What the Doctor Said: Staying Healthy at Every Stage of Life

From childhood to late adulthood, there are different things to consider to stay healthy.

There are many stages we go through in this life. From childhood to adulthood, we need to consider what factors will affect our physical and mental health.

The amount of exercise and dietary needs of a 10-year-old are much different than those of a 65-year-old. Knowing how to prepare for every stage of life is important. Even if you’re not in that stage, you may be caring for someone who is.

It’s important to know how to stay healthy and listen to your doctor’s advice for the various stages of life.

In this article, we’ll take the important thing you’ll need to consider at every stage of life including:

• Childhood
• Adolescence
• Adulthood
• Late adulthood

Childhood is a time when kids can live a care-free life, but it’s important to start growing healthy habits.

Childhood

Since the infant and toddler stages are much shorter and are very much reliant on their parents, let’s skip ahead to the childhood stage. This stage of life includes kids in the 5-12-year-old range.

Now, when children are in this stage of life, they do still rely heavily on their parents — so it’s important to understand how to care for their changing needs. But you’ll also want to be teaching them how to begin taking care of themselves in this stage of life.

Here are a few tips to help children stay healthy:

• Start the day with a healthy breakfast
• Eat lots of vegetables and fresh fruits
• Drink plenty of water
• Make playtime and active time
• Encourage children to participate in sports
• Take walks as a family
• Limit screen time for younger children

Mental health is another important factor during the childhood stage of life. As a parent, you can help build your children’s confidence and self-esteem and teach them how to prepare themselves for the future.

Here are a few ways you can help your child achieve good mental health:

• Provide them with unconditional love. Make sure they know it’s not only about good grades and touchdowns.
• Help them build the confidence and self-esteem they need for the future.
• Always provide them with guidance and discipline when needed. They don’t know how to navigate the world around them or how to manage their emotions.

With the right guidance and support, childhood can help set your kids up for a healthy life. In this stage of their lives, they are constantly learning and growing with the world around them. Set them up for success to take on anything life sends their way.

As children move into the teen years, they need more physical activity and sleep than they may have required in earlier years.

Adolescence

The next life stage we’ll take a look at is when children move into the adolescence stage, also known as the teenage years. Adolescence is defined as the age group ranging from 10-19.

In this stage, you still have some responsibility for your child’s health. But as they progress into the later years of adolescence, they will start making their own decisions and will not rely as much on your care — that’s why practicing good habits early in life is so important.

Just as during childhood, there are a variety of things to consider both physically and mentally during this stage of life.

Here are a few tips to help promote a healthy lifestyle and keep physical health in check:

• Teens should be exercising regularly, with at least 60 minutes of exercise each day
• A healthy diet is still very important for their growing bodies
• They need to get enough sleep every night, it’s suggested between 9 and 9.5 hours each night
• Dental hygiene is very important and they should be brushing and flossing teeth every day

The adolescence stage can be a very stressful time for teens. During this stage of life, kids are trying to learn who they are, what they like, and how they manage the stress of the world around them.

Focusing on mental health is very important during this stage of life. Here are a few tips to navigating mental health during this time:

• Learn how to manage stress
• Know the signs of mental illness such as anxiety and depression
• Pay attention to your moods and feelings
• Avoid substance use or abuse
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help when needed

Adolescence is a big step in growing up. It’s when a child begins to make their own decisions and take control of their lives. Creating the right habits early on will help your children grow into healthy and happy adults.

Adulthood brings its own challenges and stress. Learning to properly manage this is important.

Adulthood

Once you’ve entered your 20s you’re now into the world of adulthood. While there are three stages of adulthood, early, middle, and late, we’ll address the first two into one in this article. That means this section is talking about adults ages 20-59.

While this is a large age range to cover in one section, we’ll make sure to hit on the important steps for everyone. Keeping in mind that a 50-year-old may have more health concerns than a newly entered 20-year-old.

First, let’s take a look at some of the top things you can do to stay healthy during all of your adult years:

• Choose whole grains such as whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, or brown rice
• Include a mix of colorful veggies to your diet
• Pay close attention to portions to avoid overeating
• Make physical activity a priority, even if it’s just taking a walk each night
• Properly manage any medical conditions, early prevention can make a big difference
• Make sure you’re getting the proper amount of sleep

As an adult, it’s much easier to find yourself overweight or experiencing health problems due to poor health habits. Changing your diet and adding exercise into your daily life is very important to living a long healthy life.

But mental health is still an important factor for adults. Here are a few tips for managing your mental health during your adult years:

• Eating well and enough sleep will also help your mental health
• Avoid substance abuse as they can act as depressants
• Learn how to manage your daily stress
• Find an activity you enjoy doing and make time for it
• Connect with friends and family, don’t isolate yourself
• Ask for help if you feel you’re mental health is being impacted

Adulthood is a large portion of your life and you’ll be making all the calls. It comes with a lot of ups and downs and that’s why it’s so important to focus on both your physical and mental health during this time of life.

Late adulthood is a time to enjoy doing what you love — don’t let health concerns stop you.

Late Adulthood

Once you’ve reached 60 years or older, you’ve entered into late adulthood. During this time, your needs will change and may even require the assistance of another. This means that you may not be in this stage yourself, but you may have an aging parent you’re helping take care of.

While many of the same things apply for adults in this age group, there are some additional considerations to take into account.

Here are a few tips to keep yourself healthy during this time of life:

• Exercise is still important but may look different now and can include water aerobics and leisurely walks
• Meals should still be well-rounded and you’ll need to manage portions more than ever
• You need to keep your brain active to avoid cognitive decline
• Build relationships with others around you and avoid social isolation
• Practice prevention to avoid preventable falls and illnesses
• Manage any existing conditions and always visit your doctor on a regular basis

Those who are in the late adulthood stage of life need to actively manage any health conditions they have. At a certain point, they may rely on family members or other caregivers to help keep them on track.

Mental health is still a factor for adults in the later adulthood stage. This is often seen in the form of depression. Here are a few ways for people in their later adult life can work to prevent depression:

• Prepare for big life changes like retirement or moving out of your home
• Stay in touch with family
• Make friends and remain social
• Exercise can help life moods
• Find a hobby that you enjoy

By managing your physical and mental health throughout your life, you can live a long healthy and happy life. Move through the different stages of life with confidence and knowing you’re providing your body with what it needs to thrive.

by Christy Maurer