With only a few days until 2021, there’s one thing on everyone’s mind — their New Year’s resolution!
As seniors age, they tend to get set in a routine. And while a routine does bring consistency, it can also leave them with bad habits, like spending too much time by themselves or not staying up-to-date with medical care.
Before you ring in the New Year with family and friends, talk to the seniors in your life about creating resolutions that will keep them active, happy, and healthy in the New Year.
Seniors Should Make Health and Wellness a Priority in 2021
This New Year, encourage the loved ones in your life to:
Get up-to-date on their immunizations.
Vaccines and immunizations are easy to put off, especially for seniors who no longer drive. This December, talk to your loved one’s doctor about getting a flu, pneumonia, or shingles vaccine — especially for older men and women, these vaccines could save their life.
Increase their physical activity.
Living a sedentary lifestyle is one of the worst things a senior can do for their health. Even those with limited mobility can benefit from low impact, supervised exercise, like walks around the block and seated arm exercises.
Take up a new hobby.
Taking up a new hobby isn’t just a fun way to break up the monotony of a normal day, but it can actually improve brain function and memory. Just like physical exercise strengthens the body, mental stimulation strengthens the brain. There are dozens of ways seniors can challenge themselves by trying new things, including:
- Jigsaw puzzles
- Crossword puzzles
- Reading a new book
- Watching a movie they used to love
- Learning a new card game
- Playing a board game
“Declutter” their home.
The joy of growing old at home is that you’re surrounded by memories and treasured items. However, staying in one place for decades can also make it easy to keep things that you no longer need or that don’t work.
From hall closets to attics and crawl spaces, spend some time in January helping your loved one clean out their home and storage spaces. Be sure to donate as much as you can or consider having a garage sale when the weather warms up.
Protect themselves against fall risks.
Year after year, falls continue to be the leading cause of injury for Americans over 65. With one in four older Americans falling each year, fall prevention should always be a priority for your loved ones. Even if your parents or grandparents are active, medications and certain medical conditions can still make them more susceptible to a fall.
This year, talk to your loved ones about ways they can prevent a fall, like using a walker, rearranging the furniture so that they always have something to lean on, and investing in a personal medical alert device.
Hire in-home care.
The best way to keep your loved one safe is to be realistic about what they can and can’t do. And remember, just because they’re getting older, it doesn’t mean they have to spend the rest of their life in a nursing home or assisted living facility.
From companion care to professional dementia care, Homewatch Caregivers has been helping seniors live a quality life in the home they know and love.
At Homewatch CareGivers, we were founded on the idea that individuals should receive kind, compassionate, and qualified care tailored to their unique needs and in their preferred surroundings. Because of that, we train our professionals not just on high-quality care but on interpersonal relationships as well.
Contact us today to learn more.