Families For Life | The Art of Ageing Gracefully

“Grow old with me! The best is yet to be.” Those famous lines by poet Robert Browning capture the dream of every happily married couple to have a partnership that only sweetens with age.

Sometimes, the reality of growing older may not always be the stuff that dreams are made of, but you can increase the likelihood of making your senior years together happy with the following ideas:

1. Embrace the inevitable changes

Wrinkles. Age spots. Hair loss and weight gain in unexpected places. As the physical signs of ageing become more obvious, health issues may also increase, along with the kids moving away, and for some, a loss of income due to retirement.

The chances are, the person you are living with now is very different from the one you walked down the aisle with. You may also have become the caregiver of an ailing spouse. While some of these changes may cause a lot of stress and tension, anticipating and embracing these changes is an important key to psychological health. Accept what you can’t change and be willing to adapt.

2. Take proactive steps to stay fit and healthy

Keep fit and boost vitality together with some simple health habits. Drink plenty of water and help your spouse cook healthy meals that are rich in fibre, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.

Ensure that both of you stay up to date with your immunisations and health screenings, and exercise daily to improve your strength, flexibility, and balance. Try working out together as a couple and nudge each other on while brisk walking, swimming, playing badminton or doing tai-chi exercises. Or workout at home with body weights or stretching and balancing exercises.

3. Find ways to have fun together

Still have those ukuleles lying around the home somewhere? Rekindle old passions and pick up a long neglected hobby, or try out something new together. It can be as simple as gardening, cooking or watching movies together.

Challenge your spouse to a video game! Or try pitting your wits against each other with board games, chess or card games—these encourage higher level strategic thinking and problem-solving skills. If something more physical is up your alley, consider doing charity work together, dancing or going on hikes together.

Learning something new—such as a recipe, a skill, a game, computer skills or an instrument—is wonderful for your brain health, slows down memory loss, and adds joy and meaning to life.

While life will often pull and tug at the bonds of the best of relationships, you can embrace healthy ageing with your other half by adapting to change, staying physically and socially active, and trying new things! Then truly, you can say that better things are yet to be.