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NOVEMBER, 2018 | THE HEALTH
AGE I NG WE LL
Part 5
AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
BY DATO’ DR
RAJBANS SINGH
spirit and I will deal with that in
another article.
Adequate sleep essential
to perform better
Chronic stress can cause harm.
Fifth point for
healthy ageing
Chronic stress that causes harm
S
TRESS and Sleep.
We will start off with
stress. Everybody has
stress. In fact they say
the only people with
no stress are those
six feet underground.
However there is a fine line
between good stress (Eustress)
and bad stress (Distress). Good
stress is like getting a promotion,
getting married, having a newborn
baby, shifting to a new dream
home. This all can cause a certain
FIVE STAR SENIOR LIVING
amount of stress but you also have
the feel good factor. A little stress
is also important, like for example
sitting for exams or going for a job
interview as it can keep you on
your toes. During the time of our
ancestors, the cavemen, this stress
saved life’s as when he came face
to face with a tiger for example this
stress released certain chemicals
and hormones that made him
run faster, breath faster and sent
glucose to his muscles and other
organs. So stress of a short duration
is actually good for us.
Chronic stress
However chronic stress is actu-
ally dangerous and can cause
harm. With today’s busy lifestyle,
most of us start our day with the
alarm clock (this itself is a stress
as the name signifies). Than we
are running around busy as a bee
from morning to night. Technol-
ogy keeps us connected all the
time with very little downtime.
Most people are not even aware of
this low grade continuous stress.
The stress hormone cortisol is
released all the time and this has
many devastating effects on the
body including lack of energy,
poor sleep, increasing weight,
hypertension and diabetes and
eventually to heart attacks and
strokes. Therefore understanding
the effects of chronic stress and
managing this is important.
The management of stress
involves all of mind, body and
Dato Dr Rajbans Singh is the
Malaysian Wellness Society
president and Pantai Hospital
Kuala Lumpur consultant physi-
cian and geriatrician. He can be
contacted at drrajbans.com
Studies
have shown
that people
who have
adequate
sleep
actually
perform
better
than those
who did
not sleep
enough and
in the long
run achieve
more.
Gardening for
older adults
G
Gardening to keep healthy.
Next we come to sleep. Many of
us take this for granted. I have
even heard some workaholics
say that sleep is overrated and
not that important. I know
because I was one of them. I and
some of my doctor friends used
to take pride and show off about
how we only had a few hours’
sleep the day before and were
still going ‘strong’. However
studies have shown that people
who have adequate sleep actu-
ally perform better than those
who did not sleep enough and
in the long run achieve more.
During our rapid eye movement
(REM) sleep, we rejuvenate
our brain and during the non-
rapid eye movement (NREM)
sleep, our physical body gets
rejuvenated. Hence sleep is
one important component of
healthy ageing and should not
be neglected. Lack of sleep is
like a stress to the body and all
the negative effects of stress also
kick in.
ARDENING is a favorite activity
among older adults. Besides being
enjoyable, it provides many health
benefits.
Some medical conditions and physi-
cal disabilities may restrict or prevent
older people from participating in this
activity, however, with planning and a
few changes safe, accessible and pleasant
spaces can be created.
Among the numerous benefits of
gardening is it increases levels of physi-
cal activity and maintains mobility and
flexibility. For seniors who don’t have
appointments or schedules to keep, it can
be easy to become inactive.
Gardening is a fun activity that
stimulates the body’s systems without
seeming like exercise. It encourages use
of all motor skills – walking, reaching
and bending – through activities such as
planting seeds and taking cuttings.
It improves endurance if you spend a
lot of time in the garden, in addition to
improving strength as you pull weeds and
dig in the dirt.
It reduces stress levels and promotes
relaxation, which aids better sleep for
improved health. In addition to this, it
improves mental awareness due to fresh
air and helps with concentration and
focus.
Besides facilitating social interaction,
through outings to garden centres or
chatting with neighbours and passer-bys,
it provides a sense of accomplishment
and most importantly prevent diseases
like osteoporosis.