Falls are the second leading cause of accidental injury deaths worldwide, and older adults are hit hardest. The WHO recommends that people over 65 do balance and strength exercises at least three days a week. Standing on one leg while brushing your teeth, holding the sink, or practising tai chi: small habits that prevent serious fractures.
Chlorine on its own is fairly gentle. But when it combines with urine, sweat and other grime from swimmers, it forms chloramines, which cause stinging eyes and that classic 'chlorine smell'. A well-kept pool barely smells at all. Shower before you swim and never pee in the water.
Muscle mass slowly shrinks with age, putting independence at risk. But in 1990, a study had nursing home residents aged 86 to 96 train their legs for eight weeks: their strength more than doubled. Muscle responds to training at any age. Getting up from a chair without using your hands is already an exercise.