10 Ways Seniors Can Maintain A Healthy Lifestyle During The Pandemic

Health News
Written by A_Smith
January 5, 2022

Maintaining a healthy body amidst the pandemic isn’t an easy feat to accomplish, especially for elder people. As much as there are plenty of available alternatives, they consider many things to keep their bodies in good condition like their age, health conditions, and other prominent factors that prevent them from having a healthy lifestyle.

Consequently, the risks of developing diseases and illnesses may increase with their inability to maintain their overall wellness.

To better care for your senior loved ones and prevent such instances, you can consider seeking treatments from dependable home care facilities. Services like Home Nursing with Heart at-home nursing care and other similar assistances may help improve the quality of life of seniors during this pandemic. Or, you can sign them up in a nursing home.

For more information, you can continue reading this article.

Contents

Pro Tips For A Healthier Body For Seniors

The surge of the COVID-19 pandemic created various changes and challenges in the world that may last for a long time. Among these significant impacts is the implementation of confinement measures and community lockdowns to curb the spread of the disease. Due to that, many people are required to stay at their houses and avoid crowded places.

But, you can still do so much to help your elderly loved ones maintain healthy well-being despite the stricter rules and the pandemic. With the proper knowledge about how to do so and the right people to ask for help from, you can effectively help your family members obtain a healthy and fit body.

For starters, you need a checklist. This is to help you create an outline of your short-term and long-term goals for your senior loved one.

To help you more, here’s a list of simple yet efficient alternatives you can consider:

1. Eat Healthily

One of the most important aspects you must consider when helping someone obtain a healthier lifestyle is their nutritional intake. Particularly, it’s important to create a well-rounded diet for your senior loved ones to ensure that they’re getting the nutrition they need for a fit body.

Aside from having a well-rounded diet, you may also consider monitoring your elderly family member’s eating habits and determine which needs to be improved. Since elderly people are more at risk for numerous diseases, they might need foods rich in protein, fiber, potassium, and other vital minerals.

Some of the best foods you can include in their meal plan include fruits and vegetables, eggs, lean meats, dairy products, and whole grains. They may also take on leafy greens, seeds and nuts, fish and seafood, bread, limited fats, and vegetable oils.

2. Be Active

Besides their nutritional intake, elder people also need to check their physical health to maintain a healthy body. Specifically, it’d be better to encourage them to engage in physical activities even at home to avoid getting sick.

Exercise is one of the most effective ways to keep one’s body in optimal condition. Not only it could help reduce the risks of various diseases, but also improve one’s mental health.

Particularly, engaging in physical activities and regular exercises could help enhance the production of endorphins in one’s brain, which is responsible for mood and behavior. Through this, they can avoid mental issues like anxiety and depression.

Additionally, exercising regularly could relieve stress, keep them occupied, and keep their bodies in shape. Plus, it could help make them feel physically and emotionally stable even with the pandemic. Some of the best activities for them include brisk walking, jogging, walking, cycling, and other exercises.

3. Practice Proper Sleep Hygiene

To help your senior loved one maintain a healthier lifestyle, their sleeping patterns should also be considered. To begin with, having an adequate amount of sleep is essential in achieving optimum well-being. In particular, elder people have to get enough rest to allow their bodies to recuperate from fatigue throughout the day. To effectively do that, you can start with their sleeping habits and behavior.

Take note that sleep quality plays a vital role in reducing the risks of illnesses and diseases, as well as keeping their bodies in good condition. You can help your family members create a to-do list of activities they can do to sleep more peacefully at night. Also, you can make them try certain kinds of sleep-inducing supplements and pills to correct their circadian rhythm. But first, they need to see a doctor for a proper prescription of sleeping pills.

In terms of bolstering their natural sleep-wake cycle, you can help the seniors follow a regular sleep schedule like going to bed early and waking up accordingly to efficiently keep them in sync with their sleep cycle and enhance their natural body clock.

4. Find A New Hobby

Besides learning how to meditate, seniors may also benefit from learning a new hobby during their stay in their homes. Specifically, they may consider using their free time to keep illnesses away and keep them occupied. Not just that, but it could also make them feel purposeful and boost their self-esteem.

Also, learning new hobbies may reduce stress, prevent anxiety and depression, promote personal growth, and increase productivity. Plus, it could improve one’s mental well-being and keep their body in shape.

5. Avoid Alcoholic Drinks

In maintaining a healthy lifestyle, one must avoid any alcoholic drinks, cigarettes, and any addictive substances that could cause gradual deterioration of health. This is particularly true for elder people. Since they’re not as robust as before, it’s crucial to monitor their everyday lifestyle and eliminate those that could harm their health.

Particularly, alcohol should be avoided to ensure their optimal condition. Alcohol is among the most prominent factors behind various health issues and illnesses.

It could affect one’s immune system and disrupt the body’s normal functioning. In time, one’s body organs might malfunction. People who are taking alcohol excessively are also said to be at greater risk of developing severe health conditions when they age.

For seniors, it’s imperative to stop taking any alcoholic drinks to lead a healthy lifestyle. You may also consider imposing stricter discipline in their daily habits and monitoring their activities to better help them break free from alcoholic tendencies. By doing that, you can help your loved ones have a healthier lifestyle.

6. Prioritize Cleanliness

People may have different perceptions about keeping one’s body clean and healthy. Despite those differences, it’s crucial to always promote cleanliness in one’s daily routine to avoid sickness and illnesses.

To obtain cleanliness, you should always clean the place your elderly loved ones reside in. If it’s cluttered and dirty, then the more they’re likely to get sick. Due to their old age, seniors may not be able to clean their places well, which may also affect their mental well-being. To prevent such risks, it’s also best to help them practice proper hygiene and sanitation.

Furthermore, you may consider the things listed below:

Clean Hands Often: When it comes to promoting cleanliness and proper hygiene, one of the easiest and cheapest ways to do is to wash one’s hands regularly. Particularly, this practice minimizes the risks of contracting harmful diseases and germs attached to one’s hands.

The best way to prevent illnesses is to help your elderly loved one’s hands for at least 20 minutes to wash away disease-causing germs and bacteria. Ideally, they must clean their hands before and after eating, upon using the bathroom, after sneezing, after touching contaminated objects, or before touching their eyes.

Or, they may consider using alcohol-based hand sanitizers to clean their hands. As simple as it may seem, doing this practice significantly helps your loved ones maintain a healthier body.

Cover the Mouth When Sneezing: Sneezing is an involuntary act of the body to release the irritants like allergen, dust, and dirt in their nose and throat. Since it’s an involuntary response, one may not be able to prepare something to cover the mouth or nose when sneezing. This could then project germs in the air.

To avoid doing that, you can tell your senior family members to always cover their mouths or noses when coughing or sneezing to avoid spreading any germs in the air. Likewise, it’s important to cover the mouth when they’re sick using tissue or their elbow. After that, they must wash their hands.

Avoid Touching the Face with Dirty Hands: Although it’s common for people to touch their faces occasionally, doing it with dirty hands may affect their health. Since people may touch their faces at least three to five times a day, chances are pathogens might enter the mucus membranes on the face—eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

Then, they could infiltrate the bloodstream and affect the immune system. Without getting addressed properly, it could weaken one’s immune functions and lead to diseases. To prevent such instances, it’s best to always wash your seniors’ hands if they can’t do it anymore and always practice proper hygiene.

7. Practice Mindfulness

Because they’re required to stay inside their homes, elderly people might feel bored and spiritless. This could also make them feel isolated and weak, which may affect their physical and mental aspects. In helping them lead a healthier lifestyle, you need to focus not just on improving their physical health, but also their mental well-being.

Since one’s mental health plays a vital role in their overall functioning and health, it’s crucial to give proper attention to it. Elderly people also have to be given sufficient care and attention to ensure maintaining their mental health and avoid cognitive decline. To do that, you can encourage them to learn relaxation techniques and meditation routines.

Proper meditation gives many advantages, including regulating their blood pressure and bolstering their immune system. Plus, it could effectively relieve mental health issues like stress, anxiety, and depression.

8. Establish Healthy Daily Routines

To maintain a healthy and purposeful lifestyle, seniors may consider creating a comprehensive list of things they can do each day. Aside from keeping them busy, it could also effectively align their activities to their interests and hobbies. Creating doable routines in their daily habits may also keep them guided and motivated which leads to a meaningful lifestyle.

Additionally, they may do the following:

Start A Journals: Writing a journal may help seniors to monitor their progress each day and determine the aspects that need to be improved. Also, this practice could provide them solace and comfort, which are essential for their mental health. Even during the pandemic, writing in a journal could give a sense of normalcy and harmony and alleviate stress.
Learn New Things: There’s no doubt that the pandemic brought many disadvantages and unfortunate events this year. But these trying times may also be used to empower one’s self and improve their well-being. Particularly, you can help your elderly learn new things. Be it a new skill or a hobby, allotting some time for personal growth and development could motivate them to live happily and meaningfully.

Also, this alternative could make them ascertain their worth and keep them goal-driven. For better results, they may formulate a to-do list to effectively prioritize important things.

9. Stay At Home

The surge of the pandemic disrupted the normal way of living of everyone. It also created lingering impacts in the society that affected how people live and how they mingle with other people. Since the threats of the virus are still rampant, people are required to stay in the safety of their homes. Particularly, seniors can’t go to crowded places to avoid contracting diseases.

It’s also best to stay at home if they’re feeling unwell as much as possible to prevent compromising the health of the people around them. Likewise, if someone’s feeling a bit under the weather, it’s better to maintain a safe distance or do a self-quarantine to avoid spreading the virus. You can also seek help from in-home care services for them to give them the proper care they need or hire reliable caregivers.

10. Reducing Stress

Living through a pandemic can cause fear and stress for seniors as the world continues to work through the uncertainty. One way to help reduce stress levels is by planning. Thinking about worst case scenarios is not something anyone wants to do, but when planning for a senior it is important to discuss the what-ifs so everyone is prepared.

Takeaway

Leading a healthy lifestyle during the pandemic can be challenging, especially for elderly people. There are prominent factors like their age and health conditions that could prevent them from accomplishing such tasks.

Fortunately, there are plenty of available options you can consider to effectively improve their quality of life during these times, including seeking help from reliable home care services and facilities. You can also consider the things listed above to help them lead a healthy lifestyle and keep them happy and to ensure their overall well-being.

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