WOW Word-Of-the-Week #478: Retirement
October 3, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #478: Retirement
Retirement – the payoff you get after years of working.
Are you looking forward to retirement? Do you have a plan for what you want to do when you retire? Did you know that ending a lifetime of work causes stress? Did you know that 40% of the retired people over 50 are more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than those who are still working?
Ultimate Retirement
This week’s WOW comes from my favorite newspaper when I am traveling, USA Today. I actually read this article on the plane to South America in January.
REINVENTING RETIREMENT
Key to a healthy, happy,
retirement: Having fun
Exercise, new friends, help too
Janice Lloyd writes, “For the millions of Baby Boomers coming up on retirement, making investments in exercising, having fun, making new friends and continuing to learn are the closest thing to finding the fountain of youth, according to Harvard researchers. The 73-year-old Harvard Study of Adult Development is one of the oldest and most respected studies on aging in the country. “Exercise is the No. 1 ticket item to have for ensuring a long, happy life,” says Robert Waldinger, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and director of the Harvard study. “It protects your heart and prevents disability later in life.”
“Setting goals before retiring can help you manage the stress that often comes with ending a lifetime of work. Even someone who can afford to take cruise after cruise still needs a game plan for when the ship finally docks,” says Laurie Lawson, a life transition coach in New York.
According to the Mayo Clinic healthy eating and exercise help reduce the risk factors for heart disease and stroke. It’s even OK to skip moderate to intense exercise. Ten minutes, three times a day can be as beneficial as a 30-minute workout. “When it comes to exercise you need to do what you enjoy rather than what is a chore,” says Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer. He studied the health habits in Sardinia, an Italian island inhabited by some of the world’s longest-lived men.
“Many were shepherds, who walk up to 5 miles a day over hillsides. They don’t work out hard or pump iron. They don’t worry about running marathons. Their day is laced with gentle or moderately stressful physical activity,” says Buettner.
This week’s focus is on your payoff after all those years of working. Do you have a plan? How much exercise are you getting? How easy is it for you to make new friends?