Reasons for Loneliness in Seniors

Loneliness is a negative feeling or sadness that arises due to lack of communication or a relationship with other people. Although it can affect anyone of any age group, the older you are, the more vulnerable to feeling lonely. Some main reasons of loneliness in older adults are described below:

• Bereavement 

Death of a spouse becomes the major cause for chronic loneliness in seniors. Similar feeling of loneliness can arise if an older person gets separated from their partner for any reason.      

• Retirement from work 

When seniors retire from working, they often miss their colleagues and daily routine. There is no office friend whom they can talk to or gossip with. There is no set schedule they have or meetings they need to attend.

• Health problems 

Health problems like arthritis and dementia make it difficult for older adults to socialize with others. They are often confined to their house and only go out when it is important or necessary.

• No friends and companions 

In old age, people start losing their friends. Sometimes, their friends are living far away or a residential care homes in another city, sometimes they simply lose touch. Due to lack of convenience transportation and health issues, they are unable to meet them. Their friends may even pass away from old age themselves.    

• Lack of transportation  

Older adults may not be able to drive due to health problems. Therefore, they often rely on others to pick them up and drop them off at their friends’ or relative’s house. Sometimes, they hesitate to ask their family as they do not want to be a bother and just stay at home. As a result, they are not able to socialize as much as they should and feel lonely.

If you have a senior family member, always make sure to share some quality time with them. However, if you feel that they need more care than they are receiving, contact Always Best Care for help. They are a noted senior care agency known for providing quality Home Care Services In West Vancouver and the surrounding areas. For more information, feel free to call them at (778) 945-3010.

Alzheimer’s in Older Adults – Early Signs, Causes, and Prevention

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia that causes problems with cognitive thinking, language, behavior, and memory.

Early signs of Alzheimer’s include: memory loss, difficulty with perception, difficulty in carrying out complex tasks, changes in walking patterns, sleep disturbances, personality changes, excessive grief, depression, and many more.

Here are some of what is believed to lead to a much higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s:

• Consumption of too much alcohol
• Smoking
• Higher levels of bad cholesterol, hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases
• Increased levels of blood sugar
• Stress, loneliness, isolation, and over thinking
• Head injuries
• Side effects of certain medications
• Obesity
   Family history
• …and many more.

How to prevent or slow down the development of Alzheimer’s?

There’s no proven way to prevent Alzheimer’s, but is much that you can do to reduce the risk of developing it. Here are few tips to follow:

1.  Manage conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease. Many people are unaware of such conditions, even when they are suffering from them because they may not show many symptoms, especially at first. Regular health screenings can help let you find out if you have or are at risk of such conditions.
2. Eating a heart-healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy can also help. Avoid foods such as smoked meat, white foods such as cake, pasta, white rice, white sugar, and other foods with little nutritional value.
3. Stay active, physically as well as mentally. To keep your mind active, perform stimulating activities such as playing chess, learning a new language, or solving crossword puzzles and word pictures. Anything that causes you to think and consider multiple possibilities will help.
4. Keep yourself socially engaged as it will help avoiding loneliness, plus it further reduces stress.

If you need any help regarding Alzheimer’s or other related issues, contact Always Best Care. They are a senior care firm providing the best Home Care Services In North Vancouver. For more information, call them today at (778) 945-3010.

Exercises for Seniors Suffering from Arthritis

Staying active is important for everyone, but it becomes a necessity as you grow older. For seniors suffering from Arthritis, getting the right amount of exercise can be extremely beneficial.

Arthritis can limit a person’s mobility and cause joint pain, which makes exercising difficult for many seniors. Fortunately, there are many low-impact exercises that are helpful in which seniors with Arthritis can practice with relative ease. These include:

1. Walking- This is the easiest exercise and offers several benefits. It improves blood circulation, lowers high blood pressure, helps you maintains a healthy weight, improves sleep, slows mental decline and offers many other benefits. It’s okay to start with a 5 or 10-minute daily walk and increase the time and distance slowly according to your comfort.
2. Pilates- Pilates help increase strength and flexibility of your joints, which helps maintain balance. It also helps improves your breathing, resulting into a better, stronger and improved respiratory system.
3. Aerobics- Seniors should engage into regular aerobic exercises, such as swimming, cycling, dancing, even doing the household chores, that get their heart beating. Such exercises help build stamina, reduces the risk for osteoporosis, improves heart health and provides numerous other benefits.
4. Light weightlifting - Strengthening the body is the best way for reducing inflammation and uneasiness.Make sure you start light and then gradually increase the weight.
5. Hand stretches- Seniors with pain in their fingers and hands should practice this exercise regularly.Spread your fingers as wide as you can, then draw them together in a fist, and repeat this motion several times.
6. Yoga – Yoga can be very beneficial for seniors suffering from arthritis as it helps improve flexibility, stability and even helps improve mobility, which is what is often the most affected in arthritis.

If you need help regarding senior care, contact Always Best Care. They’re a senior care firm that has been providing the best assisted living as well as Home Care Services In West Vancouver since 1996.For more information about their care services, call them today at (778) 945-3010.

Are You Looking for Ways to Prevent Senior Isolation?

Do you know a senior citizen living alone? Isolation may be part of the cause of their declining health. Loneliness and isolation has been directly linked to multiple health conditions, including stress, depression, and other mental health issues. It is important for the seniors to stay socially active and connected to decrease their isolation. Here are a few ways that can help your elders avoid isolation.

• Many senior citizens can no longer drive due to declining health or increasing age. A reliable transportation service can help seniors maintain their social connections.
• Encourage your aging loved ones to participate in different social activities and cultural programs. This helps them stay socially active and provides your senior an opportunity to engage and socialize with people of same age.
• If your loved one lives alone, consider hiring an in-home caregiver to ensure their safety. The experienced care providers can look after your senior and their needs, plus help them stay socially active and connected. They provide much-needed companionship services, helping your loved one feel more involved. They can even plan and accompany your seniors for lunch, shopping, movies, and outings.
  
  
                         
  
  
  
  
  It is extremely important to find a reputed in-home care provider. If you are planning to hire an in-home care provider for your loved one in West Vancouver, contact Always Best Care. They have highly trained, bonded, and insured caregivers who provide compassionate care giving services. To learn more about their services, call (778) 945-3010.

Seniors: When Should You Retire?

Some seniors can’t wait to retire, and still others never want to retire. While working through retirement years may seem to some like the way to stay physically active and maintain a social network, retiring can make these things easier through more time and resources available. Many seniors struggle with the idea of when to retire, so here are a couple of factors to consider when thinking it through:

• Mental Preparedness. Like most people, you’ve probably put 1/3 or more of your life into working. Along with this brings a sense of purpose, social attachments, and a certain amount of stress. Being retired means eliminating the stress, but also, possibly, that sense of purpose that you’ve held dear for the past 30-40 years of your life. To be mentally prepared for retirement, find a new sense of purpose beforehand – could be volunteering, a creative outlet, etc., and also find a way to connect socially. This could be by joining a gym or the YMCA, the local senior community center, or by schedule lunches and dinners with friends. One of the biggest factors to retirement is the possible loneliness, knowing this, create avenues to combat it.
• Financial Stability. Ideally, a senior should be able to live in the manner they’re accustomed to for 20-30 years when they retire. Think about how much it will take to buy food, buy medications, pay for utilities, etc., and also for entertainment and hobbies (as you don’t want retirement to be boring!)

Staying Busy During Retirement

Retirement can mean the very best years of your life because you have the time, and the financial means to pursue dreams you never could before. Here are some ways to stay busy and have fun during your retirement years:

• Travel
• Join a sports program for seniors
• Join a club: book, theater, art, photography, movie, etc.
• Move to another city
• Volunteer
• Remodel your home

Always Best Care has been in the senior care giving industry for the past 20 years. If you are a senior in the North Vancouver area, and would like information about their home care services in West Vancouver, or other options surrounding senior living in North Shore, call the Always Best Care North Vancouver location at 778-945-3010 today to set up your free care consultation. They look forward to discussing your bright future with you!