Protect Your Health as You Grow Older

The Basics: Overview

You can take steps to stay healthy and active as you get older. It’s important to:

Keep your body and mind active
Choose healthy foods
Talk to your doctor about any health concerns you have
Take steps to prevent falls
Stay safe while driving

Remember, it’s never too late to make healthy changes in your life.

Learn more about staying healthy as you get older.

Take Action: Stay Active

These steps can help you live a healthier life.

Keep your body active.

Staying active as you get older is one of the best things you can do for your health. Regular physical activity can help you:

Reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, osteoporosis, and some cancers
Improve your balance and prevent falls
Stay independent and live on your own longer
Improve your mood and sleep
Reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression
Improve your ability to think, learn, and make decisions

Keep in mind that if you haven’t been active in the past, it’s not too late to start! Talk with your doctor if you have questions about what activities might work best for you.

Do aerobic activity.

Anything that gets your heart beating faster counts as aerobic activity.

Aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week — and break up the time over the week however you want. Try walking, swimming, or doing yard work.
If you’re just getting started, go slow and do what you can. Even a 5-minute daily walk has real health benefits. Build up to more activity over time.

Get more ideas for aerobic activities you can try.

Do strength, balance, and stretching activities.

Doing different types of physical activity can make it easier to do everyday activities. That's why it's important to:

Do muscle-strengthening activities 2 or more days a week
Do exercises to improve your balance, especially if you're at risk of falling
Do stretching (flexibility) exercises so you can move more easily

If you're doing physical activity outdoors, follow these safety tips. And if you have a health condition, talk with your doctor about the best activities for you.

Take Action: Eat Healthy

Get ideas for eating healthy.

Eating healthy is always important, no matter how old you are. And it’s never too late to make healthy changes to your diet.

Choose a mix of healthy foods you enjoy from each food group, including:

Whole fruits — like apples, berries, oranges, mango, and bananas
Vegetables — like broccoli, sweet potatoes, beets, okra, spinach, peppers, and jicama
Whole grains — like brown rice, millet, oatmeal, bulgur, and whole-wheat bread
Proteins — like lean meats and chicken, eggs, seafood, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds, and tofu
Low-fat or fat-free dairy — like milk, yogurt, cheese, lactose-free dairy, and fortified plant-based alternatives (such as soy milk or soy yogurt)
Oils — like vegetable oil, olive oil, and oils in foods like seafood, avocado, and nuts

Use these resources to:

Take Action: Talk with Your Doctor

Play an active role in your health care.

Your doctor or nurse can help you stay healthy as you get older. Take these steps before and during a visit with your doctor:

Use our tool to get a list of preventive services recommended for you. Print out the list and take it with you to your next doctor’s appointment.
Learn about preventive services covered by the Affordable Care Act. Most health insurance plans must cover preventive services like screenings and vaccines at no cost to you.
Get tips for talking with your doctor or nurse. This can help you get the most out of your medical appointments.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have questions or concerns about your medicines. Get more tips for using medicines safely.
If you think you might be depressed, let your doctor know. Depression is treatable — and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Learn more about depression in older adults.

If you have Medicare, be sure to schedule your Medicare wellness visit every year.

Take Action: Quit Smoking

If you smoke, quit.

Quitting smoking is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) for free help with quitting. You can also:

If you have a history of heavy smoking and you smoke now or have quit within the past 15 years, ask your doctor about screening for lung cancer.

Take Action: Stay Safe

Take steps to prevent falls.

Older adults are at higher risk for serious injuries from falls. Take these steps to lower your risk of falling:

Use this checklist to make your home safer [PDF - 3 MB].
Do exercises to improve your balance.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist to review your medicines. Some medicines can make you dizzy or sleepy. Learn more about using medicines safely.
Get your vision checked every 1 to 2 years. And be sure to get new glasses or contact lenses when your vision changes. Read more about protecting your vision.
If you're worried that you might have hearing loss, get your hearing checked. Learn more about hearing loss.
Learn more about lowering your risk of falls.

Make sure you have smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in your home.

Older adults are more likely to be injured or killed in home fires. To stay safe, put smoke alarms on every floor of your home.

Use long-life smoke alarms if possible. These alarms use lithium batteries and last longer than regular smoke alarms. They also have a “hush button” so you can stop them quickly if there’s a false alarm.

If you use regular smoke alarms, replace the batteries at least once a year.

It’s also important to put carbon monoxide detectors in your home. Carbon monoxide is a gas that you can’t see or smell but that can kill you. Carbon monoxide is found in fumes that form when people burn fuel in vehicles, stoves, grills, fireplaces, and furnaces.

Put carbon monoxide detectors on every floor of your home and replace the batteries at least once a year. You can change your smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector batteries when you change your clocks back from daylight saving time in the fall.

Follow these other tips for using smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors:

Test them once a month by pushing the test button
Put them on every floor of your home and near places where people sleep
Don’t forget to put a smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide detector in the basement
Replace your smoke alarm if it doesn’t work when tested or if it’s more than 10 years old
Replace your carbon monoxide detector if it doesn’t work when tested or if it’s more than 5 years old
Dust or vacuum smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors when you change the batteries

Get more information about smoke alarms [PDF - 3 MB].

Take steps to stay safe while driving.

Getting older doesn’t make you a bad driver. But changes that come with aging can make it harder for you to drive safely. You may have trouble seeing at night or find it harder to react quickly to avoid an accident.

Take steps to stay safe:

Get your vision and hearing checked regularly
Always wear your seat belt
Never use your phone while driving
Plan your route and drive on streets you know

Take Action: Keep Your Memory Sharp

Challenge your mind.

Just like physical activity is good for your body, activities that challenge your mind can help keep your brain healthy.

As you get older, it's important to:

Learn new things — take a class or challenge yourself to read a section of the newspaper that you normally skip
Connect with other people — try sharing meals with a friend or volunteering at a local school
Keep moving — joining a hiking club, trying a dance class, or taking up other active hobbies can benefit not only your physical health but also your brain

If you're forgetting things more often than usual and it’s getting in the way of doing everyday activities, talk with your doctor or nurse. Learn more about memory problems.