Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance.
Exercise sends oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lung health improve, you have more energy to tackle daily chores.
Need an emotional lift? Or need to lower stress after a stressful day? A gym session or brisk walk can help. Physical activity stimulates many brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier, more relaxed and less anxious.
You also may feel better about your appearance and yourself when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem.
Worried about heart disease? Hoping to prevent high blood pressure? No matter what your current weight is, being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the “good” cholesterol, and it decreases unhealthy triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly, which lowers your risk of heart and blood vessel, called cardiovascular, diseases.
Regular exercise helps prevent or manage many health problems and concerns, including:
It also can help improve cognitive function and helps lower the risk of death from all causes.
Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help you keep off lost weight. When you take part in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn.
Regular trips to the gym are great, but don’t worry if you can’t find a large chunk of time to exercise every day. Any amount of activity is better than none. To gain the benefits of exercise, just get more active throughout your day. For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator or rev up your household chores. Consistency is key.
Reaching a milestone birthday provides an opportunity to start or continue taking steps toward being proactive with your health.
“Midlife is about looking back and looking ahead at where you want to go and how you want to age successfully,” Amin summarizes.
“If you’re approaching 50, are 50, or are a little bit older, it’s not too late,” says Biggers. This is a great time in life to check in and be sure you’re on track with testing, screenings, and vaccinations that are appropriate for your age.
“Advocating for oneself and getting those screenings done is very important,” Varma adds.
A primary care professional can help you navigate preventive care and stay healthy. If you haven’t already, our experts recommend finding a physician who you’re comfortable with who can make recommendations based on your specific needs and lifestyle.
Together, you can ensure you know all the necessary steps to take control of your health in the next chapter of your life.
Most insurance plans cover regular screenings and checkups that are recommended by medical guidelines. But if you have concerns about your ability to pay for screening or testing, it’s important to know that you have options.
Federally Qualified Health Centers, for example, provide medical care for people in underserved locations. Payment is based on a sliding scale.
Other resources for accessing affordable healthcare include:
Local and state health departments may also provide some preventive services, such as flu or COVID-19 vaccines or HIV testing.
Our expert panel acknowledged that it can be hard to navigate all these resources and find out what’s available to you. Fortunately, you’re not alone.
Many community and academic health centers, as well as Federally Qualified Health Centers, have navigators and social workers to help you identify the resources available to you and understand how to take advantage of these opportunities. Your healthcare team or insurance company should be able to help connect you with people in these roles.
You can also find help identifying and navigating resources from:
The number of people with mental health concerns has been increasing in the United States, and people at this age are no exception. This has been especially pronounced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Results from the National Poll on Healthy Aging found that up to two-thirds of adults 50 to 80 years of age had trouble with their mental health during the pandemic, including 1 in 4 with worsening anxiety and 1 in 5 with worsening depression.
Many people reaching midlife are facing new challenges related to their health or everyday living. Even if you don’t recognize it right away, this can affect your mental health.
Screening for mental health concerns in older adults is a relatively new recommendation in the medical field. Biggers says that it may not be on the radar for all doctors, so be sure to bring it up and be honest with your healthcare team about how you’re feeling.
Some people might think of vaccines as something done in childhood, but vaccination offers an opportunity to boost your immune system when it needs it most. There are also certain vaccines that are recommended beginning in adulthood.
“As we age, our immune systems can start to weaken,” explains Varma. This means that your immune system has a harder time fighting off infections and increases the chance that you may get very sick from them.
It also means that the immunity you got from previous vaccinations can start to decrease. This is where booster shots play a role.
Our experts recommended that by age 50, you should consider getting the following:
You may also want to discuss the HBV vaccine with your doctor. While this vaccine is now regularly given during childhood, it wasn’t considered a routine vaccine until 1991, meaning most people turning 50 haven’t had theirs yet.
Our experts also emphasized that vaccination isn’t just about protecting your health; it’s also about protecting the health of those around you. Illnesses such as pertussis or the flu can be very serious for young children, like grandchildren, or older adults. Keeping yourself healthy and protected can help keep loved ones around you safe as well.
The likelihood of developing most types of cancer increases with age. All cancers have different recommendations for when to begin screening and how often it should be repeated.
Some types of cancer screenings to consider having done at this time include:
You should also ask about certain types of cancer screenings that may be recommended based on your personal risk factors.
An anal pap smearTrusted Source, for example, is recommended for people who may be more likely to develop anal cancer, including:
Additionally, people with a history of smoking should be screened annually for lung cancer starting at age 50.
If you smoke, now is also a great time to talk with your doctor about how to lower your risk for lung cancer. Even among people with a history of heavy smoking, quitting can reduce the likelihood of developing lung cancer by 39%Trusted Source over 5 years, according to some research.
Cancer screenings should begin sooner than age 50 in many cases, but this represents a great time to catch up or get back on track if needed. Regular screening supports early detection, which makes cancer more treatable.
For instance, when breast cancer is caught in the early stages before it has spread, 99%Trusted Source of people survive at least 5 years after diagnosis. That figure drops to 29% if the cancer isn’t caught until it has already spread to other parts of the body.
“Earlier detection can save lives,” emphasizes Biggers.
“Bloodwork is a means of detection of illness early on,” explains Dr. Shilpa Amin, a family practitioner and geriatrician based in Ashburn, Virginia.
Many chronic conditions, such as diabetes, develop over time. You may not have symptoms right away, so waiting until you start feeling unwell can mean more complications down the road.
“Sometimes people don’t even present [to their doctor] until they already have complications,” Varma added. Bloodwork can help with early detection and monitoring so that you can be proactive about prevention and treatment.
Some types of bloodwork that may be done when turning 50 include:
Bloodwork is performed on an ongoing basis to monitor for early warning signs of illness. Most tests are done annually or every other year. If your results are abnormal, or if your doctor has reason to be concerned about your risk for disease, they may be repeated every 3 to 6 months.
The timing of follow-up testing depends on many factors, including: