Guest Blog : Ways to Make In-Home Care Easier
Being responsible for another person when they’re unable to care for themselves is an emotional and physical challenge. Whether it’s a parent, grandparent, or in law—it’s not easy. If there is a way to help ease the burden, it’s a good idea to do it. Here are three adjustments that will make in-home care easier.
1. Remove potential hazards
Whether you care for someone who has dementia or someone who can’t walk, it’s important to remove anything that could be dangerous to them.
Health Care Associates mention a few hazards to think about:
● Throw rugs
● Clutter
● Slippery or steep steps
● Poor lighting
● Pets
● Unstable chairs
● Extension cords
● Low toilet seats
● Sidewalk cracks
● Sloping driveway
While you may not have control of all of these hazards, it’s a good idea to eliminate the risks when possible. Being aware of the potential risks will help you to know which areas you need to keep an eye on.
2. Delegate the big tasks
As a caregiver, your priority is taking care of someone. However, it’s common for caregivers to feel like they have to take care of everything. Instead of trying to manage everything yourself, find ways to take the pressure off of yourself so that you’re able to focus on what matters most.
For example, if you’re not a professional cook or an appliance repair professional, don’t try to be—consider meal delivery or appliance services. Instead of feeling guilty for not doing everything, lighten the burden so that you’re able to do your job without unnecessary stress.
3. Practice self-care daily
Self-care is at the top of the list for caregivers. It’s important to remember that the better you take care of yourself, the better you can take care of another person. Many caregivers have a hard time when caring for their own health.
According to Caregiver.org, these are all common for caregivers:
● Sleep deprivation
● Poor eating habits
● Failure to exercise
● Failure to stay in bed when ill
● Postponement of or failure to make medical appointments for themselves
If you’ve experienced any of the same issues, try to nail down the reasoning behind the problem. What makes you feel like you can’t do those things? Have you tried reaching out to others? Set goals around your health and don’t be afraid to reach out to friends and family for help.
7 Simple and Effective At-Home Workouts for Older Adults
Exercise and nutrition are important aspects of a healthy lifestyle and should be the focus of our everyday life. As we age, our body slows down, muscles become weak, and metabolism takes a hit. Simple activities like playing with grandkids, taking the stairs without getting winded or getting off the couch with little or no grunting can be challenging. Therefore, it’s important for the elderly to be physically active and make exercise a regular routine because it has some serious health benefits. For effective and easy home workout sessions buying a few home fitness equipment’s would be smart move.
Health Benefits of Exercise in Older Adults
Older adults have different reasons to stay in shape than the younger generation. Physical fitness is important for them to live a healthier, longer and more joyous life. The health benefits of exercise in seniors include:
- Independence
Exercise is one of the best ways to remain independent for older adults. Regular exercise keeps them active and helps with walking, cooking, eating, dressing, and using the restroom on their own.
- Improves balance
Regular exercise helps improve balance, so the older adults can do the activities they enjoy without straining or risking a fall.
- More energy
Exercise promotes the release of endorphins. These essential neurotransmitters are associated with pain mitigation and a sense of well-being. They help in combating stress hormones, promoting healthy sleep, and making them feel more lively and energetic.
- Prevents diseases
Old age makes them vulnerable to diseases such as osteoporosis, heart diseases, depression and diabetes. When they adopt a healthy and more active lifestyle, they can prevent these diseases or reduce the severity of the symptoms.
- Improves brain function and mental health
Seniors leading an active lifestyle is known to have improved cognitive health. A study from the Alzheimer’s Research & Prevention Foundation revealed that regular exercise reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia by nearly 50%.
At-Home Exercises for Older Adults
The best part of at-home exercises is that they are all about function; they are not very different from everyday movements, and yet you can get to make the most out of them. These exercises can be done with basic equipment like dumbells and resistance bands or with objects around the house. However, we recommend you to use a yoga mat for padding and also to reduce your chance of slipping. If you are not confident, ask someone to supervise you and provide support when needed.
- Walking
Walking is one of the most accessible and least stressful forms of exercise. Generally, 10,000 steps per day are recommended for a healthy lifestyle. But if you have difficulty walking or pain in the joints, settle down for a smaller number. Walking strengthens your muscles, lowers your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and colon cancer.
- Dumbbell strength training
Strength training is known to reduce the symptoms of osteoporosis, diabetes, back pain, and depression. It also helps you manage your weight, contributing to higher metabolism and better glucose management. Regular workout and strength training helps you in maintaining balance and stamina.
Some of the best dumbbell strength training exercises for improved balance and flexibility include:
- Tricep extension
- Bent-over row
- Overhead press
- Bicep curl
- Front raise
- Stretching Exercises
Stretching exercises help relieve some types of chronic pain. These exercises also increase flexibility. However, be mindful of your hip and knees while doing stretching exercises.
- Leg & Arm Raises
Leg and arm raises are simple yet effective ways to incorporate workouts for seniors at home. They not only improve strength but also help with balance. You can use a chair for support when doing leg raises. And if you want to increase the difficulty level of arm/leg raises, add a resistance band to your workouts.
- Resistance band workouts
Resistance bands are stretchy rubber strips used to add resistance to workouts. They are affordable, user-friendly, and hence are a great at-home workout for seniors. These resistance band exercises strengthen the core, improve mobility, posture, and balance.
Some resistance band workouts for seniors include:
- Triceps press
- Bicep curl
- Leg press
- Lateral raise
- Band pull apart
- Weight Training
Lightweight training helps prevent osteoporosis and increase muscle strength. Simple exercises such as wall push-ups can improve muscle mass, increase endurance and strength.
- Chair Yoga
This low-impact form of exercise is great for improving muscle strength, mobility, balance and flexibility. Chair yoga is less stressful on muscles, joints, and bones and hence a better option than conventional forms of yoga.
Chair yoga has been shown to improve mental health in seniors while improving sleep quality, lowering instances of depression, and helping seniors experience a general sense of well-being. Some popular chair yoga exercises for seniors include:
- Seated cow stretch
- Overhead stretch
- Seated cat stretch
- Seated twist
- Seated mountain pose
To lead a better quality of life, it’s important that you stay active. One way to do it is through regular exercise. Try the above at-home exercises for seniors and develop an exercise routine that works best for your health needs and capabilities.
Author Bio:
Sancket Kamdar, a certified weightlifting coach, and a successful entrepreneur founded
SF HealthTech with a single goal in mind – to bring high quality, international standard exercise equipment to help fitness enthusiasts and athletes reach the next level of fitness. When he’s not working on new equipment ideas and designs, he loves to create educational content about health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness. He also writes to help budding entrepreneurs on running and growing a business, based on his experience.
Caregiver Tips: Planning for Long-Term Cancer Care
Caregivers for long-term cancer care
Long-term cancer care supports cancer patients throughout their treatment journey. Patients diagnosed with cancer may choose a friend or family member as their cancer caregiver. When taking on the role of caregiver, make sure to understand how to best assist them. Here are some tips below to help get you started.
Tip 1: Understand the diagnosis of your cancer patient and how it affects them
Aggressive Cancers
Being a cancer caregiver opens up new responsibilities and challenges. There are many types of caregiving that provide help for the general health and wellbeing of patients. With cancer caregiving, patients often require specialized help. You may be familiar with senior or disability caregiving, but certain cancers are more difficult to manage. For example, breast cancer is common but involves a different caregiving approach than mesothelioma cancer. Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer of the lungs that typically targets older adults.
There is currently no available cure for mesothelioma. This results in a 79 percent, 1-year survival rate, even with multimodal treatment—which combines one or two cancer treatments. Cancer patients and caregivers may have many questions surrounding treatment. For this reason, caregiver resources help plan and ease long-term mesothelioma cancer care. Take time to understand the type of cancer your patient has and how mesothelioma will affect them physically, mentally, and socially. The decision to have long-term cancer care is hard on the patient, too. Caregivers relieve some of the burdens patients will have. With this in mind, preparing for your patients will help you fully grasp this role.
It’s also crucial to work with the doctors and cancer teams to provide quality care. Depending on what type of caregiver you are, your responsibilities could change. More qualified caregivers may have to administer medications. Connecting with the doctor will help the cancer team with their prognosis strategy and your patient’s long-term cancer care. This will also help you better understand the patient’s needs.
Tip 2: Keep the patient, family and friends involved
It can be devastating when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer. Putting in the effort to work with your patient and their family will make them feel included and comfortable during this difficult time. Caregivers spend a lot of time with patients. By creating healthy relationships with them, you can give them the support and encouragement they need. Often, treatment is hard on patients and takes long recovery times. You will be one of their biggest advocates.
Tip 3: Pay attention to how you feel
Amidst the distress you and your patient will undergo, it’s vital to check in on yourself. It may seem as though your feelings aren’t as valid as those you are helping, but that isn’t the case. You won’t be able to fully care for your patient if you’re not caring for yourself as well. To avoid burnout, dedicate time for yourself to process your emotions and feelings, especially because of how draining long-term cancer caregiving can be.
If you are taking a cancer caregiver position, keep these tips in mind. Caregiving is not babysitting. Patients and their families rely on caregivers to handle what they cannot. Taking on this role is both an immense commitment and a privilege.