Health upkeep is hard enough when you’re fully capable of it. As you get older, it can become nearly impossible to take care of yourself if you have longtime unhealthy habits. Taking preventative health measures is necessary to protect your health.
If you have senior friends, neighbors, or family members, you can intervene on their behalf.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of reasons (often myths) for caregivers and family members to stop trying to help elderly people in their life stay healthy. For instance, if a caregiver believes that aged folk lose their appetites, they may stop helping them eat. But you don’t have to be that kind of family member — you can be better than that.
Since our health is very much based on our habits, it’s good to start encouraging and helping the people who are elderly in your life right now. Not being aware of the risks of unhealthy habits can have staggering consequences for your loved ones, and they need you.
Increased Risks
It’s important to base the habits you teach an elderly person on their current condition and health risks. As they get older, the chances of some of these risks increase in specific ways for individuals — especially if they are not used to caring for their health. This can play out in a variety of ways and can, unfortunately, happen very quickly.
One big reason risks increase all at once is that the body is connected in so many ways. You know the children’s song about the hip bone being connected to the thigh bone, and so on? This concept has a practical implication when it comes to the processes which break down your body.
For instance, did you know that heart disease can influence gum disease? If someone is a lifetime smoker and finds themselves with heart disease at the end of their life, it’s likely that they may end up with gum disease as well. This is it is vital for a smoker or previous smoker to build habits that help the heart and take proper care of his teeth is vital for someone who was a smoker.
Thinking Outside of the Box
It can become extremely frustrating for the caregiver when a person is uninterested in doing what it takes to live a long and healthy life. Sometimes, in order to help build a healthier life, people have to find creative ways to make healthy activities more enjoyable and exciting.
For an aging adult, this is best exemplified regarding physical fitness and exercise. Some people avoid exercising because they haven’t discovered what works for them. Exercise doesn’t have to be restricted to working out at a gym or “unfun” hobbies; you can think out of the box, and discover ways to help your relative find exercise to be fun. An exercise routine that is more enjoyable is a more likely routine to be followed.
People who are elderly can exercise by swimming and walking rather than following a strict gym regimen. Furthermore, some activities, such as golfing, can entail a surprising amount of exercise while keeping senior players motivated.
Making Habits Second Nature
The key to a healthy life is developing healthy habits throughout life. Being healthy should be a natural result of your everyday routine. When people are older, it is much more difficult to break unhealthy habits and change things around.
For instance, cataracts are very common among people who are elderly. An easy way to combat cataracts is to encourage your loved ones to wear UV-blocking sunglasses and foods that are rich in vitamin C. They may be reluctant to start wearing UV-blocking sunglasses whenever they go outside — especially if they’ve never really worn glasses or sunglasses in their life — but once you help them get over that initial uncomfortable feeling, it can become habitual for them.
It’s completely understandable that changing the way you’ve lived for years can be difficult. But with a changing body must come a change of habits. Starting small will make this mindset second nature and increase the quality of life for the seniors in our lives.
Have you had to help your older relatives build healthier habits? What was your experience with that? Were they reluctant or fairly easygoing? Let us know; tell us below!
