If seniors want to stay healthy, they need to take an active interest in their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Setting achievable goals is an excellent way to stay on track. Here are seven goals that can help your senior loved one boost his or her health.
1. Join a Club
When seniors rarely socialize, it can have a great impact on their quality of life. The mental skills used to converse start to atrophy, and solitude can chip away at their emotional wellbeing. When seniors are isolated for too long, it can even start to impact their physical health. Many seniors with depression neglect their dietary needs.
To stay social, your loved one should set a goal that involves regular social involvement. Clubs are an excellent choice, as they meet at regular intervals. Help your loved one find local clubs that suit his or her interests, from the Red Hat Society to senior-friendly book clubs.
Living independently is important for seniors who want to maintain a high quality of life. For some, this simply means receiving help with tasks that have become more challenging to manage over time. Even when families have the best intentions, they may not have the time to provide the care their elderly loved ones need and deserve. If your loved one needs help for a few hours a day or a few days a week, reach out to Home Care Assistance, a trusted provider of respite care Clearwater seniors can depend on.
2. Go to the Doctor
As seniors age, attending annual checkups is more important than ever. You can help your loved one by scheduling the appointment, providing transportation, or reminding him or her as the appointment date draws near.
3. Create a System for Managing Medications
Seniors should have foolproof systems for keeping track of their medications. Help your loved one set goals that ensure he or she never misses a dose. Some seniors like using electronic pillboxes with timed alarms, while others prefer to keep journals of their daily medication intake.
4. Learn to Navigate the Internet
Tech-averse seniors should try to familiarize themselves with the internet. Their goals should be informed by their skill levels. Some seniors may need to learn how to use a browser, while others may want to learn how to use Skype. Help your loved one find the resources he or she needs to learn, whether it’s a book, an Intro to Technology class for seniors, or a patient grandkid willing to teach.
Once your loved one learns how to use the internet, he or she can connect with friends and family members across the country. Skyping with the grandkids may fulfill your loved one’s emotional needs.
Learning a new skill can be difficult for some aging adults, especially for those who face challenges with everyday tasks. There are many reasons seniors might need assistance at home. Some may require regular mental stimulation due to an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, while others might only need part-time assistance with exercise and basic household tasks. Home Care Assistance is a leading homecare provider. Families rely on our expertly trained caregivers to help their senior loved ones maintain a high quality of life.
5. Get Sleep
While the body is at rest, it restores, repairs, and prepares for the next day. Seniors should strive to get seven to eight hours of sleep every night. If your loved one tends to toss and turn at night, help him or her set goals to ensure a better night’s rest. Achievable goals include turning off all screens 30 minutes before bedtime and meditating for 10 minutes every night.
6. Exercise
Physical activity is crucial to long-term health. Jumping into an exercise regimen can be difficult for inactive seniors, but if they set small manageable goals, they’ll feel more physically fit in no time. Help your loved one create an activity timeline. Your loved one can start by walking half a mile a day three times a week and then upgrade to a mile. By setting small goals, seniors can develop healthy habits they stick to.
7. Stimulate the Brain
Seniors need to give their brains a workout as well. As with physical exercise, mental stimulation works best when it’s done regularly. Your loved one should find a type of brain workout he or she enjoys—from reading to Sudoku to crossword puzzles—and turn it into a consistent habit.
Adopting healthy habits can keep your loved one mentally and physically fit. Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of senior home care. Clearwater families can rely on Home Care Assistance to provide individualized care plans to meet their elderly loved ones’ unique care needs. Our holistic Balanced Care Method was designed to help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and our Cognitive Therapeutics Method offers mentally stimulating activities that can boost cognitive health and delay the onset of dementia. Whether your parent needs hourly or live-in care, give us a call at (727) 330-7862 today.