If you have a senior citizen at home, it’s important to ensure their well-being and comfort. Maintaining healthy living for them is not very difficult.
Senior citizens go through a lot of changes as they grow old. They need to make positive changes to their lives to stay healthy.
Luckily following some simple tips like these then tips to ensure health & wellness for senior citizens at home, it is possible for them to make these effortlessly.
1. Give them a Balanced Diet
Eating properly in old age is crucial to good health. Our digestive processes slow down with age. Senior citizens can reduce the risk of heart disease and obesity by adding fiber to their diet. It also helps seniors in keeping a balanced diet.
Vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are high in fiber and essential vitamins. Their diet should also consist of lean proteins and healthy fats to help keep their muscles strong and uphold their brain health.
Aging adults often have trouble eating because they just lose their appetite. Changing the flavor of food is a way out of this problem.
So, trying healthy and nutritious food is a good idea. Besides, proper nutrition can help manage chronic conditions and boost the immune system. It also helps with keeping a healthy weight, lowering the chance of many health problems.
Keeping well-hydrated is another tip for senior health. Dehydration is common among the elderly. Be sure that the senior citizens in your family get enough water so they may keep hydrated, stay alert, and avoid health problems like constipation.
2. Encourage Low-risk Exercises At Home
We tend to make less effort to keep up with our younger self as we age. However, physical activity is especially crucial for the elderly.
Regular exercise enhances happiness and well-being. A senior can benefit from a variety of at-home workouts, such as squats on a chair, push-ups on the wall, arm and leg raises, etc.
Encouraging seniors to join group exercise classes or events can also help them make friends, which is also good for their health.
3. Help Them to Manage Stress
When we are old, managing stress can become difficult. Stress can induce dementia and other forms of age-related memory loss. It can also cause extreme physical illnesses like heart disease, hypertension, etc.
Protect them from being exposed to situations that may cause unnecessary stress. For example, if you need to tell them bad news, break it to them slowly so that they can ease into it. Sudden shocks can cause extreme stress. You can also help them practice meditation or give them gentle, relaxing massages.
Another way to reduce stress is through vagus nerve stimulation. Easy ways to stimulate your vagus nerves include
4. Prevent Falls
The living option of senior citizens needs to be a safe place where the chances of falls are minimum. Falls are a big problem for seniors because they often cause serious injuries.
Get things like loose blankets and rugs out of the way since they can make elderlies trip and fall. Put up grab bars in the bathroom and make sure the whole house has enough light. Putting non-slip mats in the bathroom and shower is also crucial.
Also,
- Provide them with specialized falls risk assessment
- Consider purchasing a specific alert that may be worn as a necklace or bracelet if they fell before or are afraid of falling.
- Advise them not to answer the phone in a rush. Many accidents occur when elderly people try to pick up the phone.
- Instead of leaning on things like walls and furniture, make them use their cane or walker.
5. Encourage Maintaining a Healthy Weight
Keeping our weight in check becomes more difficult with age. But maintaining a healthy weight is most important when we are old. It may help them keep their mobility, which is important for continuing to enjoy life’s little pleasures for as long as possible.
Find out from their doctor the ideal weight for their height and build. To control calorie intake, restrict them to smaller servings.
Even minimal fat loss provides health benefits for the obese and overweight, and avoiding further weight gain is crucial.
6. Take Care of Medications
Many adults take more than one medicine to treat different health problems. To avoid confusion and possible problems, it’s important to set up a good method for managing medications.
This could mean using pill organizers with a place for each day of the week or setting up apps or alarms to remind them to take their medicine.
Family members or caregivers can help organize and give medicines. Make sure the medicines are taken at the right times and in the right amounts.
Senior citizens need to keep in touch with their doctors regularly. That way, the doctors can review their medicins and inform them about any necessary changes that are required.
7. Encourage Social Interaction
An older person’s mental and emotional health depends on how well they stay connected with other people. Depression and worry can come from feeling alone and cut off.
Encourage family and friends to visit elderlies often and plan outings or social events to keep them busy and connected. Senior centers and neighborhood events allow people to meet new people and do things as a group, which can help them feel less lonely.
8. Ensure Enough Sleep
For optimal health and happiness, seniors must get good sleep. A restful night’s sleep can be encouraged by sticking to a regular sleep pattern and by making the bedroom a relaxing place to be.
Avoiding coffee and large meals before the night is important advice for all seniors, as is engaging in relaxing activities like reading or mild stretching. If they are having trouble sleeping, get help from professionals.
9. Make Them Examine Their Eyesight Regularly
As we get old, we must make routine visits to family doctors, dentists, and mental health professionals. If we do not wear glasses, consulting with eye doctors is not something we do on purpose. It is important to know with age that with age, our eyesight is affected, and if not treated timely, our eyesight might be lost forever.
Age-related AMD, cataracts, glaucoma, impaired vision, and even dry eyes can be avoided with frequent eye exams. Schedule regular visits to the eye doctor for the senior citizen living with you and accompany them to their appointments.
10. Get Them Emotional Support
Loss, isolation, and adjusting to new routines are just a few of the emotional challenges that senior citizens may experience as they age.
You must offer emotional support and a sympathetic ear to their mental health. Indulge in deep conversation with the elderly and encourage them to share their thoughts and feelings freely. Elderly with emotional challenges can benefit from professional counseling or therapy.
Bottom Line
You need a thorough and individualized plan to keep senior citizens healthy and happy at home.
We hope these tips to ensure health & wellness for the senior citizens at home helped you with senior citizen care plans.
Incorporate these little things into their lives and see how happily and gracefully they live and age.
