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Staying mentally and physically active can be difficult for seniors. They may have health problems that limit their movement. They may become frail and have problems with balance and flexibility. They may take medications that affect their balance. They may not see well or hear well. But senior boredom and lack of activity can have detrimental effects on both their physical well-being and their emotional well-being. Caregivers from an elder care agency can help to keep them active and engaged in daily life.

Boredom Can Affect Physical Health
Boredom is bad for your body. With senior boredom, elders tend to move less, preferring to sit in front of the TV or outside. This lack of activity can cause joints to stiffen and arthritis pain to worsen. Circulation becomes more sluggish, which can lead to cardiovascular problems. Engaging in movement, even for the elder population, is the best way to keep your body healthy. But families may not have the time to make sure their elderly members are engaging in safe movement for their age. A home health caregiver is trained to help elders walk safely and exercise in ways appropriate for their age and condition.

Senior Boredom’s Effects on Cognitive & Emotional Health
The inability to enjoy stimulating activities can also affect seniors’ emotional health. Depression, problems with self worth and loneliness can result. In addition, lack of mental stimulation can lead to loss of cognitive ability, memory problems and poor concentration. Staying mentally engaged with activities and social interaction can prevent these problems.

Stimulating Activities For the Elderly
Activities that help seniors stay physically and mentally fit can range from going for a walk and enjoying nature, to playing cards with friends, doing puzzles, going to the movies, or learning a new skill. These are all ways that help to keep seniors physically and mentally engaged. Some elders will enjoy learning to cook a new dish. Others may enjoy singing or dancing. Finding the right fit for your elderly loved one can help them to stay healthier in many ways.

Trained caregivers can encourage your elderly loved one to engage in daily activities that help to keep body and mind active and healthy. If you are working or have other family responsibilities, consider how a home health caregiver can prevent boredom and to help you loved one have a more fulfilling and physically active life.

Insomnia in seniors in a relatively common problem, but one that could have profound health impacts.

Insomnia In Seniors

A lack of sleep is a relatively common problem for older persons. Research conducted by the National Institute of Health found that 50 percent of all adults over 60 experience insomnia to some degree.

Causes

Scientific studies have concluded that seniors tend to experience lighter and less restful periods of sleep and spend less time in the deeper sleep cycle known as the Rapid Eye Movement, or REM stage. Additionally, seniors might be at greater risk for developing insomnia because of the use of specific prescription medications, depression, the presence of painful illnesses that might render sleep uncomfortable and because the brains of older people tend to operate on earlier internal clocks.

Complications

If left untreated, insomnia can decrease an individual’s cognitive skills such as memory and concentration abilities. Moreover, said issue can weaken the immune system thus leaving a stricken person more susceptible to contracting infections or witnessing the exacerbation of existing ailments.

Helping Seniors Cope With Insomnia

Fortunately, seniors afflicted with insomnia might find relief by practicing the following tips:

Identifying The Cause

Sometimes, insomnia precipitators like pain are obvious. However, in other cases, the underlying factors might not be as clear. Occasionally, the condition might be brought forth by potentially overlooked issues like anxiety, depression and exposure to elevated stress levels. Insomniac seniors are encouraged to consider if they are anxious, stressed or feeling depressed. If such issues are present, they should identify ways of alleviating such problems.

Practice Improved Sleep Hygiene

Sleep hygiene is defined as the habits people have regarding sleep and sleep preparation. Seniors can improve their chances of gaining restful sleep by avoiding alcohol or caffeine prior to bed, turning off the television, mobile phone or any other electronic device, drawing blinds or closing windows to ensure the room is as dark as possible and setting the thermostat to a desired temperature.

Obtain Regular Exercise

Exercise forces the muscles to work, which would could induce nighttime tiredness. Moreover, physical activity also enables the body to maintain satisfactory hormonal balances. Insomnia can be a symptom of systemic hormone imbalances.

Maintain A Consistent Sleep Schedule

Going to bed the same time each evening and awakening the same time each morning allows the body to establish a consistent sleep schedule. Such actions will better condition the body to adapt to sleep time.

One way that many seniors derive meaning from their lives is through volunteering. Not only do they make a difference through their efforts, but hey also meet new people, stay active, and feel like they’re being productive in important ways. We’ll discuss ways that senior volunteering can be rewarding for all parties involved.

Children’s Charities

While many seniors have grandchildren of their own, not all of them can see them as much as they would like. For seniors who have a soft spot for children, have them look for children’s charities that are seeking elderly volunteers. They can perform activities such as reading to young kids, leading them in group projects such as art classes and physical activity, and helping them with their homework. Volunteering ideas for seniors that involve children can better ensure that your loved one stays young at heart.

Food Banks

Working in a food bank can act as a wonderful opportunity for your loved one to give back to their community. Whether they carry around heavy boxes or just greet food bank customers as they walk in the door, senior volunteers can work in many different roles. With meal insecurity operating as a serious problem in this country, your loved one can find that this volunteer opportunity has them feeling like they’re making a difference.

Volunteer Opportunities Related To Their Industry

If your family member thrived in their industry during their working years, encourage them to find senior volunteering opportunities within their industry. From mentoring young college graduates to connecting former associates for work projects, there are plenty of ways that your loved one can stay connected in their industry’s major happenings. When people feel like they’re a part of something bigger, this might lead them to find more meaning in their lives.

Anti-Poverty Organizations

Whether your loved one owned three homes or struggled mightily to keep food on the table, we all can see why the work that anti-poverty organizations do is so important. A great way to volunteer in the community is to do work with local organizations that fight poverty. Your loved one doesn’t have to volunteer every day. These organizations appreciate all the help they can get, whether it’s 20 hours of office work a week or planning their annual holiday giving campaign.

Many senior citizens experience emotional problems from lack of exercise and could experience a positive mood change with therapy that includes dance exercise and special music for the elderly. The music helps seniors to remember special events, such as weddings and high school dances. The lyrics for a song can be a motivational factor for an elderly person who cannot easily get out of bed and who has children who are busy with careers.

Music for Enhancing a Home Environment for Senior Citizens

The quality of life is an important factor that affects the emotional stability and physical condition of each person. The sounds from music could be soft and soothing, such as from a violin, which would help an elderly person to relax. If there are pleasant fragrances and soft music in a home, then an elderly person would have some important factors for helping to control problems from loneliness.

Emotional Benefits from Music Therapy

The emotional benefits from the combination of music and seniors can be easily recognized by a son or daughter. You may have noticed that your father or mother enjoys listening to jazz music while grilling some steaks on a patio. The emotional benefits from music are also used to help visitors to relax in elevators and customers to relax while waiting on hold during phone calls.

Therapy That Stimulates the Five Human Senses

The five human senses for sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell are important for changing the mood of a person. After a delicious meal, you would probably start to relax in a comfortable chair and would also enjoy the fragrance from the roses in a lovely restaurant while you were listening to soft classical music. The environmental factors in a home, such as pleasant fragrances and soft music, are especially important to elderly persons.

Music Therapy for Improving the Quality of Life for Elderly Persons

Music therapy can be used to stimulate the sense of hearing for a person. If you usually hear tinkling sounds from wind chimes and birds chirping during breakfast, you would immediately notice silence in the morning. There are important benefits from the combination of music and seniors because music can be used to evoke feelings of joy and happiness from sweet memories.

When you’re 25, you think you’ll be young forever. We’ve all been guilty of this thinking at one time or another. But when we reach our senior years, we not only deal with our own limitations in senior living. We also field the limitations that others place on us because of our age. Most seniors don’t want to get treated like an infant who can’t do anything for themselves. This article will discuss ways to help the seniors in our lives feel youthful with positive aging.

Help Them Stay Active

Did your mother have a mean backhand? Encourage her to take up tennis again. Did your father find his peace on the local golf course? Organize a trip to the local green with your family. Staying active will not only help seniors feel younger. It can also help them stay healthy.

Help Them Stay Social

Numerous studies have shown that the more social connections that a person of any age has in their life, the longer they will live. By making sure that your favorite seniors have plenty of opportunities to socialize, they can experience more positive aging and happiness over time. This could have a great ripple on many aspects of their well-being over time.

Help Them Engage In Hobbies

Whether your loved one can play bridge for hours, finds their happy place on a yoga mat, or looks forward to their book club every week, hobbies can often act as the key to a happy life. You can also help your loved one find new interests by exploring their interests or even their curiosities. Doing things that they love can contribute to your loved one’s positive aging process.

Help Them Keep Learning

Learning at any age can operate as a wonderful way to engage your loved ones’ brains in a positive way. Whether your friend or family member wants to take up pottery at a local studio, take a salsa dancing class, or even go back to school to get that degree that once eluded them, continual education provides benefits for their brain health, social life, and happiness.

Help Them Find Meaning

Whether that means spending time with their grandchildren, writing their memoirs, or even holding a job well into their 70’s, seniors can find meaning through a variety of methods. By allowing them to take the lead on this search, you can allow your loved one to live the life they’ve always imagined for themselves.

Pets have been shown to be tremendously beneficial to seniors. Senior pet care is known to protect against heart disease and lower blood pressure, stress and anxiety, as well as provide companionship. For those over 60, the emotional and physical benefits of owning a pet have been well established. Dogs also offer security, as robbers are less likely to visit a home with a barking dog. Pet care for the elderly requires several factors to be considered, however.

Senior pet care needs to be thoughtful and intentional. The right pet must be chosen for the individual. Cats are a great choice since they don’t need to be walked, but dogs are also great for those who desire to get regular exercise. Older, calmer pets often make great companions for senior citizens.

The pet will need care every single day, so it’s important to make sure that the owner is up for this. Animals need to be fed, kept clean and have all of their needs met.

Pet sitting for seniors is a service utilized by many. There are also veterinarians with mobile pet clinics who can go to visit the pet at the home of the senior citizen, and pet food can be delivered by any number of services.

Don’t forget to plan for the future. When older people adopt older pets, there is the sudden question of who will outlive whom, so it’s important to decide who will care for the pet if it outlives his or her human, or if the elderly caretaker is no longer able to care for it.

BlueDot Cares has provided tens of thousands of families with quality home medical equipment, making it easier for you and your loved ones, including your pets, to stay safe and healthy in your home. Senior pet care for the elderly doesn’t have to be a burden if it’s thoughtfully executed.

There’s no reason to feel guilty about needing help with mom or dad now and then when you’re at work or not able to provide the care they need. An increasingly convenient and affordable solution for situations like this is respite care in Charlotte. Here’s how both you and your loved one can benefit from the type of senior care Charlotte home care providers like BlueDot Cares offers.

Providing Consistent Care

Taking advantage of senior respite care means you can stress less when you need someone to look after mom or dad when you’re not able to do so. For your older loved one, this means consistent care from trusted and trained respite care workers who come to their own home.

Taking Care of Your Own Needs

With respite care in Charlotte, you don’t have to put your own needs on the back-burner just to lend a helping hand to your loved one. Arranging for professional respite care on an as-needed basis allows you to have time for your own needs. For instance, many family caregivers use respite care to:

• Go to their own doctors’ appointments
• Maintain their own personal relationships
• Enjoy a better balance
• Relax and unwind and regroup mentally

Maintaining a Sense of Self

Caregiver burnout is more common than you may realize. One of the reasons this occurs is because caring for an aging loved one sometimes requires a lot of time and attention. With senior respite care, you’ll be able to maintain a better sense of self by:

• Having time to socialize with friends your own age
• Enjoying activities and hobbies that help you relax and de-stress
• Taking time for vacations or weekend getaways

Arranging for Respite Care on Your Own Terms

Respite care can be arranged whenever it’s needed. If, for example, you need someone to watch dad during the day, a temporary care worker can come over during the hours when you are at work. Your loved one will also benefit since they’ll still be receiving the assistance and supervision they need when you’re not available. Plus, you’ll be able to provide better care when you are well-rested, mentally recharged, and healthy!

The type of senior care Charlotte residents sometimes need for an older loved one can be consistent and reliable with respite care. It’s also a budget-friendly option since respite care is only provided when it’s needed. Contact BlueDot Cares today to learn more about our senior respite care solutions.

Migraines in seniors are less common than what’s experienced in younger individuals. However, headaches of this nature do evolve with age, according to the National Headache Society. In fact, frequent senior migraines can seriously affect an older loved one’s quality of life. The good news is migraines may be managed more effectively with home care assistance geared towards helping older adults deal with migraines better.

Eating Healthy Meals and Staying Hydrated

An important part of dealing with senior migraines involves diet. This is because migraines can be triggered by poor eating habits or a lack of sufficient hydration throughout the day. But with in-home meal preparation, your loved one can receive the guidance and helping hand they need to enjoy well-balanced meals coupled with healthy snacks and plenty of water in between.

Getting Appropriate Physical Activity

Senior migraines may become less of a problem for your loved one if they get sufficient physical activity throughout their day. Regular exercise can be an equally important part of migraine care since physical activity boosts the release of chemicals that naturally block pain signals sent to the brain. Home care workers are trained to help older adults participate in activities appropriate for their capabilities.

Lowering Stress and Anxiety

Emotional stress and anxiety is one of the common triggers that can bring on a migraine headache or aggravate related symptoms that might include nausea, extreme fatigue, dizziness, and pain that progressively becomes more intense. With the right approach to migraine care, your loved one can receive care from both you and trained home care workers in a way that helps them remain calm and comfortable. Even having regular companionship can make your older loved one more relaxed and less susceptible to migraines.

Minimizing Migraine Triggers

Migraines in seniors are sometimes triggered by certain things in their immediate environment. Home care workers know how to create pleasing surroundings for older adults needing to avoid certain types of stimulation. In addition to encouraging your loved one to take their migraine medication as directed, this type of care may involve making sure your loved one is not significantly exposed to headache triggers that might include:

• Excessively bright rooms
• Loud noises or sounds
• Too much caffeine or alcohol

If you need this type of migraine care for your senior loved one for times when you are unable to be there for them, BlueDot Cares can help. Contact us today to learn more.

Many people do things such as go to the grocery store without a second thought. However, seniors can struggle with these tasks and need help. This is why senior care jobs to help out the elderly are so important. You can do these things to give back to the older generation and help them out.

Jobs Running Errands for Seniors

Some seniors can’t travel much, so they need someone to help them with errands. This may seem simple, but it matters to seniors. They need someone that can go to the store and pick up their groceries. This means that they don’t have to drive, go into the store and walk around to find their groceries. You can make things easier for them and can help people that can’t do their shopping alone.

Spend Time with Them

Even if people don’t have senior care jobs, they can still visit seniors to spend some time with them. Some seniors don’t have many family members and may become lonely. You can make their day by visiting and giving them a smile. Talk with them, but listen to them as well. See what they want to talk about.

By lending an ear, you can make a senior’s day. Show them that people care and want to spend time with them so that they can avoid loneliness.

Home Care

While people may clean around their home, they might take what they can clean for granted. While pushing a vacuum can be easy for some, seniors can struggle with the task. Providing simple home care services can make things easier for seniors, especially if they want to clean their house but physically can’t do the tasks.

Your simple contributions, such as cleaning, can mean so much to these seniors. Even if something seems simple for you, those simple tasks can brighten a bad day or help a senior in need.

While jobs running errands for seniors exist to help out seniors, you can always find ways to give a hand to someone older than you. Get out there and help seniors that can’t help themselves.

It is the winter holiday season and the perfect time to show our loved ones how much they mean to us. When it comes to the elderly, gift selection can sometimes be a challenge. Many seniors don’t necessarily want the newest gadget or items that might collect dust.

It is important to be mindful of what your parent or grandparent really wants or needs. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Listen thoughtfully. Many seniors will ask for personal care items for everyday use. While these might not seem like loving gifts for elderly family members, they just may be what preserves the dignity of your loved ones. Remember that these are people who have lived a long time and are wise. They are due the very basic respect of knowing you have heard them.

Beyond the gifts of basic needs, which are likely affordable items that can be part of a care package, gifts for seniors can include unexpected things that will bring surprised smiles to the faces of those we care about. Here are some ideas for thoughtful gifts for the elderly members of your family.

Audio Book Subscription

A perfect gift for seniors who love to read is an audio book subscription. You may have to include a Kindle or iPad with headphones. Many seniors have less than stellar vision and really miss the joy of reading books. Listening to an audio book can help keep them sharp and engaged.

Don’t be tempted to get those little earbuds that are often so awkward. Full headphones offer a comfortable and immersive experience. Always take comfort into consideration when choosing gifts for the elderly.

Meal Delivery Plan

Many seniors require some assistance with daily tasks while you are at work or caring for your own family. This may include help with meal preparation. Rather than having the caregiver just cook a meal, you could have a customized meal prep kit delivered, say 3 days a week for dinner, to their home.

The caregiver or you can engage your loved one in helping to prepare a special meal, even if she is just reading the directions to you. Many meal plan delivery companies allow you to choose the ingredients based on dietary restrictions. Let your elder help with that. Breaking bread together is a lovely gift.

Handmade Blanket

A handmade blanket is a great gift for the elderly. It is crafted by hand and can be personalized. This gift adds warmth and comfort. Who doesn’t like curling up in a cozy blanket that was made with love?

Flowering Plant

A flowering plant, such as an amaryllis, can provide life, color, and something to nurture. There is nothing more rewarding than caring for a living thing and watching it grow and change. Windowsill plants are thoughtful and healthy gifts for seniors. They clean the air and provide oxygen that can promote restful sleep.

Your Time

It might sound obvious that one of the most thoughtful gifts for elderly loved ones is the gift of your time spent with them. Schedule (promise) time to spend doing whatever your family member wants. It can be catching up on a Netflix program together, going for a stroll in the park, or grabbing lunch at his favorite diner. Bring the grandkids if appropriate. Time spent together is invaluable.

Final Thoughts

Our elders are important members of our family and community. The holiday season is a wonderful time to show appreciation by picking out some thoughtful gifts for the elderly who mean so much to us. Gifts can be as simple as personal care items or as sophisticated as the latest technology in audio books.

If you are a primary caregiver that also relies on assistance from others, consider gifts that engage interaction from all who are involved.