Staying independent as a senior is all about maintaining self-respect as well as upholding your dignity. This usually translates to a healthy physical, emotional, and mental well-being of the mind.
As the people around Seniors, it is our primary task to create an environment that supports them and directly involves them in activities that are going on around them. But it does not stop there because they need to be talked to about their interests, and whenever possible, they should be allowed to take control. Whenever there is some difficulty when it comes to accomplishing any task that threatens you as a senior to being independent, the focus might be lost and accidents can occur.
Below we’ve provided some tips that can be used to ensure that our Seniors remain independent at home.
#1 – Support Their Social Lives
First of all, we should come out boldly to support their social lives. This can be done by helping them to facilitate their regular social activities. This can involve activities such as going to social functions, ensuring that they can still connect with their old friends and visiting their relatives as well as actively participating in the groups that they are involved with such as charities, Seniors’ groups and foundations.
Other ways of supporting their social lives include being actively present to see that they are visiting places such as the library or any local theaters around or even better a communal activity or event that they are interested in. You might even be able to help out with transportation from time to time to make sure they don’t miss out.
#2 – Keep Your Brain Busy
Alternatively, another way to ensure our seniors remain independent involves keeping their “brains busy”. They don’t have to start compiling a thesis to keep their mind ticking over, instead considering activities like playing cards (with friends to also cover the social aspect), doing crosswords or completing complicated puzzles to mention a few.
#3 – Get Regular Exercise
Thirdly, we can be part of the seniors’ journey towards achieving independence by ensuring that they regularly exercise. Staying positively active is such a significant boost to ensuring that our health is not at risk of lifestyle diseases or debilitation through muscle atrophy. Being there to remind them that they should not skip or motivating them to start or continue with this exercise is equally important. Exercising does not mean having to go to the gym every day. You can take yoga classes or even as simple as planting flowers in the backyard or going for a short walk around the block is sufficient. A regular check should be done to ensure that they never lose the focus of completing regular exercise.
#4 – Daily Home Chores Routine
It is also suggested that it is essential to make then front-line participants in daily home chores and errands. While there are many activities to do around the house, you can do that by letting them take roles in what they want to do. Other activities that need supervision can be done together to create a comfortable environment. Some of the events that you can let them do include doing their laundry and afterward training their clothes and folding them. Activities done together may involve shopping and baking, among others.
#5 – Take Safety Measures to Reduce Risks
Finally, you can help them stay independent by ensuring they are safe at home. This is with the motive of reducing perils that may lead to bizarre accidents. Emergency response systems can be applied in situations that they are likely to be left alone for a long time. They do not have to be complicated systems; one can use monitored medical alarm systems. Other ways to reduce accidents include the installation of grab bars and handrails in hallways with slippery surfaces.
