Better Posture Makes You Look and Feel Younger

One thing I've noticed since moving to Ocean Hills Country Club, is that many older people have poor posture and a change in walking gait.  Stooped shoulders and tilted head, along with  a slower walking gait, can make you look a lot older than you really are.  Posture reflects your level of confidence and the condition of your health to people around you.  As we age, our posture tends to deteriorate, resulting in drooped shoulders and a rounded back.  However, it is possible to prevent bad posture and even improve it as one grows older.

A number of factors lead to poor posture.  Loss of bone density is a big factor.  Loss of calcium and other minerals lead to thinner bones and less space between spinal vertebrae which leads to less fluid in the spin.  The result is that the spinal column becomes curved and compressed, and posture becomes stooped.  The neck often tilts forward too.  Accompanying this might be a change in gait.  Walking becomes slower, stride becomes shorter, and there is less swinging of the arms.  All of this contributes to a look that may make you appear years older than you really are.  What can you do about it?  Plenty.

Eating a healthy diet is the first and foremost thing you can do for your body.  Calcium and Vitamin D are especially important as we age.  We should be taking 1,200 mg. of calcium each day, either in the food we eat or supplements.  Vitamin D dosage should be a minimum of 400-800 units per day.  Most doctors recommend more.  Exercise is the next important element in  maintaining good posture.  Modern lifestyle has forced us to be more dependent on machines and technology.  This is good in many respects, but it has made us more sedentary.  Spending hour hunched over a computer helps to reinforce rounded shoulders.  Concentrating on sitting erect, pushing your shoulders back, and working on core strength will help maintain good posture.

Many exercise classes for seniors include a  posture and balance component.  This is so important, and most of the exercises can be done at home.  Just standing against a wall with shoulders pressed to the wall is good to prevent rounding shoulders.  As I walk around the village I notice 70 year olds that look much older due to posture, and 95 year olds that look years younger due to good posture.  There is one many at the dog park, age 95, who stands straight and tall and appears decades younger than he actually is.  Genetics plays a role in your posture and gait, but there is so much we can do to improve it.  Good posture gives you confidence, and that's something we can all use.