Adults aged 65 and over should:
- aim to be physically active every day, even if it’s just light activity. Try to reduce the time you spend sitting and change a sedentary lifestyle
- do activities that improve strength, balance and flexibility at least 2 days a week
- do at least 2 ½ hours of moderate intensity activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity if you are already active, or a combination of both.
- reduce time spent sitting or lying down and break up long periods of not moving with some activity
Healthy Activity
Make sure that the exercise you do is appropriate to your fitness and speak to your GP if you have a medical condition or concerns.
Light ACTIVITY may include: getting up to make a cup of tea, moving around your home, walking at a slow pace, cleaning and dusting, vacuuming, making the bed, standing up.
Moderate ACTIVITY will raise your heart rate, and make you breathe faster and feel warmer. One way to tell if you’re working at a moderate intensity level is if you can still talk, but not sing.
Vigorous ACTIVITY makes you breathe hard and fast. If you’re working at this level, you will not be able to say more than a few words without pausing for breath.
In general, 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity can give similar health benefits to 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity and most moderate intensity activities can become vigorous if you increase your effort.
Thank you for reading this weeks blog, Healthy Activity.
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