Many seniors are living farther apart from their relatives than ever before. Seniors may not have any family nearby and often their children are taking jobs in centres that may not be close to where a parent lives. This can impact senior life quality.
Why Enhance Senior Life Quality?
Loneliness is one of the most common problems to deal with as you age and can affect your health to such a degree that it’s important to either find ways to interact socially with others or immerse yourself in a variety of hobbies and interests at home. Staying active, both physically and mentally keeps you healthy by exercising both your body and your brain cells and enhances your quality life.
If you are a caregiver, one of the most important ways you can help is by offering to assist those in your care with setting up their living space so that what they see around them keeps them interested. Objects that reflect their hobbies and pastimes are helpful in maintaining a life that is vibrant. Examples would be plants and artwork, photographs of family or a collage of pictures. Anything that is of interest helps seniors to enjoy their own spaces. They need to feel that they have power over their surroundings and their homes.
A vast majority of seniors volunteer their time, at hospitals, libraries and anywhere they’re needed. Without this legion of volunteers, many of the services that most of us take for granted just wouldn’t be available. Volunteering provides a sense of accomplishment and pride and keeps seniors socially active and able to meet new people. This contributes to overall well being and a quality life.
For seniors who are housebound, physical ailments can occupy too much of their time. Cognitive fitness which includes memory and the ability to reason, needs to be maintained. Encourage your loved ones to read books or listen to music or audio books. Crossword puzzles and other word or board games can maintain their interest and keep their thinking sharp. Likewise, there are many on line games as well. Either way, they help with the senior’s life quality, health and wellness.
If they are capable of looking after one, a pet can be an excellent companion at any age and gives them something to focus on besides themselves.
Learning can take place in many ways. Reading newspapers, listening to lectures, self-study courses – all of these and more can be done on your own with a CD or over the internet. Learning grows your mind and keeps you enthusiastic, exercises the brain and provides you with new interests, which makes you more interesting.
Continually explore new options, to engage in their interests, and to find new ways to stay stimulated and occupied. This is the best way to maintain a healthy and high quality life as you age.
