5 types of aging
According to A reminder of the 5 types of aging:
Chronological
Functional -ADL’s (Activities of daily living)
Biological
Psychological
Social
Functional aging is the activities we need to perform throughout our day.
We get out of bed, need to sit on the toilet, we shower, make our meals, do our laundry. Much of this may be the first hour after waking.
The way I see it:
We roll, we squat, we move our arms around our body, we stand and twist as we move into and out of the refrigerator and cabinets to gather our food and dishes. We twist when we put our dishes in the dishwasher. We squat some more when we put our laundry in the washer and dryer.
So how do we continue to do these activities of daily living as we age? We practice. We keep doing what we can to keep these movements possible.
Some of my favorite ways to practice these movements throughout our day:
When you start to sit down in your chair to eat or work, do 10 sit to stands.
When you brush your teeth perform your calf raises or practice balancing.
When you put dishes in the cabinet, add 10 lifts overheard
When you lift up your laundry basket add some lunges
When you are waiting for your coffee to brew add some rotation - stand and twist.
Think of all the activities you do throughout your day, and see what exercises you can add to these to make this process of aging easier on your body and mind. Need some other ideas, feel free to reach out!
