As your parents get older, you need to take more interest in their health and fitness. If they experience issues with their health, then this is always going to lead to far lower quality of life. This is probably the last thing that you want for your parents. So, how can you make sure that they remain in the best possible health decades into their retirement.
Here are some of the key points to consider.
Focus On Their Diet
First, you should think about helping your elderly parents improve their diet. Diet options will always have a huge impact on both mental and physical health. One of the ways that you can manage this is by going shopping with your parents to ensure that they do buy everything that they need for a balanced diet. At the very least, you should focus on ensuring that they are getting their five a day and plenty of veg. Antioxidants are important too. These are found in foods like blueberries and research shows that they may be critical in fighting oxidation. This has been linked to various health conditions including the degradation of gray matter in the brain.
Watch For Sensory Issues
You should also make sure that you are paying attention to any sensory issues that your elderly parent might be experiencing. Sensory issues could include hearing loss or changes to eyesight. Hearing loss is particularly troublesome as changes in the inner ear can impact things like balance, making falls more likely. Of course, you should never assume that this is the cause. It’s possible that a fall was caused by something else such as a mistake made by another individual or property owner. A fall will always impact the long term physical health of elderly individual. So you should at least consider whether to sue for personal injury damages.
Change Their Home
As well as watching for sensory issues that could cause a fall, you might want to change their home to ensure that a fall is far less likely. One of the ways that you can do this is with additions such as handles for support in key areas like the bathroom. Slips and falls in the bathroom are incredibly common and become a greater risk as you age. As such, it does make sense to explore different ways that you can make the bathroom a far safer environment overall.
Invest In The Right Tech
Next, you should think about investing in the right technology. There are lots of different tech options that can help your parent’s mental and physical health. For instance, if they are having issues with mobility, then you should consider getting them a wheelchair. If they are having cognitive trouble, then tech devices that help train and stretch their brain could be useful.
Keep Them Active
It’s not enough just to ensure that your parents are eating the right diet. You should also take steps to ensure that they remain active as well. It’s common to assume that it’s going to be dangerous for elderly parents to continue to exercise. However, this is not the case. It’s more likely that the right types of exercise will prevent an injury. Of course, you shouldn’t be encouraging your elderly parents to pump iron. But, you can think about taking them on walks or encouraging them to try fitness options such as yoga. Yoga is particularly beneficial as it helps the body as well as the mind.
Keep Them Socializing
Another point to consider is whether or not your elderly parent is getting the right level of socialization. High levels of socialization can mitigate issues such as depression and anxiety which are often common in the elderly population. There are lots of ways that you can encourage your elderly parents to socialize. For instance, you might want to think about exploring options such as social clubs. These are available for a wide range of different activities that your elderly parent might love or find interesting. A change in environment can also help. For instance, if you help your parents move to a retirement village they will have countless opportunities for socialization.
As you can see, there’s a lot that you can do to help ensure that your elderly parents remain in the best possible health. This is often just a case of paying attention and providing the right assistance where necessary. Remember, in some cases simply maintaining an active role in your parent’s lives can be enough to keep them happy and healthy, ensuring they maintain their independence for as long as possible.
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