With the Baby Boomer generation reaching their senior years, many people are starting to reconsider what aging looks like. It is no longer enough for seniors to sit on a porch on a swing for their later years. Many seniors want to enjoy good health and active lives even at the ages of sixty, seventy, and older.  Senior life does not have to consist of aches and pains, pills and doctor visits. With September being Healthy Aging Month, consider these tips to help your senior years be some of the happiest, most active, most productive decades of your life.

Monitor for health issues.

The best time to start planning for good health in your senior years is when you are 40 or 50 years old. However, it is never too late to start down the road toward healthy habits. The following three things can help you achieve healthy aging.

If you have always been the type to avoid going to the doctor, you may want to make an appointment for a full physical. Your doctor can spot problems while they are still small and more easily treated. Additionally, your doctor can advise you on good habits to develop to keep you healthy and strong into your senior years.

Stay at a healthy weight.

If you are currently overweight, take steps to get to a healthier weight. As you get older, losing weight is no longer just about vanity. It is about avoiding terrible health problems that are associated with carrying too much weight.  Problems like limited mobility, diabetes, and heart disease can often be improved or even completely avoided by staying at a healthy weight.

Keep active.

The key to a busy, fun-filled senior life is staying active. Of course, there will be a few more aches and pains after a day spent in the garden, but maintaining a physically active life will help you stay fitter longer. When it comes to physical fitness, the thing to keep in mind is "Use it or lose it." Not only do you need to work on your endurance with things like walking or hiking, but things like strength and flexibility should be considered too.

Cultivate a Strong Brain

One of the biggest fears of many seniors is losing their capacity to remember things, think things through logically, and make decisions. Many Baby Boomers have personally watched their own parents lose their memories, their capabilities, and their dignity as dementia damaged their brains. While doctors realize that the aging brain will lose some efficiency, they are also learning that when people challenge their minds, their brains grow and stay functional. The following things can boost your brain power as you grow older.

• Mental puzzles, like Sudoku or Scrabble
• Taking a new route to a familiar place
• Learning a musical instrument
• Listening to a completely different style of music for a week
• Exposing yourself to new viewpoints, political, religious, or otherwise
• Traveling to an unusual locale
• Memorizing things, like your grocery list, to-do list, or just an inspirational speech or poem
• Learning new technological skills
• Taking up a new hobby

Don't Neglect Emotional Health

Scientists are learning that emotional health contributes greatly to a person's physical health. Those who are lonely are at an increased risk of dying than those who have frequent social contacts. Humans are social creatures and, although the need for companionship can vary depending on the person, everyone needs people around them on a regular basis. If you struggle maintaining social contacts, you may need to join an organization that has frequent meetings. Churches, lodges, clubs, and charitable groups can help you make and keep friends.

Additionally, depression is another emotional health issue common to seniors. Depression is not a character flaw; it is a medical condition that can be successfully treated. If you feel hopeless, lethargic, and have little interest in life, you may want to seek treatment for depression.

Senior life looks drastically different in the twenty-first century than it has in past eras. Getting older does not have to mean that your best years are in the past. You can enjoy good health, a lively social life, and stay as active as ever.