While many aging adults naturally embrace a new caregiver coming into their lives to help them thrive and enjoy a higher quality of life, there are some seniors who may still feel uncomfortable. At Endeavor In Home Care, we’re sensitive to the feelings of each senior we serve, and are skilled in helping to ease the concerns surrounding home care. Read more
As a family caregiver, it’s important to help aging loved ones maintain independence.
Throughout the many stages of life, “independence” can mean different things. There are major events, such as leaving our parents’ home or getting married, and less significant events, like completing a difficult task on our own. Then, as we age, staying as independent as possible becomes a priority, like being able to live safely and securely in your own home. This wish to grow older in place at home is usually the greatest desire for older adults, regardless of their condition of health or ability to function independently, even in the face of injuries, sickness or chronic health problems. And it’s why as family caregivers, we need to do everything we can to help aging loved ones maintain their independence.
Learn how to best include aging loved ones in holiday festivities.
Though the holiday season is normally a joyful time of high spirits, filled with visiting loved ones who are nearest and dearest, for seniors, it can be far from merry and bright. A combination of lost loved ones, health problems, memories of holidays past, and more can impact seniors with emotions of sadness and loneliness, and it can make including aging loved ones in holiday festivities challenging. Read more
Here are some tips for planning holiday activities for aging adults.
The holidays are filled with parties, celebrations, and get-togethers. Yet for older adults, holiday outings call for a little extra planning, and sometimes, it’s challenging for family members to plan holiday activities for aging adults. Try these tips from the Chandler home care experts at Endeavor In Home Care to enjoy joyful activities with loved ones of all ages this holiday season. Read more
Do you know the ABC’s of making a dementia-friendly home?
If a loved one has recently been diagnosed with dementia, your top priority is probably his or her safety and wellbeing. The familiarity of being able to remain living in the comfort of their own home rather than face a move away to a facility is important, but how do you ensure continued safety and wellbeing as the disease progresses? One of the first things you can do to ensure a safer environment is to make a few adjustments around the house. It is possible to create a dementia-friendly home, which can encourage continued independence for the older adult you love. Read more
Make sure your home is accessible for seniors with wheelchairs.
Home is where we can enjoy the most comfort and familiarity, and it’s for that reason so many older adults make the decision to continue to live at home as they age. But many times, wheelchairs become a part of life when seniors or those with certain disabilities experience decreased mobility. This can be particularly challenging when it comes to ensuring the home is a safe place for seniors with wheelchairs. Thankfully, a few home modifications for aging adults and disabled persons can substantially improve safety. Read more
Try these unique activities for older adults that build self-esteem.
Search online for the words “activities for seniors” and you’ll probably find an assortment of games, crafts, memory-stimulating puzzles, and of course, the requisite bingo. What you will not find, unless you search much longer, are the purposeful, philanthropic activities that bring purpose to our lives. And yet, if you ask older adults what they would most like to do, the majority of them will not mention art projects, games, or bingo. What they want most of all is to feel useful. Read more
Help preserve senior independence with these tips.
“Here, I can help you with that.”
“Be careful!”
“You can just sit here and rest; I’ll handle that.”
How often have we said things along the lines of these to seniors, with the best intentions of course? We want to do everything we can when caring for older adults to ensure they are safe and to take care of them in the same way they took care of us when we were younger. Yet, there’s a concealed threat in trying to do too much for seniors and depriving them of the opportunity to do as much as possible for themselves – the danger of harming senior independence and a sense of meaning and purpose in life. Read more
If your elderly family member isn’t sleeping well, there are likely many other areas in her life that are not running smoothly. These ideas can help to get her sleep back on track.
Regular Exercise
Your elderly family member’s doctor has likely recommended some form of exercise for her, so now is the time to start if she hasn’t already. Make sure that you’re familiar with the boundaries within which exercise is safe for your elderly family member and then put a plan in motion. Even a few minutes of stretching each day can help so very much.
Healthy Food Choices
Eating the right foods is what fuels your elderly family member’s body. Too much of the foods that are low in nutrients means that your senior’s body doesn’t have what it needs in order to properly operate. Talk to your senior’s doctor about working with a dietician or a nutritionist. These specialists can help you to choose a diet that is just right for your senior’s current health needs.
A Solid Daily Routine
One problem that can plague aging adults is that they may not have much of a daily routine any longer. Retirement can be fantastic, but if your aging family member doesn’t have a general idea of what she’s doing each day, she may find that she wakes up at random times and goes to bed way too late. Help your elderly family member to work out a time that is good for her to wake up and establish some general times for other activities throughout the day, such as meals and exercise. Then set up a routine that eases her into bedtime.
Help to Spend Her Energy Wisely
Using her energy wisely can be a huge tool for your aging adult. This means that instead of struggling through household tasks on her own, she allows home care providers to take over. This frees up her time and energy to focus on choosing healthier foods at mealtimes, for instance. She’s more able to have the room she needs to spend her time wisely when she has the energy with which to do so.
Even if your elderly family member is following all of these tips to the letter, she might still be having trouble sleeping. It might be a good idea to talk to her doctor at that point and determine if there is anything else that you can do that might help.
The results of remaining physically active throughout the aging process are considerable. However, for people with Parkinson’s, it could truly be a game-changer in the progression of the disease. Several recent studies are uncovering direct links between exercise and Parkinson’s, such as the largest clinical study up to now, in which patients who exercised a minimum of 2½ hours weekly obtained a higher quality of life than those who refrained from physical exercise—and that’s only the beginning when it comes to exercise as a Parkinson’s disease treatment. Read more
