The Importance of a Wellness Lifestyle Over 50: Part One

Did you make a New Year’s resolution that is focused on taking better care of yourself in 2020? They say that New year’s resolutions only last for 6 weeks so let’s focus on a wellness lifestyle which should be a daily conscious decision to live better longer after 50. A wellness lifestyle means taking part in activities that improve your mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being.

This is a sponsored post with ButcherBox, but all opinions are my own.

As we enter into a new decade I am seeing more focus on wellness living replacing the fast pace decade we just left behind.  In 2020, wellness will be seen as something accessible to everyone.  I think this year we will see more emphasis on wellness living and self-care.

As an interior designer, I believe our homes are our sanctuary and a place to feel happy and decompress from our daily stressful lives. I recently did a wellness/ spa room for the Atlanta Holiday Home ( which I will share more about incorporating wellness design into your home).  Wellness and good design have a sense of balance in common.  Exercise, diet, emotional and social connections, relaxation and rejuvenation help each of us make good choices for a successful existence.

Wellness encompasses 8 dimensions of our daily lifestyle 

The eight dimensions of wellness are emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual. All are very important to someone’s overall wellbeing.

In this blog post, I will cover physical, emotional, social, and spiritual which many of us practice in self-care.

1. Physical

The physical part of wellness is about exercise, diet, sleep, and taking care of our body on a daily level.

Exercise isn’t about losing weight as it is in moving every day. It improves your chances of living longer and healthier, relieves symptoms of depression and anxiety, improves your mood, and prevents weight gain. Having a sedentary lifestyle causes so many health issues as well as depression.

Get up and move more in 2020 than you did before. I rely on my Fitbit watch to track my fitness routine and was amazed that when I was decorating my home and my client’s homes for Christmas I was at 17,000 steps a day (4.5 miles) and lost weight from my constant moving!

Research has shown that physical activity, including exercise and sports, can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and early death. As I wrote in the fall it can also help prevent osteoporosis.

Weight-bearing, yoga, strength training all have wonderful health benefits. Also, low-impact exercises like walking your dog, walking, dancing, swimming, and playing with your grandchildren will effectively increase overall health and wellness, regardless of what kind of shape you were in, to begin with.

Getting over 7 hours of sleep a night prevents so many health problems. For instance, if lowers your blood pressure which causes heart disease and reduces stress. Also getting a good night’s sleep reduces inflammation, improves memory, makes you more alert. But most importantly it allows your body to repair itself. Read more here.

Taking a shower, brushing our teeth and taking care of our skin are pretty simple ways to take care of ourselves. I have recently really worked hard on taking better care of my skin after neglecting it for so many years. Menopause has made it drier and the sun damage has already aged my skin. I can’t reverse aging without a facelift or injections but I can keep it hydrated and adding retinol has been a big improvement. Read more here about my skincare.

We also need to look at our diet and see how this affects our wellness. Eating better promotes better health and wellness and is important for everyone, especially people who have or are at risk for, health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.  Just incorporating healthier food choices can be so beneficial to your overall wellness. You should also eat a wide range of foods to make sure you’re getting a balanced diet and your body is receiving all the nutrients it needs. Cutting down on sugar, salt, and processed foods is so important for your health.

Since there are so many diets out there I can’t tell you what to eliminate because it may not work for you. I follow the Mediterranean Diet which seems to be the best overall based on research.

I have been a part of a collaboration with ButcherBox and I have changed the way I am buying meat. It’s so wonderful to have great quality meat delivered to my home!

I will be sharing more chicken recipes with you next week but the quality of the meat from ButcherBox is excellent! You can customize for the box like I did for my father in law or select from the other 4 box options. You will not be disappointed!

• All Meat: No antibiotics or added hormones ever, humanely raised.
• Beef: 100% grass-fed and finished, certified pasture-raised
• Pork: Heritage Breed Pork (raised with traditional, sustainable farming methods)
• Chicken: free-range, USDA certified organic
• Salmon: wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon

Do not forget to drink plenty of water! You need to stay hydrated! Here’s 15 benefits for drinking water.

2.Emotional

Emotional health is an important part of wellness. People who are emotionally healthy are in control of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. They are able to cope with life’s challenges and can keep problems in perspective and bounce back from setbacks. People who feel good about themselves will have good relationships.

It also affects your physical health. Research shows a link between an upbeat mental state and physical signs of good health. These include lower blood pressure, reduced risk of heart disease, and a healthier weight.

Find time to do things that make you happy even if you are busy. I love spending time with my family and my sweet little granddaughter. Set aside time for yourself to do something you love.

The most important thing you can do for yourself is to do things that make you happy with people who make you happy!.

Read about the rise of suicide among midlife women in a blog post I wrote. Read more here

3. Social

Social wellness refers to the relationships we have and how we interact with others. Our relationships can offer support during difficult times. Social wellness involves building healthy, nurturing and supportive relationships as well as fostering a genuine connection with those around you, according to the University of California, Davis.

As we get older we tend to forget the importance of being social is to our wellness. Did you know the simple task of getting up and dressed to leave your home to meet with friends over coffee can play an important part in living a wellness lifestyle? Socializing can provide a number of benefits to your physical and mental health. The simple task of calling your friends and spending time with them may also boost your brain health and lower your risk of dementia? 

I play golf as a form of social activity because I enjoy being with women and we are involved with many club activities. I’m not a good golfer but I love the fellowship of the women I golf with!

Interacting with others boosts feelings of well-being and decreases feelings of depression. Staying in your home everyday

Research has shown that:

• The health risks of isolation are comparable to smoking, high blood pressure, and obesity.
• The heart and blood pressure of people who have positive relationships respond better to stress.
• A strong social network is associated with a healthier endocrine system and healthier cardiovascular functioning.
• A healthy social life can enhance the immune system’s ability to fight off infectious diseases.

Social media tends to be a quick fix to being social but it’s not the ideal remedy. Using social media to connect with people who share interests or concerns makes it a wonderful tool. But staying glued to your computer or phone for your socialization can actually cause depression and loneliness and may hurt your relationship with others who don’t use social media as regularly as you do.

Because social media makes it easier for us to stay connected with our family and friends it shouldn’t be your only source for your social activity.

There is a lot of information about the effects of using social media over 50 and I found a great article about the importance of using social media as we get older. Read more here.

Read more about how social media can help and hurt us here.

When I asked the women who will be attending the Influencers of Midlife Summit in March what was the most important reason for attending the event, the largest response was connecting with the women they have followed on social media. While we do make connections with people we enjoy following, it’s also taking us away from making real connections in person. Taking a break from social media as often as possible is so important for your overall wellness.

So, should we all just be using less social media? Do you love or hate social media?

4. Spiritual

Spiritual wellbeing means the ability to experience and integrate meaning and purpose in life through a person’s connectedness with self, others art, music, literature, nature, or a power greater than oneself.

The word “Spiritual” refers to the fundamental dimension of human life – one’s connection with the
source of life or divinity and one’s innermost self – that provides you with a profound sense of self
awareness and faith on who you are, where you came from, why you are here in the world, what you need,
how you live, where you’re going, etc.

Spiritual wellbeing does not just reflect religious belief although for people of religious faith it is obviously a central feature.

However, religious fellowship or being part of a meditation group has been shown to help people who suffer from depression because it eliminates isolation, which is a major cause of many mood disorders.

Studies have shown that prayer and meditation have the ability to bolster your immune system, meaning fewer days laid up in bed with the flu and more days out living your life. It slows the process of aging and less likely to get ill. People who are spiritually healthy live a longer life than other people.
It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you have a daily prayer ritual of some sort, and even a simple walk in nature can trigger this positive effect. The same effect can be gained by joining a yoga club or by volunteering with an organization that helps others.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Are you trying to incorporate more wellness into your lifestyle in 2020?

Coming in Part Two: Environmental, Intellectual, Financial, and Occupational Dimensions of a Wellness Lifestyle

This post contains affiliate links that may earn income for Hello I’m 50ish.