One Way to Find Out if You Are Healthy for Your Age

Learning about your health status is important at different age stages, it will help you seek medical help when necessary and take necessary actions to enhance your quality of life. The following are simple ways experts recommend to measure your health status at different age stages.

Resting Heart Rate and How to Measure it

Your resting heart rate is one of the most reliable health status indicators. A high resting rate for instance is associated with increased risks of certain diseases, including heart problems while a lower resting rate may indicate a healthy heart function and cardiovascular fitness.

Faster heart rates may be caused by infections, anemia, and overactive thyroid among several other things, hence you should seek medical help immediately.

Measuring resting heart rate can be a lot easier with wearable devices like fitness trackers. While these devices are efficient, you should rather take your pulse by counting the number of times your heart beats in a minute. Make sure you sit still for about 10 minutes before counting to be sure your heart is in a resting phase.

Your wrist is the easiest spot on your body to find your pulse. Stretch one of your hands out so your eyes are on your palm, then use the index and middle fingers of the other hand and place their pads on the inside of your wrist at the base of your thumb. Press the fingers down lightly and press slightly harder if you don’t feel anything.

Once you detect your pulse, continue feeling it for about 30 seconds. Pay attention to see if the pulse is regular or not. Work out your heart rate in beats per minute by either counting the beats for 6 seconds and then multiplying by 10 or completing the counting in 60 seconds straight.

The normal resting heart rate is different from one individual to the other based on health and age. For most adults, the normal resting rate should be between 60 and 100.

Remember, your pulse may increase during the day when performing daily tasks, however, a resting rate higher than 100 is unhealthy for most people, and you should book an appointment with your doctor. Some symptoms you should watch out for at higher resting rates include fainting, dizziness, extreme tiredness, and palpitations.

Another thing you should consider is that your resting heart rate may become lower if you exercise regularly or take Beta-clocker medications. Having said this, a resting heart rate lower than 60 beats per minute (bpm) is considered too slow for most people.

How do You Improve Your Resting Heart Rate?

Indulging in regular, moderate-intensity activities including brisk walking, and cycling can improve heart health which in turn boosts resting heart rates. Consuming Mediterranean diets rich in fruits and veggies, beans, brown rice, pasta, and wholegrain bread can also help. You should also aim at consuming fatty fish, and unsaturated fats like olive oil while cutting down drastically or avoiding stimulants like caffeine, tobacco, and nicotine.

Conclusion

There are several other ways through which you can find out if you are healthy for your age, these include; waist-to-hip ratio, and blood pressure measurements. It is important to constantly take these measurements to be sure you are as healthy as possible. Physical examinations are not enough to evaluate your fitness levels for your age, you need periodic medical checkups for any underlying conditions. It is also important to seek medical help if you have a high resting heart rate that lasts for longer periods. Experts in the medical field recommend regular medical checkups at least once every 2 years for those above the age of 40.

This piece was originally written by me and shared on other platforms.