Page 40 - Seniors Today -April20

Fitness
Keep active,
be happier
Quarantine or isolation can
lead to deteriorating mental
as well as physical health.
Psychiatrist
Dr Manish Bajpayee explains
how exercising can help you
stay upbeat
When people refrain from going outside,
to prevent the spread and getting infected
by the novel coronavirus, for the elderly it
could lead directly to a deterioration of their
mental and physical health. Seniors or the
elderly citizens spend their days watching
extensive television during such restrictive
times. With the telecast of Ramayana and
other serials of their era, I foresee this more
so!
This may result in them being preoccupied
with a medium which paralyses and
restricts movement for long periods of time.
Meals are eaten in a quick fashion, there
is no talking to others and resultant their
physical and intellectual activities drop,
making them frail physically and mentally.
In such a state, their ability to recover from
an illness, as well as their immune systems,
are compromised. It has been said that the
amount of muscle an elderly person loses
when bedridden for two weeks is equivalent
to a few years’ worth of muscle loss.
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Exercise improves mental health
In numerous studies it has been found that
inactive elderly vis-à-vis the active were found
to have more emotional problems, depression
and problems with sleep. Sleep disorders
and an earlier onset of cognitive deterioration
accompanied the inactive groups studied. A
study on the elderly with depression found that
after being prescribed medication and exercise
in comparison to only medication, the former
improved rapidly. In fact, the authors noted
that the exercise group was able to sustain the
gains and had fewer relapses and they lived
longer.
The state of the present society is movement
driven, but a large percentage of the population
doesn’t exercise adequately. In addition, the
present spread of COVID-19, the prescription of
social isolation and to be indoors, the panic due
to the rising cases and the rumours circulating
paralyses the most robust and active members
of society. For the elderly, it results in a fear of
movement and a restriction of life.