Starting retirement after a lifetime of working is a major life change. So how do you cope with this inevitable event that takes you from a structured, fast-paced daily routine and drops you into the slow meandering of life after retirement? How do you retire gracefully and enjoy your twilight years without the physical and mental stimuli that a job provides? Here are a few things for retired people to do when the retirement lifestyle is driving them to distraction.

Staying Social

No man is an island. I’m sure you know this saying. So, if no man is an island, it is time for you to expand your social circles. When you were working, your work colleagues doubled up as friends, and you had plenty of people to talk to and socialize with. Now that you are retired, you may find that your social circle has shrunk considerably. You need to work to cultivate human relationships because the social connections you build will help keep you physically and mentally healthy.

Things for retired people to do when trying to stay connected are: to reach out to their neighbors, visit friends, or volunteer their time at charity organizations. Everyone wants to hang out and have fun, so you can organize card game evenings, invite people to watch a game of sport or a good movie on the telly, or organize a visit to local attractions and enjoy the excursion.

Lower Impact Activities

Keeping active is good for all ages, and retirement gives you all the time in the world to spend exercising. Of course, as one gets older, the bones and muscles get stiffer, and it becomes more difficult to exercise. Still, finding low-impact activities to keep yourself busy will help keep you fitter for longer. One of the best pastimes is going golfing. Golf is an activity that you can do with others and helps you socialize. The cardiovascular workout of walking along the course stimulates blood circulation and helps prevent high blood pressure and diabetes in your golden years.

A low-impact workout will keep your joints moving without putting any excessive pressure on your joints. If you are not into golf, there are other things for retired people to do. Swimming is good. Swimming gives you a whole-body muscle-toning workout and builds strength. If you are battling with arthritic pain, then swimming will be an excellent way to help you make your joints more flexible as you move against the resistance of water.

Staying Fit

Staying physically active will ensure that you keep your youthful mobility for a little while longer. After all, retirement time is for enjoying your free time, which means taking scenic walks, visiting museums, and spending time with friends. You cannot enjoy activities if you have to stay home because your body is too stiff to go outside.

According to the CDC, it is not enough to get cardiovascular exercise to keep healthy. You should also include some muscle-strengthening activities and activities that promote balance. It is interesting that they mention that because as you age, you lose the ability to balance properly. Poor balance and coordination can lead to falls, which may result in injury. Enrolling in a gymnastics program designed for seniors near you is one way to ensure that you get sufficient exercise to preserve your muscle strength and balance.

Finding New Ways to Get Close

Finding yourself retired means that you spend more time at home. Usually, your spouse is there too, which means that you are more likely to spend more time together. Some couples may find the constant presence of a spouse quite irritating. After years of working and being separated for a good portion of the day, having your spouse present all the time can be quite stressful, especially if you did not cultivate activities that you could do together in the past. All of a sudden, you have free time to spend with your spouse, but you don’t know what to do with it.

Family relationships are too important to ignore them and hope that they will take care of themselves. You need to put active thought into how to grow closer to your spouse now that you are both together at home. One way to ensure a good relationship is to get involved in activities that you will both enjoy and that foster a feeling of closeness, like dancing. Find out if you could join dancing studios near your home and take dancing lessons with your spouse. It may just be the thing to rekindle the passion you once had before marriage, work and children made your lives mundane and concentrated on the practical. Adding a little dancing whimsy in your retirement may be just the thing to awaken the romance.

Ways to Relax

When you retire, you have all the time in the world to relax; however, having too much time on your hands can make you cranky and stressed. When you are stressed, your body releases cortisol, which can cause body-wide inflammation. That is not healthy for you because widespread inflammation causes organ damage and can make you feel ill.

Getting enough sleep is the best way to ensure you stay relaxed in your retirement. The National Sleep Foundation recommends between seven and eight hours of sleep a night. You may find that your sleeping hours change as you get older, with you feeling sleepy earlier in the evening and waking up early in the morning. That is normal, but if you are not getting at least six hours of sleep a night, you may suffer from chronic insomnia.

Other ways to distress include practicing good self-care, like ensuring you follow a good diet, cutting down on alcohol and tobacco consumption to reduce the number of stimulants you take, and taking part in activities that make you feel relaxed.

If you want to actively bring relaxing activities into your daily routine, you can try taking part in meditation and even book an appointment at a medical spa. A medical spa is slightly different from the normal beauty spa you are familiar with in that they combine medical procedures performed at a doctor’s office with the experience of a day spa.

Healing and Maintenance

There is a saying that old age is not for the fainthearted. Usually, it refers to all the pains and stiffness we all feel as we get older. If you find yourself with upper or lower back pain or maybe other niggles that just don’t seem to go away, getting a professional opinion and help may ensure you remain mobile well into your retirement.

Routine chiropractic adjustments are not for everyone, but ensuring your spine is well-aligned can improve your overall health and wellness. It may be worth going for a couple of chiropractor appointments to decrease your pain levels and improve your mobility.

Keeping Healthy Habits

Now that you have retired, it does not mean that you can neglect to look after your teeth and gums. Those perfect pearly whites are both attractive and keep you healthy and well. Brushing your teeth twice a day and daily flossing will keep your teeth and gums in good health.

Keeping your dental appointments at least every six months will prevent any inflammatory conditions from developing in your mouth. Good dental hygiene will help you manage other chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

Monitoring the Body

As you get older, you may notice that your body is changing in an unusual way. The most obvious changes are in the skin. Aside from the wrinkles, there may be discolorations appearing on your skin that may or may not signify that something sinister is brewing within your system.

One of the biggest worries is skin cancer. You may be worried about it and seeing strange moles appearing seemingly out of nowhere may be a little disconcerting. If you are worried at all, you should book an appointment with a local dermatologist to make sure you don’t miss any warning signs. A good rule of thumb is that you should always go to see your local dermatologist if you notice any mole or a colored patch on your skin change in shape, size, or appearance. It is always better to catch skin cancer as early as possible to give the treatment a better chance to work and prevent metastasis.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

One of the maladies of getting older is losing your ability to hear others clearly. Many people accept their fate of losing their ability to hear conversations around them. However, if you want to be the one to age gracefully and stay healthy for as long as possible, you may need to schedule an appointment with one of the hearing doctors.

They will check your hearing and assess whether your hearing loss is due to underlying medical conditions or whether there’s just a regular blockage of buildup. (It can happen) If you find that you are suffering from progressive hearing loss, hearing doctors can prescribe a hearing aid for you.

It may seem embarrassing to be wearing a hearing aid, but staying ahead of the curve and investing in yourself can improve your well-being in retirement. You will no longer feel left out of family activities because you cannot understand what others are saying. A hearing aid will give you back your life by allowing you to communicate with friends and family.

Keeping Health Within Arm’s Reach

Now that you are retired, your advanced age puts you in the category that is more likely to experience a medical emergency. Whether you have chronic illnesses or are as fit as a fiddle, making sure you are prepared to care for your health at home is important.

To prepare yourself for any eventuality, you should invest in some basic home medical equipment. Every home should have at least one medical thermometer to measure body temperature. It’s a great help when you want to identify fever or any related health concern.

Of course, having a first-aid kit at home will come in handy when you need to stabilize an injured person before they get to a hospital or other medical facility. A well-stocked first aid kit should have an assortment of bandages (and plasters for minor cuts and abrasions), antiseptic fluid to clean a wound and prevent infection, eye wash to rinse out anything that comes into your eye, something for pain relief like Tylenol, antihistamines in case of allergic reactions, oral rehydration solution to replace essential fluids during diarrhea, and antacids for all those stomach upsets that may strike at any time. These elementary items may save your life in an emergency.

If you are prone to allergies or suffer from asthma or other respiratory conditions, you should have a humidifier on hand. Airborne bacteria and viruses spread more easily in dry air, and since your retirement, you spend more time indoors, so investing in a humidifier is worth your while in protecting your overall health.

Many seniors need a little help getting around. You may still be able to walk around, but you will need some extra safety and support. Investing in mobility aids will help you keep your independence for longer. Depending on your mobility issues, you may need to get a cane or a walker to prevent falls. If you are battling to walk longer distances, think about investing in a wheelchair. Some wheelchairs are battery-powered and can be operated with very little effort.

Your health can go through many changes during retirement, so you need to prioritize your health. Make sure you visit your doctor regularly and take all your medication as ordered. Keeping a positive attitude and living meaningfully will ensure that you enjoy your retirement and the deserved rest after many years of working.