As your elderly loved one ages even more, they may experience a decline in their mood. They may have some highs, but more lows the older they get. If your elderly loved one doesn’t do anything to start boosting their mood, it can lead to depression, anxiety, and other worsened mental health issues. With this being said, there are some ways that you and elder care providers can help your elderly loved one to boost their mood in the elderly years.
Encouraging Them to Exercise
One of the main ways for your elderly loved one to boost their mood is to exercise. However, many senior citizens don’t exercise often unless someone is telling or reminding them to do so. This is where you or their elderly care providers can come into play. You can work with your elderly loved one to create an exercise routine. Then, you can motivate or encourage them to stick to it, so they can keep up with their exercises. Research shows that exercise releases positive, feel-good chemicals in the brain.
Hanging Out with Friends
You or a companion care provider could take your elderly loved one to hang out with their friends. Studies have also shown that senior citizens who spend time regularly with their friends are happier, feel less lonely, and have fewer health issues overall. If your elderly loved one doesn’t have many friends, you or an elder care provider could spend time with them regularly until they find more friends.
Encouraging Them to Practice Gratitude
If you have ever tried to practice gratitude you already know what a profound impact it can have on your life. This is something that you should share with your elderly loved one. There are numerous ways they can start practicing gratitude. Some people find that a simple gratitude list is the best option. Others like to journal or draw about the things they are grateful for. Your elderly loved one doesn’t have to be a writer or an artsy person to make this list. It can be very basic. The purpose is to thinking about and be grateful for things in life such:
- Friends
- Family
- Health
- Hobbies
- Activities
- Events
These are just some things that your elderly loved one may add to their gratitude list. Research shows that being grateful for at least one thing a day can have a profound impact on one’s health and overall well-being.
Conclusion
There are so many different ways that your elderly loved one can boost their mood even now that they are getting older. Perhaps, they could try the things that are mentioned above or any other happy, go-lucky sort of activity or tip. The purpose is just to get them feeling better and happier. It may even be a good idea to talk to your elderly loved one about this and make a list of things that bring them happiness. Then, on a regular basis, an elder care provider can do one of those things with them.
Sources
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/cognitive-health-and-older-adults
