Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging - Spring 2023

IN THIS ISSUE

Three Tips for a

Healthier Spring

What Does it Mean

to Age Well?



Are You at Risk for

a Fall?

Feature Program:

Living Well

Hello! We know good health is important to you because you've taken a WIHA health promotion workshop in the past. It's important to us, too! That's why we're sending you this newsletter full of information to help people in Wisconsin age well. Watch for a new issue coming your way every couple of months.

Help Yourself to Better Health

Three Tips for a Healthier Spring

Spring is a great time to make health and wellness a priority. With the days getting longer and a little bit more green in your landscape, you might feel more motivated to make some changes to improve your health. Even small changes can produce big health benefits and boost your mood. Here are three tips for improving your well-being as the weather warms up:

Get moving: For people age 65 and older, 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity is recommended. Not only is it good for your physical health, but it can also lift your mood. Walking is a great way to fit your exercise in - just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week will do it. Click here to learn more and find a physical activity program.

Get a good night's sleep. Sleep is vitally important to good health at any age and has a positive affect on memory, weight management, mood and immune system. Older adults need about 7 to 9 hours each night. If that's a challenge for you, there are things you can do to improve the amount and quality of your sleep including a conversation with your doctor. Click here to learn more and find strategies for better sleep.

Stay connected. We all feel lonely or isolated now and then. But if you feel that way all or most of the time, you can take steps to increase your connections. Reach out to friends and family and make plans to get together. Check out the volunteer opportunities in your community. Adopt a pet. Get active in a community organization. Click here to learn more and find ideas to create connections and purpose.

Anytime is a is a great time to help yourself to better health. Why not start this spring? Use these tips and more to stay well!

Welcome to WIHA!

Healthy communities filled with healthy people enjoying life to the fullest – that’s something we can all get behind!

The Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging is here to help you age well.

WIHA is a non-profit organization. We work with local communities across the state to bring you programs and alert you to strategies that can help you age well. Our programs can help you prevent a fall, manage a health problem, be more physically active and more. What makes these programs special is that they have been researched and proven to help you stay healthy as you grow older.

Visit our website and get to know us. We want to help you age well!

Aging Today

What Does it Mean to Age Well?

Aging well can mean different things to different people, but there are some universal themes that most agree on. WIHA surveyed over 700 people in Wisconsin between the ages of 70 and 87 to find out what healthy aging means to them. Nearly 86% of people said that ‘aging well’ meant they could physically do the things they want to do when they’re older. For 76% of respondents, aging well meant 1) being surrounded by people they love (not lonely), 2) able to continue to learn new things and improve skills, and 3) having enough money to take care of themselves and their family.

Research has identified 8 Dimensions of Wellness that impact our perceptions of aging well. Here are three of them:

Physical Health: Ensuring your body can do the things you want when you’re older. Exercise, nutrition, injuries and other health problems, medications, sleep, and more all play a big role in your physical health.

Intellectual Health: Continuing to learn new things and improve skills. From reading to taking a class to learning a new hobby, all of these activities can stimulate new interests and keep your mind active.

Financial Health: Having enough money to take care of yourself and family and have the resources to do the things you want to do. Financial health is impacted by the choices we make, the planning we do, and life circumstances.

Learn more about these and the other five dimensions of wellness and how you can improve your life in each of these areas.

> Click here to read more

Video: What is Healthy Aging?

Want to learn more about WIHA and our healthy aging programs? Check out the video above, then visit our website at the link below.

What does healthy aging mean to you?

We'd love to learn more about you and how you feel about growing older. Click the button below and tell us what healthy aging means to you.

Help Yourself to Better Health

Are You at Risk for a Fall?

Did you know that 1 in 4 people over the age of 65 has a fall each year? Wisconsin has the highest death rate due to falls in this age group in the entire country. The good news is that falls are not a normal part of aging - they can be prevented!

Preventing a fall starts with knowing your risk.

If you're not sure, ask your doctor for a falls risk assessment at your next visit. You can take a free self-assessment from the National Council on Aging at the link below.

Knowledge is power. Take the quiz below and test your knowledge of falls. Then, visit the WIHA website to learn more about Stepping On - a program to show you how to reduce your falls risk.

Help Us

Help You!

We want your opinion! We're looking for input on a new project and would like to know what you think.

The first ten people to sign up and participate in this 1-hour online Zoom meeting will receive a Walgreens or CVS gift card.

Space is limited. Sign up below with your email address:

Featured Program

Living Well

Helping you take control of your health by giving you the tools to manage your chronic condition

Chronic health problems such as arthritis, cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, or other conditions are common as we get older. In fact, nearly 95% percent of older adults have at least one chronic condition, and nearly 80% of have two or more. If an ongoing health problem is keeping you from activities that you enjoy, you are not alone.

Living Well with Chronic Conditions (or Living Well) is a fun, interactive, 6-session workshop that helps you take charge, feel better, and improve your health. Living Well was developed at Stanford University and is evidenced-based to reduce emergency department visits by 27%.

Participants sing the praises of the program.

“By us sharing our experiences and being able to connect participants with health care providers that have helped us in the past. We are always sharing with others and helping get other people involved in these programs because we know it can help them” - Jim Coffman, Vilas County

If you have a chronic condition, learn strategies to better manage it by visiting the link below.

Diabetes and You

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 10 adults in the United States have diabetes. Diabetes affects how your body turns food into energy. Most of the food that we eat is broken down into sugar and enters our bloodstream. Insulin, which is a hormone made in the pancreas, picks up the sugar and helps bring it to the body’s cells to use for energy. If there’s not enough insulin, then there’s a problem.

> Read more

Find a Workshop

Take charge of your health by taking a WIHA program. We offer in-person and virtual (online or by phone) programs that give you the tools to age well. Getting started is easy - simply click the link below.

Thanks for reading to the end!

We hope you found the information in this newsletter helpful. Let us know!