How to Make the Most of Your Retirement Years

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How to Make the Most of Your Retirement Years

Feb 17, 2020

If you're heading into your older years, you might be considering retirement. While leaving your work role may feel like you are embarking on a permanent vacation, some people find it a tough transition. It all depends on your mindset.

Researchers have found retirees are happiest when they plan how to spend their time and make the most of it.

Here are some tips for transitioning from a fulfilling work life to a fulfilling life in retirement.

Stay Social

Leaving the workplace doesn't have to mean leaving your social network behind. Indeed, research shows that maintaining strong social networks seems to be linked to slower cognitive decline. So, maintain those workplace friendships, while also enjoying regular lunches or game nights with your "civilian" friends.

Intergenerational relationships are also essential to healthy retirement years. Take some time to get to know your grandkids, nieces and nephews, or the children of family friends. According to Harvard Psychiatrist George Vaillant, "generativity" means investing in, caring for, and developing the next generation. Bonus: Older adults who did so were three times as likely to be happy as those who did not.

Are you more of a homebody? Adopt a pet. Research shows that caring for a pet brings many health benefits, including a sense of purpose, happiness and security.

Expand Your Mind

Studies have shown that lifelong learning can be associated with better memory and cognitive skills, improved mood and better well-being. See if your local university or community college offers learning opportunities. Now's the chance to audit an anthropology course, or delve into oceanography or bioethics. Senior Centers also offer courses in current events and even languages.

Being retired can also mean time to unleash the right-brain and release your creative power. You could explore painting, ceramics or even gardening, which are all beneficial to your emotional well-being,

Another way to expand your vistas is to travel. Travel leads to meeting new people, learning about different cultures and facing fresh challenges.

Maintain Good Fitness

Whether it's scheduling more rounds of golf, tennis matches or walks with friends, it's crucial to your healthy retirement years to find physical activities that you enjoy and to make them a regular part of your week. Here are more details about how to stay fit.

In addition to exercising, eating healthy is also key. As you head into your late 60s, your body changes, as do your nutritional needs. Consult these resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison for some ideas on developing healthy eating habits.

In addition, maintaining long-term good health means visiting your doctor for regular checkups and screenings, including hearing and vision.

Achieve That Helper's High.

With less time focused on building and sustaining your career, now could be the time to give back.

Depending on your goals—meeting new people, or beautifying your local park—there are plenty of options to choose from.

If you are the type who likes to stay busy, consider helping your alma mater or your favorite nonprofit by actively serving on their board.

Doing good deeds provides a "helper's high," which can help you live a longer and healthier life.

And, a longer and healthier life means more time to enjoy your retirement years!

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Jan 8

Be The Shamash: The Light That Illuminates the Other Lights:

Chanukah 2024 at Los Angeles Jewish Healthby LAJH Chief Mission Officer Rabbi Karen BenderWhy it was important, this year especially, to bring in the Light Chanukah’s arrival this year inspired me to consider that there are three kinds of people in the world. The first are those who unfortunately bring darkness to our world. The second are those who bring light where there is darkness. Those people are wonderful, because where there is despair they bring hope, where there is sadness they bring joy, where there is cruelty they bring loving kindness, where there is tension, they bring peace. Then there is the third kind of person, the one who, like the shamash candle of the Chanukah menorah, in addition to conquering darkness, actually kindle the other lights. These are the staff members and residents at Los Angeles Jewish Health. Not only do they bring light, they inspire others to bring the light. What made the events this year at LAJH Extraordinary As holidays approach, it is always our goal to ensure residents experience something akin to what they would have had in their homes and at synagogue. This year, we are proud to have gone beyond that goal to bring joy, celebration, surprise and delight! Residents enjoyed not only potato latkes but also creative vegetable latkes. They enjoyed traditional sufganiyot and kosher Krispy Kreme donuts. At Grancell Village, they experienced a sufganiyah tasting, including creme brulee and dulce de leche. There were concerts performed at each campus with the renowned Cindy Paley and elaborate outdoor extravaganza lightings with our enormous and artistic outdoor Chanukiot. Twelve year old twin volunteers dressed up as a life sized menorah and dreidel and visited each floor bringing smiles and laughter. Shabbat Chanukah services were led by a skilled nursing resident Rabbi and a band he assembled! Resident volunteers took charge of lighting the menorah lights on their floors each night. At the Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Medical Center, those same twin volunteers assisted me in re-affixing mezuzahs on every room, as residents participated. Rabbi Ron Goldberg held a food and toy drive at Eisenberg Village, enabling the entire campus to participate in seasonal giving to those in need. In the midst of it all, our wonderful activities staff ensured that residents celebrated New Year’s 2025, perhaps a once in a lifetime overlap with Chanukah. We are so grateful to all who worked together bringing so much joy and celebration to the residents of LAJH! Chanukah celebration led by resident Rabbi WarshawYoung volunteers delight residentsEisenberg Village toy driveConcert with Cindy PaleyResident sufganiyot tastingGoldenberg-Ziman Special Care Center residents celebrate with glowsticksMezuzahs re-affixed in the Joyce Eisenberg-Keefer Medical CenterToast to the New YearBrandman Centers for Senior Care PACE celebrates the New Year

Author Visits LAJH to Share Story of the Rescue of Her Niece and Advocate for Hostages

Since October 7, 2023, Jews around the world have been on tenterhooks waiting for news of the hostages taken captive during Hamas’ brazen attack of Israel. The worry and concern have been constant companions of many Los Angeles Jewish Health (LAJH) residents, as well. In December, they gathered in the theater at Fountainview at Eisenberg Village to hear prominent podcaster, political influencer, and philanthropist Liz Hirsh Naftali, who spoke about her role in securing the release of her great niece Abigail and about her continued commitment to freeing the hostages who have still been left behind.Liz, a lifelong Angeleno with deep roots in Israel, recounted arriving in Israel to celebrate the holiday of Simchat Torah on October 6, 2023. After an evening of dancing and celebration, she was awakened the next morning to the sound of alarms blaring: Hamas had breached the Israeli-Gaza border.“I have family who lived along the border, in Kibbutz Kfar Aza,” she told the crowd of LAJH residents and members of SAYVA (a collaborative network focused on community, positive aging, and wisdom) in attendance at the event. “I called my sister-in-law that morning and discovered that my niece and nephew had been murdered by terrorists there—and that their three-year-old daughter, Abigail, had been kidnapped.”A long history of activism equipped Liz for what came next: returning to the United States and sharing Abigail’s story as widely as possible with media outlets and political leaders on Capitol Hill.“I met with Democrats and Republicans; I believe hostages should be apolitical, and we received incredibly beautiful support from people on both sides of the aisle,” said Liz, the host of The Capitol Coffee Connection podcast. “I was driven to keep talking to people and refused to take ‘no’ for an answer because when you’re in a situation like this, and someone you love is being held against their will, you cannot rest or even take a breath until you see their face again.”Liz’s efforts ultimately contributed to a deal being struck: After 51 days in captivity, Abigail was freed along with 104 other hostages during a truce between Israel and Hamas.Inspired to preserve a record of Abigail’s story, Liz wrote Saving Abigail: The True Story of the Abduction and Rescue of a Three-Year-Old Hostage, a book about the rescue efforts.“As humans, we need to elevate these stories—to tell the truth about October 7 so people can start to heal,” she said. “I also wrote this book so people would understand they have the power to influence events. There are still hostages who haven’t been able to come home, and people might feel like nothing they do can have any impact, but my experience shows that’s not true. I think we can each play a role, in our own ways, in bringing the rest of the hostages back, stopping the fighting, and allowing Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace.”

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