As adults age, many of their skills begin to decrease, including their cognitive abilities. These changes are due to various reasons, such as side effects of medication, decreased activity, isolation, mental illnesses, and normal aging. The good news is family caregivers can help their senior loved ones boost their cognitive health and independence.
1. Promote Socialization
Many adults isolate themselves in their golden years, which can increase their risk of conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s. By interacting with others, your aging loved one can use critical thinking skills, memory, and more. Carrying on conversations with other people keeps the brain agile.
2. Serve Healthy Foods
The foods elderly people consume have a significant effect on their brain health. For instance, fruits and vegetables full of antioxidants are good for the mind because they fight against free radicals that impact the way seniors feel and react. Fatty fish, nuts, and olive oil contain omega-3 fatty acids that increase the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain, which enhances thinking skills and cognition.
3. Encourage Learning Something New
Your loved one is never too old to learn something new and exciting, such as a new activity, dance routine, language, or skill set. When you encourage learning something new, you can inspire your parent to boost his or her cognitive skills and lower the risk of neurological disorders like dementia. In addition to doing arts and crafts, reading, playing music, and dancing, your parent could enroll in an online class or take an adult education course at a local college or university.
A professional caregiver with training and expertise in methods of cognitive stimulation can be a wonderful asset for your loved one. Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of home care service. You can rely on Home Care Assistance to provide an individualized care plan to meet your elderly loved one’s unique care needs. Our holistic Balanced Care Method was designed to help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits, such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and our Cognitive Therapeutics Method offers mentally stimulating activities that can prevent cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia.
4. Suggest Getting Plenty of Rest
Adequate rest can help seniors think clearly, make logical decisions, and remember more information. Therefore, your loved one should get at least eight hours of sleep each night. Help your loved one develop a good bedtime routine and limit distractions at night, such as turning off lights in unused rooms and keeping the volume on televisions and radios low.
It’s also important for family caregivers to get the rest they need to stay healthy, and home caregivers can be a wonderful source of support for both seniors and their families. Whether you need respite from your caregiving duties or your aging loved one needs live-in care, Anchorage, AK, Home Care Assistance can meet your family’s care needs. Our dedicated caregivers are available around the clock to provide transportation to doctor’s appointments, ensure seniors take their prescribed medications, and help with a variety of tasks in and outside the home.
5. Stimulate Creativity
Whether it’s by drawing pictures, creating music, writing in a journal or blog, or starting a business, your loved one can stimulate his or her mind and boost his or her cognitive health. Creativity keeps the brain engaged and enhances mental and emotional health. These activities strengthen the capacity to envision new things while utilizing memories of past actions, facts, and instructions. There’s no wrong or right way to use creative imagination, which could lead to more activity and higher self-esteem.
6. Promote Physical Activity
One of the easiest ways for older adults to boost their cognitive skills is by exercising. Merely walking through the neighborhood, cycling on a bike trail, or jogging through the park could increase brain function. Physical activity boosts cognitive health and memory, and the movements can also burn calories, reduce stress, and prevent conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and osteoporosis.
With the help of an in-home caregiver, your loved one can have more time to enjoy things that stimulate his or her mind. Seniors who want to remain healthy as they age can benefit in a variety of ways when they receive professional in-home care. Anchorage, AK, Home Care Assistance is here to help your loved one accomplish daily tasks, prevent illness, and focus on living a healthier and more fulfilling life. To talk to one of our friendly Care Managers and create a customized senior care plan, call us at (907) 770-0907.