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Tag: Healthy Habits

In-Home Care Helps Seniors Focus On Their Mental Health

Posted on by Craig Bass

Seniors need to pay just as much attention to their mental health as they do to their physical health. But often seniors neglect their mental health because they think that being sad or “blue” is just part of the process of getting older. But it isn’t. Seniors can stay happy and healthy well into their advanced years if they spend some time developing healthy mental wellness habits. In-home care helps seniors focus on their mental health by taking care of the many day to day living tasks that can be tough for seniors. When seniors have in-home care to help with various tasks, they can focus on having fun and living their best lives. A few of the ways that in-home care can help seniors improve their mental health are:

Getting Better Sleep

Seniors who have in-home care overnight will be able to get better sleep, and that will result in better mental health. During sleep is when the brain clears out the clutter and resets. But often seniors don’t get the kind of restful sleep they need. It’s easy for seniors to become anxious at night or be lonely which can make them have poor sleep. Having someone in the house with them at night can make seniors feel less anxious and help them relax enough to get the quality sleep they need.

Eating Healthier Meals

Very often seniors aren’t eating the healthy meals they should eat. Whether it’s because they don’t want to cook for just one or they have trouble doing things like shopping or preparing food they may be relying on take out food or microwave meals. In-home care means that seniors will have someone to help them prepare delicious nutritious meals. And they will have company to share those meals with. A caregiver can also prepare healthy meals in advance so if seniors do need to microwave a meal it will be a healthy homemade meal.

Getting More Exercise

When seniors have a friend that visits regularly they more likely to be active. With a caregiver they can go for walks or bike rides, take exercise classes, or even just put on some music and dance. When seniors are more active their mental health will improve. Exercise kick starts the production of endorphins in the brain. Endorphins are what makes people feel happy. So the more exercise your senior loved one gets the happier they will be.

Not Worrying About Their Home

The home environment can have a big impact on your senior loved one’s state of mine. A lot of seniors become anxious or depressed when they can’t keep their home clean or when the laundry piles up. Seniors may feel inadequate if they can’t carry the laundry like they used to or vacuum like they used to. In-home care can do all the household chores and make sure that the house is clean and tidy can really improve a senior’s mental health by making sure they have a tidy and organized house.

If you or an aging loved one is considering in-home care in Fountain Hills, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!

How To Encourage Seniors To Eat Healthy

Posted on by Craig Bass

It might be difficult to get seniors who lack the appetite to eat. Numerous factors contribute to some elderly persons losing their appetite or refusing food. However, this does not negate your concern for them and your efforts to provide them with the nutrients they need. Occasionally, little adjustments may have a significant impact. You may be working and can’t help your senior parents out at home, or you can’t ensure they are eating adequately. Some of you may not know how to encourage seniors in a healthy way.

When you cannot be there for your senior parents, it is crucial to have someone there for them. Seniors may not want to bother their children or impose on anyone’s lives, but they will need to care for them. Personal care at home can help seniors age in place without the need to have family there 24/7. Caregivers are set to help seniors thrive when they want to age in place.

Personal care at home may help a senior remember to eat healthily or drive them to the grocery store to make healthy options. Here are six tips for seniors who have lost their appetite. When experimenting with these concepts, be patient, be inventive, keep exploring, and avoid becoming frustrated.

Have a Meal Schedule

A senior may struggle to keep a meal schedule on their own, but this is another thing that personal care at home may help with. Seniors may struggle with a schedule because they have health conditions that make cooking for themselves harder. However, one of the best ways to encourage them to eat healthily is by sticking to a regular eating schedule. This can include snacks.

Small But High Nutrition

Specific individuals may feel overwhelmed when confronted with an abundance of food. Serve smaller amounts rather than a large dish. Alternatively, you may experiment with a daily pattern where your older adult has five small meals rather than three bigger ones.

Stop Using Utensils

The irritation associated with being unable to use a spoon, fork, or knife may cause some older persons to stop eating altogether. To make eating easier for them, consider presenting items that can be eaten without utensils or experimenting with adaptable utensils. Try finding finger foods that the seniors can simply pick up and eat.

Healthy Snacks On Hand

Certain individuals may choose to graze rather than have substantial meals throughout the day. Keep a variety of nutritious, delectable, and easy-to-eat snacks on hand so kids may choose from various healthy alternatives.

Liquid Foods May Be Best

Chewy foods can be tiring for anyone but especially older adults. Finding ways to juice vegetables, make milkshakes, or even fruit smoothies can be beneficial. There are ways to make these drinks healthy and nutritious.

Take Notes

Your or personal care at home providers can start keeping track of what the senior enjoys or what works best. When you begin to notice these habits, it can encourage a senior to eat healthy a lot easier.

 

If you or an aging loved one is considering personal care at home in Scottsdale, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!

How To Have a Spa Day at Home With Your Senior

Posted on by Craig Bass

You deserve to treat yourself to a day at the spa. However, due to the high expense, this is a luxury enjoyed only on rare occasions. Because of this, there are several options for receiving identical treatments in the convenience of your own home at a significantly lower cost. These home spa day activities are a great way to relax and unwind at the end of a long day. So, the next time you decide to throw a spa day at home, include your senior and make it a fun day for both of you!

Doing a home spa day with your senior is a great way for both of you to relax and reduce stress. If you have been struggling to make plans with your senior parent outside of caregiving, consider how senior home care providers can help. Senior home care providers can provide meal preparation, light housekeeping, laundry assistance and more, which offers you time to simply enjoy your senior’s company, Here are some fun activities that you and your senior may enjoy with the help of a senior home care provider.

Try a Bubble Bath

A senior may not want to do this with you, but you may have a tub that is big enough for them that they don’t have access to. Have a senior home care provider come over with your parents and set them up a nice relaxing tub to bathe in. You can provide them with special products to help them battle dry skin or other problems that a bath can fix. The caregiver can do all of the work, making you and the senior feel more comfortable with the idea.

At Home Spa Treatments

There is no better way to spend time with your mom or dad than by doing a facemask and turning on a good TV show. This may not be something you typically do with your senior parent, but it can be fun once in a while and make them feel good about themselves. You can even try making homemade face masks for body scrubs for your senior!

Work on Nails

This is a chore that is not usually fun for seniors to do. However, you can easily make it fun and relaxing for your senior mom or dad. Give them a manicure or pedicure at home, complete with a massage and everything. There are cheap packs of manicure sets at local drug stores, just be sure you sanitize them before using them on your seniors.

Rest Together

Once your spa day is complete, do something relaxing together. Listen to spa music and read a book or turn on your favorite cooking shows. It is important for you to take time to spend with your seniors and it can be a good way for them to also focus on hygiene and stress levels.

If you or an aging loved one is considering senior home care in Chandler, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!

National Mocktail Week Helps Your Parents Embrace Healthier Habits

Posted on by Craig Bass

One of the biggest challenges for older adults can be giving up that pint of beer, a glass of wine, or a favorite cocktail. Yet, several of the more common prescription medications the elderly take have alcoholic beverages listed in the contraindications.

The second week of January is National Mocktail Week. It’s a good time to join your parents and embrace healthier habits. Here are some of the best ways to use mocktails to get your parents to give up their favorite dinner-time beverages, and how elder care can help.

What Are Your Parents Favorite Beverages?

What are your parents’ favorite cocktails? Your dad loves a gin and tonic. There are non-alcoholic gins on the market, or you could make it with fresh lime juice, tonic water, and ice. Your mom’s craving for a Moscow Mule is easily met with fresh lime juice, a stevia-sweetened ginger ale, soda water, and sprigs of mint.

If they love having a pint of beer with their dinner, look into hop oil. You can add some drops of hop oil to a glass of ice and seltzer. Look into sparkling grape juice for a glass of wine and mix it with some seltzer if it’s too sweet for them. There are also non-alcoholic wines that can be pretty convincing.

Make daiquiris using pureed frozen fruits, seltzer, and lime juice. If they miss the flavor of rum, use rum extract.

Skip the Sugar

When making mocktails for your mom and dad, pay attention to their dietary needs. If they are supposed to reduce their sugar intake due to diabetes, don’t use sugar syrup. Instead, use a sweetener like stevia drops and limit the amount used.

Use fresh fruits for sweetening drinks over sugar. The antioxidants are important. Pureed cherries add sweetness to a drink and count as one of their daily servings of fresh fruit.

Hire Elder Care to Keep Your Parents on Track

How well do your mom and dad do with their prescribed medicines? Do they take them on time or often forget a dose? If they do forget the dose, you can’t have them taking twice as much. If they skip some medications, it could impact their health. This is why elder care is one of the best things you can arrange.

Elder care aides stop by and remind your parents when to take their next dose. They have someone to track whether they’ve taken a pill or not. They won’t miss a dose or take too much because they don’t remember that they’ve already taken it. Call an elder care specialist to get started.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-12-aha-news-year-mocktail.html

National Mocktail Week Marks the Rise of Alcohol-Free Drinks

If you or an aging loved one is considering elder care in Scottsdale, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!

Diet Improvement for the Elderly: What Do You Need to Know?

Posted on by Craig Bass

Have you recently noticed that your elderly loved one doesn’t eat well? You may have visited their house last weekend and realized they don’t have much food in their fridge. When asking them about it, they may just say they don’t need to eat much. There are far too many elderly people who aren’t eating well or eating enough. The good thing is that there are some diet improvement tips that might be able to help your elderly loved one.

Weekly Meal Plans Aren’t Just a Fad

When thinking about weekly meal plans, your elderly loved one may just think that is something younger adults do when they want fancy meals. However, making weekly meals plans can be great for anyone. In addition, if you or an elder care provider help your elderly loved one to make these meal plans, it can ensure they eat better than they are eating now. For example, maybe your elderly loved one currently doesn’t eat breakfast. However, when having a weekly meal plan, you can add breakfast recipes to their meal plans.

Alternate Ingredients

Maybe, your elderly loved one doesn’t make new recipes because they don’t like a lot of foods. If this is the case, it shouldn’t deter them from eating healthy foods. There are most likely foods they can replace with the ingredients they don’t like. For example, if a recipe calls for them to put green peppers in it, maybe they could replace that with carrots. You or a home care provider can look up ingredient replacements for a specific food that your elderly loved one doesn’t like. Hopefully, by doing this, your elderly loved one will start eating better.

Reducing Sugar and Salt Intake

It is also important for everyone to limit their sugar and salt intake, especially elderly people. The risk of diabetes and heart disease can be extremely high when someone eats a lot of sugar and salt. The good news is there are plenty of tasty recipes that are low in sugar and salt. If needed, you or an elder care provider can help your elderly loved one find these recipes. Even if they don’t think they will like certain ones, it might be worth a try. There are also many snacks that are delicious, but still low in sugar and salt.

Conclusion

Does your elderly loved one need some help with improving their diet? If so, there are numerous tips that can help them to do this. Don’t forget that if your elderly loved one isn’t sure where to start or what to do, you or a home care provider can help with making their meal plans and finding recipes.

Sources
https://www.hhs.gov/fitness/eat-healthy/how-to-eat-healthy/index.html

If you or an aging loved one is considering elder care in Tempe, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!

How Much Physical Activity Should Your Senior Be Getting?

Posted on by Craig Bass

Being as physically active as possible might need to be a bigger part of your senior’s overall plan for wellness. That’s especially true if her doctor agrees that she should be moving more. But just how much more is really right for your senior to move? That might depend on some other variables.

There’s the Official Recommendation

The official recommendation from a variety of health professionals is for people, even aging adults, to get at least 150 minutes per week of exercise. That equates to around 30 minutes per day. If your elderly family member is able to be much more physically active, then moderate-intensity exercise can bring that total down to 75 minutes.

But Unofficially, Moving More Is Better

Realistically, though, moving more at all than she is now can be good for your senior. Once your senior talks with her doctor and gets a definitive recommendation, all she really needs to do is to gradually increase her activity levels. Moving just a little bit more can be fine. It might be easier for her to do this with company, either from caregivers or from friends and family members.

She Can Add to Her Activity Levels Over Time

Once your senior is more active in general, she can increase her activity levels. There are lots of ways to do this. She can spend more time being active or she can make the exercise that she does more intense. Doing activities that help her to build muscle are good options, because losing muscle tone and strength are big issues for aging adults.

It’s About What Feels Okay and Is Safe

Ultimately, this is about what feels and is safe for your senior and her needs. It’s also about what helps her to feel healthy and content. If your elderly family member wants to exercise and has mobility concerns, it may make sense to have assistance from 24-hour home care providers available. 24-hour home care providers offer stability and companionship that your senior can rely on as she works to help her body to be stronger and more physically active.

The right levels of physical activity are truly individual. There are general recommendations, but there are also specific variables that really impact how active your senior is able to be. Paying attention to all of these factors helps you and your elderly family member to make sure that she’s safe and healthy, no matter how active she is.

 

If you or an aging loved one is considering 24-hour home care in Mesa, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!

Four Possible Consequences of Malnutrition for Seniors

Posted on by Craig Bass

If you suspect that your aging family member is malnourished, make sure to talk with her doctor to set up a plan to assess what nutrients she needs and how to best get them into her daily diet. Ignoring nutrition needs can seriously impact your senior’s health and may make it more difficult for her to meet her own goals as she ages.

Decreased Muscle Strength

As your senior ages, she is more likely to lose muscle tone and strength. If she’s not getting the nutrients that her body needs, that decrease in muscle strength is likely to occur much more quickly. Losing muscle strength can also mean that your elderly family member is not able to maintain mobility and that becomes a huge safety problem.

Increased Fall Risk

Another big problem with losing muscle tone is that it can increase your senior’s risk of falling. Other factors can contribute as well, though. Low blood sugar, low blood pressure, and more can all be contributing factors to increasing your senior’s fall risk. Falling even one time can have serious health consequences for your elderly family member for a very long time to come.

Weakened Immunity

Your senior’s immune system requires nutrients in order to maintain itself. To reduce the risk of illness, infection, and other health problems, your senior’s immune system need to be able to keep itself running. If you’re noticing that your elderly family member is frequently ill or is having a more difficult time healing in general, it might be due to poor nutrition.

Increased Likelihood of Hospitalization

Malnutrition can also increase the risk of your senior ending up hospitalized, either due to a fall or due to another health issue. Aging adults hospitalized may be more likely to become even weaker, lose more muscle tone, and suffer further attacks on their immune system. In short, that makes all of the other consequences even worse for your senior.

Keeping your senior well nourished is absolutely vital, but it can feel complicated. Working with senior home care providers can help, because they’re able to be there with your senior and help to monitor what and when she’s eating. If your senior needs physical help eating, elder care providers can offer that assistance. Even if all that your elderly family member needs is for senior home care providers to cook for her, that can go a long way toward improving her nutritional intake.

If you or an aging loved one is considering senior home care in Phoenix, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!

Four Hot Weather Comfort Tips for Your Senior

Posted on by Craig Bass

It can be really difficult to help your elderly family member to stay comfortable when the temperatures outside keep climbing. Add in humidity, too, and your senior could be susceptible to a variety of heat-related illnesses. Try some of these ideas in order to help your elderly family member to stay as cool as she can when the weather outside is overwhelmingly hot.

Drink Plenty of Hydrating Fluids

Avoiding drinks that are full of caffeine, sugar, and alcohol is important when the weather is hot outside. Hydrating beverages, preferably water, are much better for your senior because they ensure that she’s not losing too much fluid. If she’s not a fan of water, consider unsweetened herbal teas as a substitute. An elder care provider can ensure that your senior drinks plenty of water throughout the day, as well as consuming nutritious foods that also provide hydration.

Shower and Bathe with Cool Water

Warm or hot showers and baths might feel good to aching joints, but during summer they’re not a great idea. It’s much better for your senior to bathe and shower with lukewarm or cooler water to help her to keep her core temperature down. In fact, a cool soak or shower later in the afternoon can be especially good if she’s overheated in the afternoon.

Stay out of Direct Sun and Turn on the Air Conditioner, if Possible

To avoid overheating, it’s important for your senior to stay out of direct sunlight as much as possible. If your senior has air conditioning, that’s the best option for helping her to stay as cool as she can. In fact, Air Conditioning Appreciation Days run from July 3 through August 15, which can be some of the hottest parts of the summer.

Rest During the Hottest Parts of the Day

If your senior doesn’t already limit her activity levels when it’s hot outside, convince her to rest during the hottest parts of the day. This can be crucial if she has health issues that contribute to overheating more easily. Bringing in elder care providers can ensure that your senior has her needs met but that she’s also able to rest as much as possible.

Hot weather is nothing to play around with for aging adults. Your senior’s body doesn’t respond to temperature variations, especially hotter weather, in the same ways that it did when she was younger. If she’s taking medications, it’s also a good idea to talk to her doctor about how hot weather can affect side effects from those medications and her health issues as well.

If you or an aging loved one is considering hiring elder care in Queens Creek, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!