It’s never late to get healthy: with the right support and a healthy lifestyle, you can recover from serious problems even at an advanced age.
With the right interventions and emotional, psychophysical and social support, you can recover from a situation of general malaise even in old age. A study from the University of Toronto, Canada, refutes the general conception of aging as a trajectory destined for decline, and proves that older adults, accompanied with the necessary resources, can not only survive, but thrive after facing various health problems. The research was published on PLOS One.
Return to bloom
The scientists focused on 8,332 people aged sixty or older who were in suboptimal well-being at the start of the study, and followed them for three years to see whether they had recovered to “full fitness” during this period (absence of serious physical, cognitive, mental or emotional problems that could interfere with normal daily functioning, along with high levels of self-reported physical health, mental well-being, happiness and satisfaction).
The study revealed not only that it is possible, even at this stage of life, to reclaim full physical fitness, happiness and independence after serious health problems; but the factors that can favor recovery more than others have also been clarified. The psychological ones are crucial: those who had demonstrated greater psychological and emotional well-being at the beginning of the study were more than five times more able to return to optimal levels of well-being, compared to those who were already initially struggling on a psychological level.
A support network
Lifestyle was also crucial: maintaining a healthy body weight, practicing regular physical activity, sleeping a correct number of hours per night, not smoking and being involved in social activities were fundamental for full recovery.
The study has important implications for public health, because it underlines the importance of investing in systems that support elderly people recovering from a period of physical or psychological discomfort: knowing that a full recovery is not only possible, but common, if the right conditions are in place.
