Struggling to stay motivated to exercise? You’re not alone. Regular exercise is important for kidney disease patients to improve muscle strength and function, lower blood pressure, and maintain a healthy weight. Many of our early stage CKD patients even find that low-intensity exercise helps combat feelings of lethargy and tiredness from kidney disease.

When exercise starts to feel like a chore, here are five tips to keep going.

When living with a chronic illness like kidney disease, it can sometimes feel like the illness is all-consuming. Rewiring the brain to find gratitude can not only support mental health, but also aid in the physical healing process. Mindfulness practices like showing gratitude and meditation can help reduce inflammation, decrease anxiety and depression that are common with chronic illnesses, and even lower blood pressure when done consistently. As a CKD patient, you know that keeping your blood pressure in check is important to slowing the progression of kidney disease. Developing a daily gratitude practice is a great first step toward using your mind to promote well-being in your whole body. Here are a few ways to get started.

Staying healthy as we grow older can be tricky; there are so many new challenges that come with aging, including health and mobility issues that can affect everything from lifestyle to housing. It can be difficult to find a comfortable medium when it comes to exercise and diet. Many seniors find that a lack of exercise keeps them from being able to enjoy the things they love most, while too much activity puts a strain on joints and muscles. However, there are many things you can do to make sure your mind and body are both in great shape well into your post-retirement years—after all, doing so is important for your overall well-being.

Keeping your safety a priority is extremely important. When creating a plan for your physical wellness, it’s crucial to make sure you think about how your mobility will be affected because falls are one of the major causes of injury for seniors in the U.S. For instance, walking is a great way to get in a workout, but it’s better to choose a well-paved path at the park over uneven sidewalks in the neighborhood.

Here are a few of the best tips on how to maintain your health and well-being as a senior.