Gardening for Relaxation

From growing flowers to your own herbs and vegetables, North and South Carolina provide the perfect climate for gardening. Moreover, gardening provides many active adults over 55 the opportunity to be outdoors, relax, and even reap some delightful health benefits.

Here are just a few reasons spending a bit of time tending to your garden in your retirement years can help you to relax and improve your overall health

• Boosts Your Vitamin D
  Getting outside on a nice day provides you with a healthy dose of Vitamin D from the sun. Of course, you need to be mindful of how much sun you get, but in small doses, natural sunlight has proven to provide lots of health benefits.
• Provides Fresh Air
  Being outside in the fresh air is lovely. Being outside and working with plants can actually increase the level of fresh air you’re getting. Plants remove CO2, while manufacturing oxygen, so a few hours in the garden ensures that you’re truly getting lots of fresh air.
• Improves Mood
  Gardening allows many people the opportunity to clear away stress, by allowing you to focus on the act of tending to your plants. The Vitamin D you’ll get from the sun is also a natural mood enhancer.
• Reduces Blood Pressure
  Gardening offers the opportunity for low stress exercise. While it is not considered an aerobic exercise, gardening does require muscle movement, which in turn burns calories, reduces stress from the release of endorphins, thereby aiding in lowering your blood pressure.

Gardening in our retirement years can be a very fulfilling outdoor activity, which will provide you with subtle health benefits, in addition to helping you to relax. Tribute Homes located in North and South Carolina affords the perfect locales with corresponding favorable climates to allow you to be outside year-round. For information on our active adult retirement communities, contact us directly by calling (800) 381-2984 or visit us on the web at www.tributehomesusa.com.

Health Benefits of Swimming

In addition to walking, one of the best exercises for active adults over the age of 55 is certainly swimming. Whether you're going to a local pool or taking advantage of natural waterways in the Carolinas, experts agree that swimming provides incredible health benefits to us in our retirement years. Here are a few of the ways that regular swimming can keep you in top physical shape as you age.

• Swimming can improve blood pressure
  As a low impact exercise, swimming is nonetheless laden with health benefits including reducing blood pressure. Because swimming helps improve circulation, and lowers blood pressure it may also lower your risk for heart disease and stroke.

• Swimming provides total body conditioning
  The act of swimming allows you to use muscles you may not otherwise use. Moreover, swimming utilizes all of your major muscle groups, so that both your upper and lower body muscles become more toned.

• Swimming Lowers Cholesterol
  Swimming, which is considered an aerobic exercise can help your body to raise the "good cholesterol" while reducing the "bad cholesterol." Your risk of heart disease is lowered when you improve your good cholesterol.

• Swimming lowers risk of diabetes
  Aerobic exercise such as swimming can help you to reduce the risk of diabetes, by helping you to burn hundreds of calories each week. For example, just 90 minutes a week of swimming the breaststroke can burn up to 900 calories. That can reduce your risk of getting diabetes from 10-15%.

Swimming is also a low impact exercise, which has a very low incidence of injury. Moreover, many doctors recommend swimming for active adults who have an existing injury. Swimming is a low stress exercise, which results in very little muscle strain, but great health benefits. However you should always consult your doctor before beginning any new physical fitness routine.

Tribute Homes in North and South Carolina understands that retirement may just be the beginning of your most active years. We offer low maintenance and energy efficient homes so that you can focus on yourself and your loved ones in your retirement years. For information on our lakeside or golf community homes for active adults 55+, contact us directly by calling (800) 381-2984 or visit us on the web at www.tributehomesusa.com.

Daily Walks: Surprising Mental Health Benefits

Walking is not only the simplest (and least expensive) means of exercise, but it's also one of the most valuable. This is particularly true as we get older. A regular walking routine has shown to lower blood pressure, reduce joint pressure, decrease our risks of strokes, and helps us to maintain a healthy weight in our retirement years. Walking has also proven to contribute to a better night's sleep. However, these physical benefits are just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to improving our overall physical well being, daily walks have shown to help active adults over the age of 55 improve mental wellness as well.

Here are four surprising mental health benefits that you may reap as a result of a daily regimen of walking every day.

• Walking May Slow Mental DeclineA study conducted by the University of California, San Francisco of 6,000 women aged 65 and over showed that of those who walked just 2.5 miles each day, showed less mental decline than women who walked less than .5 miles per week.
  
• Walking May Lower Your Risk For Alzheimer'sAccording to a study conducted by the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville; men between the ages of 71 and 93 who walked more than .25 miles per day had had ½ the numbers of incidence of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, compared to those who walked less.

• Walking Improves Your Overall MoodJust 30 minutes of walking each day has shown to improve the moods of people suffering from depression faster than antidepressants. The reason? When walking we release natural painkilling endorphins, which help to improve mood. A study conducted by California State University, Long Beach showed that the more steps a person takes each day, the better their overall mood.

All of Tribute Homes neighborhoods offer active adults the opportunity for walking every day. Whether you prefer a home in one of our lakeside communities or our golf communities; you can rest assured that there will be plenty of space to stretch your legs. For more information about our retirement communities throughout North and South Carolina, contact us directly by calling (800) 381-2984 or visit us on the web at www.tributehomesusa.com.

The Importance of Stretching As We Age

Stretching at any age is important for maintaining a healthy body and mind. But the health benefits that come from stretching in our retirement years are invaluable. Stretching can be instrumental in preventing cardiovascular disease, relieving arthritic pain, delaying or preventing the onset of diabetes, improving mental health, and may even prevent us from falling as we get older.

However, it's important that if we're going to make stretching a regular habit; that we start slowly. Stretching can cause serious injury or health problems, if we don't ease into it properly. Tips for beginning a stretching routine for active adults 55+ include:

• Warm up briefly before beginning any stretching regimen. A brisk walk or even using lightweight dumbbells before stretching is very important.
• Start slowly. If you're particularly stiff, it is important to listen to your body, and refrain from exerting yourself.
• Be aware of your breathing. Make sure you are able to breathe easily while stretching so that you don't wind up holding your breath.
• Avoid any stretching or poses that cause pain.
• Remain mindful of the position of your spine, so that you are not curving it excessively.
• Consult a doctor before beginning any stretching exercises, for tips on types of stretching that will benefit you the most.

Even if you've never been much into exercise, it is never too late to begin a gentle routine of stretching. Most stretching can be done on your own, in your own home, without having to take a class. Moreover, the benefits to your overall health may be worth 20 minutes of your time each day. But be sure to consult your physician before undertaking any new exercise activities.

If you're considering purchasing a retirement home in a 55+ active adult community in North or South Carolina, we invite you to learn more about Tribute Homes. Tribute Homes are in multiple communities in lakeside or golf communities in the Carolinas. To speak with Tribute Homes about our incredible retirement communities, contact us directly by calling (800) 381-2984 or visit us on the web at www.tributehomesusa.com.