Mobility is a difficult aspect of aging that is hard to maintain. At any age, finding time to stay active is tough, but once you’ve reached the age most people consider to be senior, staying active can just be painful. But the key to staying mobile as a senior citizen is to keep moving. Making sure your joints and muscles stay active is the key to helping your body prevent or at least withstand falls and accidents as you age.
And staying active for mobility doesn’t mean you have to run a marathon every day or become a heavy-weight champion at 60. But what can you do? There are so many everyday activities out there to keep you active you probably didn’t realize were helping your body and possibly other conditions. Here are some ways seniors can stay mobile through everyday activities.
Simple Ways to Improve Senior Mobility
Gardening
Gardening is wonderful to not only increase your curb appeal, but you joint movement as well! With gardening, you may be doing very light lifting of pots and plants, reaching over to pluck or trim weeds and hedges, or light digging to plant a flower. All of these movements are actually keeping you more limber than you thought. Having someone younger like a caregiver with you is helpful if you find yourself struggling or in need of assistance. But chances are you’re already a pro. Having these moves under your belt will help with everyday activities like grocery shopping or reaching for objects in the house. Your mobility will definitely increase through gardening, and your yard will look fabulous.
Walking
If the benefits of walking haven’t been stressed enough, I’ll say it again – walking is so god for you! A light walk in the morning is an extremely useful way of getting the blood flowing and increasing mobility throughout the day. And, a walk in the evening is a great way to relax the body after a long day. And if you’re not a confident walker outside, never fear. Take some simple strolls through your house or front yard. There will be more objects and/or caregivers on hand to help you around if you find yourself struggling.
Water Aerobics 
Now, this may seem a bit more extreme, but water aerobics and any movement in the water is a great way to relieve stress on the joints. Water has a wonderful way of making people feel weightless. This is really beneficial in relaxing the body through specifics movements that will increase mobility. Often, many local senior centers or even YMCAs offer senior water aerobics classes with special caregivers for the elderly on hand. There’s tons of floating rafts and wearable flotation devices that can help you feel even safer if you aren’t the most confident swimmer.
Simple Stretches
Increasing your mobility can also mean finding time to stretch in our daily routine. Same as with a walk in the morning, doing simple stretches in the morning will relieve your tired body from any aches from last night’s sleep. Stretching will also come in handy in everyday activities. If you need to reach for something on the top shelf or bend over for a dropped item, the best way to help with those activities is through stretching.
