This is the fourth in the babyboomers.com series on easy daily changes that can improve your health, ward off chronic diseases, and minimize the effects of getting older. Click here to read the other articles in the series: Don't Just Sit There; What You Drink DOES Make a Difference; and Why We Need a Restful Night's Sleep.

It's all in our hands -- the strength and dexterity to do every day things easily like opening lids on jars or working a jewelry clasp, as well as special things such as holding and swinging a golf club.  If we spend much of our day on the computer, we're asking a lot of fingers, hands, wrists and arms. In fact, 29 bones, 29 joints, 123 ligaments and 34 muscles are used every time we type a sentence. So, throughout our lives, we want to maintain what our hands can do for us.

If we just let the natural processes take their course, we may begin to drop things more often, have trouble with anything that requires a strong grasp, or begin to make more errors on the keyboard. If that happens, it's usually a result of muscle mass that isn't what it used to be and that can begin happening as young as age 55. To maintain or improve hand strength and dexterity, and to also work on strengthening your wrists  and forearms, here are some simple exercises.

First, several devices are designed to provide the right kind of exercise. They can be as simple as a soft ball that you squeeze for 3-5 seconds, then release and repeat ten times with each hand.

Another device uses a spring to provide variable amounts of resistance as you squeeze it, and it's often found in the golf section of a sporting goods store. Or if you want to search online, these devices are usually cleverly called "hand grip strengtheners." If you like multitasking, you can do these hand exercises while you do something else - watch TV or talk on the phone.

Without adding any devices to your collection, you can grab a towel and repeatedly twist it as if you are writing out excess water.

Other exercises can be done without any kind of object and are similar to exercises that might be recommended if you were to strain or sprain your wrist.

With your elbows bent and your hands in front of you, fingers pointing up, gently push back on the fingers of one hand with your other hand.  After a few repetitions, point fingers of one hand down and do the same thing, pushing on the back of that hand with the other hand.

 Another exercise is to cross your thumb inward across your palm and then back out to an extended position. Do the same with your other fingers, one at a time.

Ripple your fingers to a closed-fist position, starting with your little finger, ending with your pointer. Extend your fingers, then ripple them closed again.

Musicians, especially, depend on their hands staying agile, so some exercises designed for them can benefit the rest of us. Try these:

Stretch fingers out as far as they'll go than release and form a loose fist.

Run your fingers up and down an imaginary keyboard - or use the real thing.

While holding your fingers extended, gently rotate your wrists clockwise and counterclockwise, for ten repetitions.

So, whether you're a musician or a golfer or just someone who wants to reduce the chances of having to ask people "Can you open this? or "Can you help me with this clasp?" -- these exercises may help.