Your health is certainly a very important aspect of your life. As you know, when you age, your health state becomes more delicate. So, if you have not been taking care to preserve your good health up to this point, now is essentially a time to consider it and no time to spare either. While various healthy diets and all forms of suitable exercises are in the cards, have you thought of how to shop your way to good health? How can it affect your health? Yes, it can affect our wealth, if we go overboard in shopping sprees but how would our health be linked? Here are some insights into why shopping can be good for you and what impact it carries on your health.
Benefits of Shopping
Studies conducted at the Institute of Population Health Sciences in Taiwan suggest that shopping regularly increases your health and helps you live longer. The studies further revealed that people who shopped on a daily basis had a 27% lower risk of death than people who shopped less often. Of course, it must be emphasized that it is not the actual task of shopping that is beneficial, but the act of getting out of the house, socializing and being physically active. Research suggests that walking from one shop to another can burn approximately 400 calories a day.
Shopping Puts You on a Natural High
In addition, shopping is an enjoyable task. When you do things you enjoy, you increase the activity in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain. This is the section of your brain associated with pleasure and positive thinking. The release of dopamine when happy can be extremely beneficial by helping you to feel satisfied and contented, thereby, reducing your stress levels. The socializing that comes with shopping can prevent depression and feelings of loneliness. Speaking to the salespersons and even people who sit next to you when your feet are tired can take away the loneliness. However, shopping on a daily basis may be hard on the wallet. Therefore, we suggest you purchase the minimum of items and do more of window-shopping. Now that you know the benefits of shopping, get out there and do some window shopping and speak to people and have a good time and later on in the year, the dollars you save from the health bills can be used to do some real shopping!
Senior Retirement Communities with Shopping Nearby
If you are living in an active adult community, you may not need the added benefit of shopping for your health. These communities are geared to provide the active adult all the social interactions and exercise needed to stay fit and healthy. However, once in a while, you may wish to go shopping with your friends to just “chill out”. There are several communities that are located in proximity to shopping centers. If you lived in one of these communities, you could spend your days at the mall with your friends and ensure good health. Some communities close to shopping areas are,
- Cresswind at Lake Lanier by Kolter Homes – Gainesville, GA
- Evergreens at Columbia Town Center – Columbia, MD
- Champions’ Club by McKee Builders – Magnolia, DE
- Stonecroft Village 55 Living – Womelsdorf, PA
- Trilogy® in Summerlin® – Las Vegas, NV
More communities in proximity to shopping can be found by visiting ActiveAdultLiving.com, a premier website for retirement community information. This website features more than 5,800 communities and information searches are user-friendly and easy to handle. You too can live a life of leisure and ensure good health by making use of all the amenities provided and of course giving yourself some shopping therapy!
