Family Matters - Keeping Your Seniors Happy and Healthy
Supporting your family looks different over the years. When you were young, your parents went to your hockey games and dance recitals. They fed you, clothed you, and ensured you had a roof over your head. Your memories might include fun vacations and milestone celebrations, as well as healing hugs when you had your first heartbreak. Now that you are an adult, things seem different. You don’t need your parents as much as they need you.
It’s your turn to step in and ensure they have a happy and healthy life. You don’t have to quit your job and do everything for them. You can do much to give them the tools they need to keep living life in their home by enlisting the services of home care workers. The proper support will provide both you and your loved ones with precisely what is needed for a happier life—safety at home, independence to the greatest extent possible, and the comfort of home.
How to Support Your Senior’s Health and Happiness
Taking care of your aged loved ones is not without challenges. You can assist them by helping them stay active, eat right, and remain engaged with life. Soon, you will find them appearing more cheerful and positive.
1. Things to Do to Keep Your Seniors Happy and Healthy
As a daughter or son of an aging parent, you want them to be happy. They have worked hard to provide for you and your siblings all their lives. Now is their turn to enjoy more of life. Encourage your senior loved one in these areas to help them feel upbeat and stay healthy:
- Exercise: Mom doesn’t need to become a powerlifter and workout at a gym everyday. Encourage her to get out and do some exercise. She could join a water aerobics class for seniors, or use a warm water therapy pool at the local community centre. It could be a walk around the block a few times a week. The goal is for your mother to gain the many benefits of being physically active.
- Nutrition: As Dad ages, his taste buds may become dull. He may even become bored with food. With no children at home to cook for, seniors often reach for convenient options, many of which are highly processed food items. Good nutrition is vital at any age, especially as an aging adult. Now is the time for them to drink plenty of water and eat nutrient rich meals.
- Social Activity: Another area for your loved ones to watch is their social life. You may have noticed that they don’t want to interact with others as often. Look for ways to help them keep in contact with family and friends. It benefits their cognitive health as they grow older.
Many things will help keep your senior citizens happy and healthy. As they reach new levels of wellness, you will notice they seem to have a higher quality of life.
Read more about Things You Can Do to Keep Your Senior Happy and Healthy
2. Improving the Quality of Life for Your Aging Parents
Good quality of life looks different over the years. For the young, it can mean taking on new adventures. For adults, it may mean enjoying a hot cup of coffee each morning as the birds twitter nearby. Not everyone will look at growing older the same, but you can help your aging parent improve their quality of life:
- Recognize and Treat Depression: Retirement is meant to be a wonderful time of life. It will quickly hurt your senior’s quality of life if their depression is left untreated. Death of a spouse or friend can trigger depression; so can dire medical diagnoses.
- Give Them Something to Do: Nothing is more frustrating than feeling useless. Even little children enjoy helping Mom and Dad. Don’t discount your parents’ usefulness. Ask for their help with tasks or their advice on a matter.
- Provide Mental Activities: Look for crossword puzzles, Sudoku, and other brain games to aid in keeping your senior mentally sharp. Reading, playing an instrument, and writing a diary or a journal are great options as well.
Many things can serve to improve your senior’s quality of life, yet, staying active may prove challenging if they have low mobility.
Learn more about Ways to Improve the Quality of Life for Elderly Adults
3. Keeping Active and Healthy Even with Low Mobility
It’s disappointing to lose mobility. Worse is that lack of movement can cause or aggravate other health issues, including obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Even with limited ability to move, your senior can still keep active. Here are a few ways:
- Adjust an Activity to Fit the Level of Mobility: Mom and Dad can still enjoy different activities; it may mean they give up tennis and try golf, water aerobics, or chair yoga.
- Look for Ways to Build Heart Health: Various activities address different body parts. Encourage Dad to ride a stationary bike, participate in line dancing, or take a water fitness class to increase strength in the heart, blood vessels, and lungs.
- Check Out Strengthening Activities: Strength training helps keep muscles and bones strong, which helps with balance and posture. Help Mom learn to use free weights properly or to do resistance training.
Adjusting exercise to match a new level of mobility makes sense, and eating a healthy diet supports the body even further.
Learn some Tips to Keep Active Even when Mobility Is an Issue
4. Healthy Eating Habits for Seniors
Healthy eating is vital for your senior to maintain their immune system. Mom probably made you eat your vegetables because they were good for you. Nothing has changed, except that the tables have turned, and you have to encourage your mother to eat hers. Building new habits doesn’t have to be complicated. It takes some consistency and sometimes outside assistance from a professional caregiver. The benefits will leave your loved one feeling better and help them live life to the fullest by:
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Prevent, lower the risks, or slow the progression of heart disease and other chronic illnesses
- Reduce the risk of falling and breaking bones because of muscle and bone loss
Looking at all aspects of your aged loved one’s life gives you a better perspective of how you can help them make the most of these years. You will find that hiring personal support workers to support your efforts will result in a much happier, healthier senior.
Read more about Ways to Encourage Healthy Eating Habits for Your Senior
Give Your Senior a Better Quality of Life at Home
A healthy, happy life at home is difficult for seniors without the right level of support. The kind you will get from the caring professionals at Home Instead Kitchener-Waterloo, ON. Our team is dedicated to supporting your senior and you in nutrition, personal care, companionship, and other senior care services. Let us take the strain off you and your caregiving duties. Contact us to learn more about a customized service plan.
Call us at (519) 571-1665 to schedule a no-obligation, in-home consultation. Learn more about the compassionate, quality senior care we deliver every day to families in Kitchener-Waterloo, Breslau, Conestogo, Elmira, St Jacobs, and surrounding areas.