Ideas For Exercise When You Are Over 50

Exercise Ideas For People Over 50

Just because you’ve reached 50 and retirement is just around the corner doesn’t mean that you’re unable to exercise and stay fit and healthy. These top tips for exercise ideas for people over 50 are sure to give you some great ways of staying healthy even if you do feel a little older.

Find Your Passion

With retirement not far off, now’s the time to think about joining up to some local groups to keep yourself occupied and active throughout your retirement.

If you have a garden, it may be a good idea to get out in your garden more often to develop your passion for gardening and to get exercise that you need.

Gardening is a great way to move more, including bending and twisting that is often seen in the activity.

Get A Dog

A dog is not only a great companion to have, but it is also a great way for you to keep healthy over 50. You will need to walk your dog several times throughout the day, and this can be a great excuse for getting out and enjoying some exercise.

Not only is walking the dog necessary, but the dog will remind you when it needs walking. This is a great way to keep you active as well as being a talking point when you meet people walking their own dogs.

Take Your Time

When you are exercising, you should make sure that you have plenty of time to work out. The older you get, the more important it becomes to incorporate a decent warm up and cool down into your routine.

If you want to go out running for example, you should set aside time for stretching your muscles before you begin, and then start off with a moderate pace to gradually build up your heart rate and warm up your muscles.

If you do not leave yourself enough time to do this, you will find that you end up with tired muscles and even pains and trapped nerves.

Sign Up To The Gym

If you are over 50, you will probably find that you do not know many people who want to work out with you in your age group. In order to stay motivated, it is a good idea to join a gym.

Many gyms have exercise classes and you can choose the class that is best for you from the selection offered. There is no doubt that you are likely to be able to meet other people who have similar fitness goals to you and this will help keep you motivated.

If the classes are not for you, then the equipment at the gym will be a great way for you to work out regardless of the weather. Let’s face it, the older we get, the less time we want to spend out in the cold and rain exercising. The gym is always a pleasant place for you to exercise.

Go For A Swim

If you have any joint problems, you will know how painful it is to do most forms of high impact exercising. Knee, hip and joint pains prevent most people from doing things like running but there are plenty of low impact exercises you can do. One great exercise that is good for those over 50 is swimming.

This is low impact and there is no way that you could possibly fall or cause any injury to yourself.

You will be able to build muscle, strengthen your joints, enjoy a cardiovascular workout, and enjoy the soothing effect that swimming has on tired muscles too.

Diabetics And Tiredness

Diabetes And Fatigue

Many people with diabetes also complain of fatigue. The fatigue can be so disabling that it can interfere with your ability to partake in regular activities of daily activities. There are many reasons why diabetics suffer from fatigue and many complain that it is the most debilitating of symptoms of diabetes they experience.

Fatigue can be a problem of both high and low blood sugars seen in diabetes. When the blood sugar is high, patients often feel groggy and drugged because the insulin resistance prevents the blood glucose from entering the cells for use as fuel. The fatigue, then, is on a deep cellular level. Fatigue from high blood sugar can result from inflammation. Inflammation causes monocytes to travel to the brain so that fatigue is manifest.

Blood Sugar

Low blood sugar levels sometimes seen in diabetics who overdo their insulin and other treatment can result in fatigue. Low blood sugars mean that there isn’t the cellular fuel necessary to service the cells and the lack of fuel makes one fatigued.

Anemia

Anemia seen as part of diabetes can be due to insufficient intake of iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid. Low blood cell counts can contribute to disease. Anemia of chronic disease can also happen in diabetics, which leads to anemia that cannot be managed without first treating the diabetes.

Hypothyroidism

Diabetics are also at a greater risk of developing hypothyroidism, a condition of low levels of the hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine. When the thyroid gland is sluggish, patients feel sleepy, depressed, and tired. Men with diabetes are more likely to have low T syndrome, which involves having low levels of testosterone. This contributes to fatigue and sluggishness in men with diabetes.

Infections

Diabetics are at a higher risk of developing infections that are difficult to treat. Infections require a great deal of energy to fight off so that diabetics become fatigued with higher than normal blood sugar levels. Some of the more common infections associated with diabetes are urinary infections, vaginal infections, respiratory infections, and dental infections. Some infections are considered “silent” with no other symptoms but fatigue.

Heart Disease

Diabetics are at a greater risk of having undiagnosed heart disease. Rather than the typical symptoms of chest pain, diabetics often just get tired when doing activities they used to be able to do without difficulty. In such cases, it is important to seek medical attention because the heart disease can be just as deadly without the typical symptoms to herald the disease.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome And Fibromyalgia

Diabetics can suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. This usually affects women more than men but can exist in both genders. Fatigue is the primary symptom of both chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. Unfortunately, there are no medical treatments for the fatigue associated with these conditions.

Meditations

Diabetics must take many different medications, including medications for pain, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and depression. Many of these medications have, as one of their side effects, the finding of fatigue. The pharmacist is the person to ask if you think you are taking a medication that has fatigue as a side effect.

Sleep Issues

Diabetics can suffer from poor sleep habits or a lack of sleep. Some are up during the night with frequent urination seen in diabetics, while others suffer from obstructive sleep apnea as a side effect of the obesity seen in diabetes. Sleep apnea causes fatigue because you wake up many times during the night from obstruction of the airway. Diabetics who do shift work suffer from sleep disturbances due to hormonal imbalances associated with rotating shifts or from working nights all the time.

Depression

Depression is a common phenomenon in patients with diabetes. Depressed people usually feel fatigued related to their disease process. Depression can make you feel less motivated to do activities of daily living and can keep you in bed suffering from low mood.

Lack Of Rest

If you overdo it with diabetes, you can set yourself up to have fatigue. If you force yourself to do everything that needs to be done without a break, you can have even more fatigue. Stress from having too many thigs to do added to the physical stress of diabetes can bring on fatigue that is difficult to treat.

High Carb Diets

High carb diets, especially those that involve taking in simple carbohydrates rather than complex carbohydrates can add to the fatigue of diabetes. The cure for this is to eat complex carbohydrates along with protein and healthy fats. This can turn around the fatigue associated with eating poorly.

Caffeine

Caffeine can cause a rebound fatigue if you consume it too much. The high you get from caffeine is just temporary and you are left with the rebound effect that, added to the dehydration you get from taking in caffeine, can make you tired.

Lack Of Exercise

If you are out of shape and not exercising, you can feel sluggish when trying to do your activities of daily living. Only when you are in shape can you manage the things you do during your day. The problem is worse with age. Since diabetes is increased with advancing age, older diabetics are more likely to suffer from fatigue than younger diabetics are.

Do People With Bulimia Suffer From Fatigue

Bulimia And Fatigue

Bulimia is a condition in which the sufferer uses things like laxatives and vomiting to control the amount of food they put in their body. Bulimics can eat normal amounts of food or they can binge eat and consume extremely large amounts of food in one sitting and then they get rid of to avoid weight gain by throwing up the food or by excessive use of laxatives.

Less of the food taken in gets absorbed so the individual can develop symptoms of malnutrition such as fatigue and symptoms related to electrolyte disturbances. Some bulimics abuse various kinds of diet pills and some will fight their fatigue by exercising compulsively so that weight loss can be promoted.

The Medical Effects Associated With Bulimia

Bulimia can result in side effects much worse than fatigue. Inpatient hospital care is often necessary when the condition gets out of control. Untreated bulimia results in death in many cases. It affects the individual’s hydration status resulting in dehydration, magnesium deficiency, potassium deficiency, and sodium deficiency.

Hypokalemia can result in heart arrhythmias and heart failure. Over the long haul, the patient can develop severe vitamin deficiencies and kidney failure due to dehydration. Liver dysfunction can develop as well.

Most people with bulimia have gastrointestinal complaints, such as severe diarrhea and even constipation. Those who vomit frequently will have an increased acid condition in the mouth so that the esophagus and teeth are damaged from the acid.

Stomach ulcers can develop and they often have severely uncomfortable mouth sores from elevated mouth acid.

Bulimic women are often infertile because the condition leads to hormonal changes that subsequently lead to irregular or even absent menstrual periods.

Fatigue

Bulimics tend to have a sense of overall fatigue that causes them to be unable to participate in normal daily activities. Generalized muscle fatigue is another common symptom. Because these individuals have an inability to participate in activities of daily living due to fatigue, they often become very withdrawn and lethargic. The body weight tends to be in the normal range because they keep their body weight normal by purging and taking laxatives. Some bulimics can actually be underweight, especially if they vomit after every meal and don’t take in enough nutrition.

The Psychological Effects Associated With Bulimia

Besides fatigue, bulimics suffer from extreme psychological symptoms. Many of these patients need to first be treated for their physical symptoms and then be treated for their psychological conditions, usually in an inpatient psychiatric center. After that, they go on to outpatient therapy to further their recovery. It is usually insufficient to simply concentrate on the physical symptoms of bulimia to the exclusion of the psychiatric symptoms. When the physical symptoms are handled, the psychological symptoms must be addressed.

Besides extreme fatigue, bulimics also have a higher risk of suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorders, and depression.

Besides therapy, bulimics may need to be on psychotropic medications for depression, anxiety or other psychiatric symptoms. The medications may help reduce the common feelings of shame, depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety. These symptoms not only lead to bulimia but also are the results of having bulimia.

Psychotherapy can help the bulimic’s obsession over their weight and their overall appearance. They may falsely believe that they are overweight when just the opposite may be true. With coping skills and other techniques, they can overcome their disease process and live a healthier life.

The Social Implications Of Bulimia

Bulimics tend to have not much of a social life because fatigue gets in the way of participating in social activities. They may lack the energy to be social with others. Instead of being social, the bulimic becomes increasingly focused on food and their weight. Relationships can be difficult to develop and maintain.

The fatigue can worsen and can become clinical depression. The bulimic often feels worthless and will suffer from a low self-esteem. Because of this, they feel withdrawn and socially isolated. This is why group therapy can be helpful for people with bulimia. In some cases, family therapy can help the family cope with the bulimic’s issues.

Bulimia is a very serious life threatening condition. It is of utmost importance to make sure and get help as soon as possible.

Is Your Diet Making You Feel Tired

Poor Nutrition And Fatigue: Is Your Diet Exhausting You?

Fatigue is strongly related to what you eat, how much you eat, and the timing of meals. There are foods that can make you fatigued and foods that energize you. For example, foods high in tryptophan, like turkey, can cause you to feel fatigued and sleepy. Other foods can improve your nutrition so that you feel immense energy instead of fatigue.

Your body runs off fuel that is provided by the food you eat. Cells that support high energy require carbohydrates, healthy enzymes, proteins, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats in order to run properly.

Your body is less fatigued if you eat a healthy diet, and avoid foods that are processed or too high in sugar and fat.

Fatigue As It Relates To Meal Size

The timing of your meals can affect your level of fatigue. Have you ever felt fatigued or dragged out after eating an especially large lunch or supper?  You feel this way because the body has changed its focus and is expending energy in order to digest the food you just ate and has no more energy left for other things and that is why you feel so tired. In order to avoid feeling this way after meals, you should eat smaller meal portions more frequently and spaced out over the course of your day. This fuels your body on a regular basis and is a good weight loss method as well.

Processed Foods And Fatigue

Things like fast food items are designed for comfort while eating them. Unfortunately, greasy fast food only staves of hunger and does not fight fatigue. Other processed foods, including high sodium canned foods, sugary candy, packaged foods, meals in a box and meat that has already been cooked at the factory are filled with preservatives and salt. These and other aspects of processed foods will make you fatigued after eating them and never provide the body the nutrients it needs.

On the other hand, fresh whole foods do provide all the essential nutrients your body needs and nothing it does not. Vegetables, lean unprocessed meats, wild and brown rice and fruit in moderation are your best choices for high energy packed meals.

Caffeine And Fatigue

While caffeine is technically a stimulant, you feel only a temporary jolt of energy, followed by a crash in which you are greatly fatigued. The less caffeine you consume, the better you will feel in the long run. If you can’t avoid caffeine, just drink plain black coffee. The caffeine in sodas and energy drinks is offset by the sugar and miscellaneous substances found in these foods. These can only make you more tired.

Proteins And Fatigue

Select lean cuts of meat with less saturated fats. Chicken, and fish are good choices, and tuna with tomato and cucumber slices makes a great lunch. Eating fish is especially helpful because it contains omega 3 fatty acids that not only fight fatigue but also help with heart health.

Sugar And Fatigue

Refined carbohydrates like table sugar and the fructose in juices do not provide your body with nutrition. The same is true of white flour and foods made from it. These are foods that cause wide fluctuations in your blood sugar, which leads to fatigue. Instead of sugary foods, eat complex carbohydrates found in vegetables and whole grains. These are slow to digest, which prevents blood sugar spikes because they contain fiber. The fluctuations in blood sugar are diminished and you stand a lesser chance of suffering from fatigue after eating them. Whole oats in the morning make for an energy blast through the day. Raw veggie salad for lunch will get you through the afternoon hump.

Nuts And Fatigue

Nuts are great energy foods, your best choices are Brazil nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, walnuts, and pecans. Eat them in their natural state, unsalted and unflavored to get all the nutrient benefits. Nuts are an excellent pick me up after the nutrition of lunch has worn off and you need an late afternoon snack.

Hydration

Water is essential to fighting fatigue. When you drink plenty of water, you are less dehydrated and your body works better. Make sure you drink more water than you drink coffee and sodas.

Supplements And Fatigue

Not everyone can get all the nutrients they need from the food they eat. If this is you, consider buying and taking a multivitamin. Not all vitamins are created alike, so you’ll want to speak with a doctor or nutritionist about the kinds of nutrients you need to stay healthy and energized.

Final Thoughts

You can keep your energy level up by watching what you eat and when you eat. Nutrient deficiencies can lead to fatigue and this is easily changed by altering your diet to contain plenty of energy-inducing whole fresh food.

Why Do People With Migraines Feel Tired

Migraine Headaches And Fatigue

Migraine headaches are a particularly painful form of headache that is often associated with headache on one side of the head, nausea, vomiting, and photophobia. While migraine headaches can be found in any gender, it is most common among women.

Migraine Fatigue

A great deal of migraine suffers also report fatigue. The fatigue can precede the onset of a migraine headache, and it can occur during a migraine attack as well as following a migraine attack. Not every migraine sufferer reports fatigue but those who have fatigue often feel that their symptoms are disabling and can interfere with the quality of life and the participation in activities of daily living.

Facts About Migraine Fatigue

Migraine fatigue is a common aspect of migraine sufferers, affecting between 70 percent and 84 percent of those who have migraine headaches. It is well known that just the act of being fatigued can be a trigger for getting a migraine headache.

When the headache is underway, the person with the headache often feels fatigue along with the pain they are experiencing. Fatigue, in some cases, can become a warning sign to the migraine sufferer that a migraine headache is imminent.

Fatigue can come to the surface and be a residual symptom even after the headache pain has disappeared. The fatigue can trigger other symptoms of migraine headache to take place. In one study, it was found that about half of all migraine sufferers experience dizziness or the sensation of spinning called vertigo.

The presence of fatigue usually made the vertigo symptoms more prominent. People with migraines are also prone to depression in which fatigue is a typical symptom.

Defining Migraine Fatigue

Several criteria need to be met in order for the diagnosis of migraine fatigue to be made.
These include the following:

• Profound Weakness. The body is physically weak and unable to do normal things.
• Debilitating tiredness. This is the desire to sleep even when you have had a good night’s sleep.
• Uncomfortable malaise. This is the feeling of being sick that can occur after getting a migraine headache or when having the headache.
• Sluggishness. This is the feeling that happens when you don’t want to get out of bed to do things.
• Feeling exhausted. This can occur for a long period of time and is usually brought on by doing any kind of mental or physical activity.
• The feeling of need to sleep all the time. This can occur even after the person has awakened from what should have been a restful sleep.
• Problems with task performance. This means that things you could normally do well before the onset of the migraine headaches become too tiring to accomplish.
• Disabling symptoms. The migraine patient with fatigue can be severely disabled by having this cluster of symptoms.
• Ongoing fatigue after sleeping. Sleeping fails to refresh the person, who wakes up with the same or worse degree of tiredness even after attempting to “sleep it off.”

Migraine fatigue affects many people. In fact, a 2002 research study of 63 people suffering from migraine headaches also had symptoms, which could lead to the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome. CFS is another disorder altogether, which is characterized by extreme fatigue that is not relieved by rest or sleep and which interferes with the person’s quality of life.

CDC Take On Migraine Fatigue

Migraine fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome are interrelated. According to the Centers For Disease Control, the fatigue from these conditions are not relieved by resting or sleeping, is not due to an increase in physical activity and is not a lifelong problem. This kind of fatigue greatly diminishes the individual’s past level of activity.

Along with fatigue, the individual must have at least four of the following eight symptoms:

• Prolonged severe exhaustion after mental or physical activities
• Problems with concentration and memory
• Inability to get a good night’s sleep that refreshes their energy level
• Pain in the muscles
• Headaches, such as is seen in migraine headaches
• Sore neck or axillary lymph nodes
• Recurrent or persistent sore throat.

When fatigue is part of the migraine process, the suffering individual has problems participating in normal daily activities. After the headache, the debilitating fatigue lasts longer than the pain itself.

If you have migraine headaches and believe you are suffering from migraine fatigue, keep a journal of your symptoms and show the journal to your healthcare provide to see if anything can be done to relieve or at least cope with the uncomfortable symptoms.

The Connection Between Fibromyalgia And Fatigue

The Connection Between Fibromyalgia And Fatigue

Fibromyalgia is a medical condition of unknown etiology that causes pain in specific trigger points. More women than men appear to have the disease. There are other symptoms of fibromyalgia besides aches and pains. In fact, a recent survey of forty patients who suffer from fibromyalgia say that the second most annoying symptom after pain is the symptom of fatigue. Unfortunately, many of the clinical trials on fibromyalgia currently underway are focused on how the treatment or medication affects pain and not fatigue.

The individuals surveyed did not know that the subject of the research was on the fatigue of fibromyalgia so they gave honest and open comments indicating that fatigue was a common problem of fibromyalgia without being led to say so. Instead, they were asked open ended questions, such as “What is your experience with the disease of fibromyalgia?”

The participants who partook in the study had fibromyalgia for an average of 6.6 years and were, on average, 49 years of age. In keeping with the epidemiology of fibromyalgia, 70% of participants were women.

The symptoms they spontaneously reported having because of having fibromyalgia included the following:

• Pain (78% of people)
• Fatigue (43% of people)
• Insomnia and other sleeping problems (18% of people)
• Difficulty in mobility (10% of people)

In the study, fibromyalgia fatigue was identified as being an extreme degree of tiredness that was unrelieved by trying to get more rest or sleep. The fatigue was out of proportion to the amount of work the participants did. It didn’t take very much work, for example, for the individual with fibromyalgia to feel extremely fatigued. It wasn’t just the typical form of fatigue.

There were 8 categories of fatigue included in the study. The study participants described each form of fatigue they experienced as part of their daily lives with this condition.
The 8 categories of fatigue included the following:

• Extreme and overwhelming feelings of fatigue (43%); people with this type of fatigue were so strongly affected that they were sometimes unable to do anything at all.
• Fatigue that is not resolved by sleeping or resting (38%); the fatigue was so all encompassing that it lasted in spite of getting an adequate night’s sleep.
• Fatigue that is out of proportion to the amount of effort the patient exerted (63%). This meant that even a little bit of activity contributed to extreme fatigue.
• Feeling heavy or very weak (28%); when fibromyalgia patients feel this symptom, the body feels extremely heavy, lacking in any kind of strength and instead feeling very weak.
• Difficulty in feeling motivated to do anything (83%); this means that it takes an exorbitant amount of effort to get things done or even to get out of bed in the morning to begin one’s day.
• Problems doing activities the patient really wants to do (60%); this means that the degree of tiredness or fatigue is such that the patient can’t engage in tasks that they really want to do.
• Needing to accomplish things more slowly (38%); this means that it takes a longer amount of time to accomplish things because of ongoing feelings of weakness or heaviness.
• Problems concentrating, remembering things, or thinking (68%); in general, it means that the tiredness and fatigue affects the brain in such a way as to impair memory, concentration, clear thinking, and remaining focused.

It was noted that the symptoms did not differ among men and women. The impact of fatigue was the same in both genders and had a significant impact on the sufferer’s life. The actual impact of fatigue as an isolated symptom has yet to be identified.

Can Depression Make Your Feel Tired

Can Depression Make You Feel Tired

Depression is a common mental illness that has fatigue as one of its major symptoms. People may have fatigue related to depression that makes it difficult to participate in daily activities. Even patients who have been treated for depression may have ongoing fatigue. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, commonly used to treat depression, tend not to make you more fatigued but it doesn’t always lift the fatigue associated with this condition.

One of the most difficult aspects of dealing with depression is the fatigue that commonly goes along with the other symptoms of depression.

Because of ongoing fatigue, you may not want to do anything fun and it often interferes with your ability to seek help for the depression. It can be a cyclical problem with fatigue leading to a lack of ability to do things, which leads to a depressed state of mind and even more fatigue.

Dealing with Anergia

Anergia stands for “lack of energy”—a common aspect of depression. If the depression is untreated, the fatigue can become worse so that the person loses muscle strength and stamina from a lack of energy. Only when the depression is managed can the fatigue begin to lift somewhat.

The Treatment of the Fatigue of Depression

Fatigue in depression can be associated with a lack of sleep, inactivity or even with some of the antidepressants used in the management of depression. SSRIs and SNRIs tend not to cause as much fatigue as tricyclic antidepressants but it can still happen. Even when treated, depression can be associated with ongoing fatigue.

Usually the fatigue is related to the depression but it can be due to other conditions unrelated to depression so if it persists for too long, a workup for other causes of depression needs to take place. If it is due to the medication, a change to another antidepressant may be in order. Stimulant medications may need to be added to the SSRI medication in order to resolve any lingering fatigue symptoms.

If the depressed person sees a therapist, they may talk about ways to reduce fatigue with depression. Some ways to cope with depression-related fatigue include staying physically active, socializing more with friends or relatives, trying not to do too much all at once, and being realistic about goal-setting regarding daily activities.

Lifestyle Tips in Fighting Depression Fatigue

There are things that can be done to reduce the level of fatigue in depressed patients. Some helpful tips to reduce fatigue include the following:

• Get Exercise. Daily aerobic exercise can help the depressed patient sleep better so they can awaken refreshed and less fatigued throughout the day. Exercise can be energizing, which is the opposite of what one might think. Think about exercising for thirty minutes a day in an aerobic form of exercise to battle fatigue.

• Eat better. If you eat a diet too high in fat, this can contribute to fatigue. Diets that instead involve eating many carbohydrates can energize you. The types of carbs that have the greatest effect on improving fatigue are complex carbohydrates. You can get many complex carbohydrates by eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. These are more slowly digested that foods containing simple carbohydrates, like candy, pastries, white bread and sodas.

• Sleep using good sleep habits. It is important to get enough sleep in order to fight fatigue. You can sleep better if you don’t eat heavy meals before bedtime, sleep only at night, have a regular sleep habit, and avoid taking in stimulants such as caffeine and alcohol too close to bedtime. Regular exercise can improve sleep and you need good sleep hygiene, such as using the bedroom only for sleep and keeping the bedroom area dark, comfortable for sleeping, and quiet.
Because fatigue can cause a relapse of depression, it is important to tackle the fatigue even after some of the other depressive symptoms have resolved.  

Keep in mind that depression is a highly treatable condition, and it is important to seek professional help if your depression is ongoing and is interfering with your everyday life.