A Tool to Rejuvenation: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
In our older years, staying healthy includes engaging in meaningful activities that allow us to age without a sense of regret. They have to be worthwhile, balanced between innate capabilities and direct challenges, have appropriate external support, and produce a positive, purposeful outcome. By reframing aging in terms of your behaviors and attitudes, rather than systemic and consistent health declines, you can encourage the growth of your spirit. In combination with your meaningful efforts to improve your life purpose, using food as medicine, movement to maintain strength and balance, and mental health counseling and social engagement to improve your psychosocial wellbeing, you can age gracefully by living life to its fullest
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) helps combat degenerative conditions that we experience in our older years, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Coronary Heart Disease. The benefits of HBOT for our older population are twofold: they contribute to the regeneration of tissue and blood vessels by stimulating angiogenesis in areas of the compromised body, and they promote collagen activation to help battle the unfortunate realities of aging.
Perhaps one of the most traumatizing diseases in old age is Alzheimer’s, which is a gradual disappearance of the person you know and love. Although various drugs such as Galantamine, Rivastigmine, and Donepezil are found to improve symptoms, there are several side effects associated with these drugs, such as nausea, loss of appetite, weight loss, weakness, drowsiness, and dizziness. Among the various treatments, HBOT has become a focus of interest due to its non-invasive nature. Multiple studies suggest that HBOT stimulates neuroplasticity, neurogenesis, and improves reaction time and memory.
Elevated levels of cortisol are associated with psychological distress, declines in cognitive performance, and decreases in memory-related structures in the brain. In chronic states of distress, there is a severe effect on bone renewal, predisposing people to bone loss. By incorporating an HBOT session 2-3 times per week, there is evidence that suggests that bone healing can occur, therefore improving osteoporosis symptoms. HBOT allows our bodies the extracellular aid it needs to reduce inflammation, maintain skin elasticity, improve muscle functioning, and reduce age-related muscular degeneration.
Although health declines can feel disheartening, desired health goals should not just include blood test parameters. Our aging must include purpose. Our aging encompasses what makes us grandparents, parents, ageless friends, and pillars of our community.
Source
1. Shwe et al. (2021) Hyperbaric oxygen therapy restores cognitive function and hippocampal pathologies. Mechanisms of Aging and Development, 195.
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