Attitudes toward healthy aging

By Lee Sun-ho

Looking at pictures taken a couple of decades ago, I cannot help but notice the change in my appearance. I looked at my friends in those pictures, and I could scarcely remember what they looked like when we were young. I do not believe aging to be reversible, and hopefully, one day, everyone will get to age magnificently.

There are numerous websites devoted to the process of aging gracefully and how we learn what to do to keep our bodies and minds in good shape throughout life. It is even more important now, as we witness numerous pandemics and outbreaks, such as the MERS situation in Korea.

Recently, I happened to read an Anchor Books edition (January 2007) entitled “Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Well-Being,” written by Andrew Weil, M.D., arguably one of America’s best-known doctors. It contains daily updates for a healthy lifestyle and more.

Throughout the book, I read some of the dos and don’ts with amusement. I have become more familiar with doctors for one reason or another as I have aged. During the past few decades, I have maintained my good habits, and tried to change my lifestyle to benefit my body and mind, even though this is far from easy.

It is encouraging to hear that people who nap generally enjoy better mental health and efficiency than people who do not. It is not hard to know that napping is a good thing, even though the timing and duration of naps are important. A period of being awake at night complements my day nap, giving adequate rest and sleep. It also is good to spend some time outdoors, as I often do while playing golf and hiking in the hills.

I believe that aging brings rewards as well as challenges and losses. I learned how important physical activity and stress management are for our lives. We have access to better medical treatments for age-related diseases and better knowledge about dietary supplements.

To age gracefully requires us to stop denying our aging, and learn and practice what we have to do. I will provide a brief list of instructions in the book. Briefly, they are eating an anti-inflammatory diet, doing regular, moderate physical activity for your mind as well as your body, maintaining social and intellectual connections throughout your life, and using the experience of aging as a stimulus for spiritual awakening and growth.

I find it more useful to think of aging as a continuous and necessary process of change that begins with learning about how to live in appropriate ways to maximize health and happiness. My age of mid-70s is enough time for organs of the body to show signs of failing when the first hints of age-related diseases begin to grow.

As The Washington Post indicates, “Dr. Weil’s common-sense approach to lifelong well-being has a myriad of hopeful and reassuring appeals and messages,” not only to myself but also to every aging senior citizen in my surroundings, by using a uniquely effective combination of traditional and nontraditional approaches to good health. I may certainly conclude, “Well prepare for healthy aging with your own will and wisdom, then go with the flow. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.”

The writer is an outside director of Samyang Tongsang Co. in Seoul. He can be reached at kexim2@unitel.co.kr.