As I am writing this, I have just been ill with a nasty stomach bug and surprisingly enough, it made me think of getting older.

I know that many older people are active and manage lots of things during the day, just like their younger counterparts. But what really hit me was the realisation that I couldn’t move as fast as I would have wanted to. And I felt woozy and imbalanced all the time.

Several years ago, a group of students from a Finnish University of Applied Sciences made a simulator suit that would replicate how it is to be an elderly person. Sadly, I didn’t manage to test that, as it would have been a good lesson. Maybe this kind of simulator would be a good lesson to each and everyone of us?

Being able to move slowly and having really to think where to lean to when putting on my shoes made me appreciate the so-called normal situation of an adult man. Normally, I would just jump out of bed and take our doggos out without a second thought. And all of a sudden, I needed assistance to even properly get out of bed as I was really feeling so weak. I got the doggos out to the garden patch, and after that, I went back in. Few steps up to the lift, and I was knackered!

Yes, we all get older and, eventually, old. But maybe it is not this inevitability that we need to concentrate on, but instead – what can we do now to make our future and aging better?

If a stomach bug can make us bedridden for a day or two, what kind of old age are we looking at? Should we not be more physically active and try to keep that up? But is it only the physical side of it?

I tried a 10-minute mental exercise and felt totally drained after that. It was like my mind was too tired to hold concentration even for a moment, and at the same time, my body felt tired beyond measure.

To keep fit and our brain active, we need to really look after ourselves each and every day. We should stay curious and questioning, we should not use cars to get to the nearby supermarkets, but instead we should walk there with our significant other.

Have a great day everyone, stay healthy!