in classes at your local community college. Going back to school is a growing trend amongst seniors. This allows you to learn new things, stay mentally sharp, hang out with younger generations, and make new friends, all while staying social.
#2. Remind Yourself How Happy You Are
According to Business Insider, constantly telling yourself that you are happy, satisfied and safe in your personal life will actually bring about greater feelings of happiness and satisfaction while reducing stress.
#3. Stay Close with Friends & Family
One of the most important factors for staying happy as you age is to remain close to your friends and family. A solid social circle is important to prevent feelings of loneliness and isolation.
41 percent of seniors say that seeing their children and grandchildren mature is the best part of living a longer life. Furthermore, fifty-three percent of seniors said that being close to friends and family is of utmost importance.
#4. Health is More Important Than Money
Health is a bigger contributor to senior happiness than how much money one has in the bank. That’s why staying on top of your health and making it to all of your scheduled doctor appointments and physical therapy sessions is so important.
Sixty-five percent of seniors have at least two chronic health conditions. Unfortunately, less than one in five seniors has worked with a doctor to create a plan of action for maintaining and managing their health. Even though doing so could make a huge difference in life quality and longevity.
You can improve your health by working with medical professionals to create a long-term wellness plan. In addition, regularly working out is important to maintain long term health, as well as happiness. Twenty-six percent of seniors in the US said that they exercised for thirty minutes, once a week.
#5. It’s the Little Things That Matter
The Journal of Consumer Research found that the kinds of experiences that make us the happiest change throughout life. While younger generations favor extraordinary experiences, older generations tend to favor ordinary experiences. You could take this information a number of ways, but put simply, the little things in life, like hanging out with family and weekly dinners with grandkids, these are the kinds of things that make seniors happy and give meaning to their life – more so than an exotic trip to Belize.
Stellar Transportation is Here to Help!
Having reliable transportation everywhere and anywhere you need to go is key to staying happy and healthy as you age.
From making it to all of your doctor appointments, and staying on top of your health, to making it to family dinners or a get together with friends – we can provide you with all of your transportation needs.
Did we mention our specialty is working with senior citizens? In fact, all of our drivers are certified in Senior Sensitivity. We offer affordable rates, as well as deals and discounts for frequent riders. Check out our pricing page or contact us today to get a personalized quote!