Staying active is something that can help your elderly family member in a variety of different ways, especially if her doctor has cleared her to get moving. But what if she’s not sold on the idea?
Remind Her that Exercise Helps Her Balance
Balance can be a massive concern for aging adults and your senior may want to do everything she can to keep the balance that she has. Regularly exercising is the way to do just that. Specific types of exercise, like yoga, are especially good choices. Make sure you remind her that improving her balance also helps to reduce her fall risk.
Tie Exercise to Her Energy Levels
Your senior might talk about how she’s not feeling as energetic as she used to and that can be normal to an extent. If she’s less active than she used to be, that could be part of the problem. Moving a little more regularly can help your elderly family member’s energy levels to rise naturally. She’ll expend a little bit of energy to get big returns.
Let Her Know Exercise Helps Her Sleep
Just as exercise helps your senior’s energy levels to rebound, it can also help her to sleep a little more soundly. She’s working her muscles and her joints, and her body is releasing endorphins and other hormones and chemicals that do great things for her. She’ll also expend excess energy that might contribute to insomnia. All of a sudden, she’s sleeping better than she has in a long time.
Show Her How Exercise Fights Chronic Health Issues
If your elderly family member has issues with chronic health problems like high blood pressure or diabetes, these are illnesses that respond favorably to exercise. Have her doctor talk to her about what exercise can do to help her to keep those conditions under the best control possible. She may even find that she’s able to reduce some of the medications she takes as she exercises more regularly.
Talk about Her Desire to Remain Independent
Finally, your senior might have expressed a desire to remain as independent as she possibly can. That’s called aging in place and it’s a common goal for older adults. It’s made much more difficult if she’s experiencing health issues or is having other difficulties. By exercising she can deal with those other issues which, in turn, can help her to age in place like she wants.
It’s entirely possible that your senior learns to enjoy exercise once she gets started. Keeping her exercising might be easier with the help of home care providers. They can help to monitor how she’s doing and ensure she gets safely wherever she wants to go.
If you or an aging loved one is considering homecare in Littleton, CO, please contact the caring staff at SYNERGY HomeCare Denver. Call today: (303) 756-9322.
