Why are Physical Activities Important for Seniors?

Physical activities can help people stay active in their senior years,too. Conditions that naturally develop in the senior years can be delayed if a person stays fit and energetic. But, it’s important to consult your doctor before starting any exercise program and perform only those exercises which they advise. Often there are just a few that they advise the elderly to stay away from.

Physical activities can help seniors in the following ways:

Help make the heart strong: One vital element of aging is heart health. Regular physical activities help to keep the heart muscle in good shape and can defend against common cardiac problems. Physical activities,even at a light intensity,can help a lot. Also, exercising can improve blood pressure in some people with hypertension.

  

Improve mobility: Usually many seniors tend lose their balance and coordination as they grow older. Staying physically active helps keep the body limber and maintain coordination. There are several exercises, such as yoga, chair stands, and Tai Chi, that can help decrease the risk of arthritis and osteoporosis by increasing the bone density and helping you control body weight. 

Help controlling Diabetes: This disease has no visual symptoms in its early stage, which makes it hard to spot, yet it causes a countless health related issues. It can result in a loss of vision, a higher risk of infection,poor wound healing, and a higher risk for heart disease. Exercising regularly can help lower blood sugar levels. Even low intensity exercises, such as walking, if done regularly, can help a lot.

Improve mental health: As you grow older, your memory may not be as sharp as it once was. Exercise can help improve mental focus and also help reduce symptoms of depression. The additional benefit is that it also helps reducing the risk of dementia.

Improve overall quality of life: Following a healthy lifestyle with proper physical exercises can help improve the overall quality of life. 

If you need any help regarding senior care, contact Always Best Care. They are one of the top Home Health Care Providers In Vancouver. For more information about their care services, call them today at (778) 945-3010.

Falls in the Elderly

Falls in the elderly area serious concern. Falls are one of the primary causes of injuries in the elderly, including head injuries, soft tissue injuries, fractures, muscle breakdown, pressure sores and even kidney damage. The incident of an initial fall can trigger fears of experiencing further falls. This might result in limited mobility and a loss of independence in seniors. 

Major causes of senior falls

There are several reasons why seniors are more likely to have a fall, but the main reasons include the following:

• Chronic health conditions, such as dementia, heart disease and hypotension, which can cause dizziness.
• Impairments, such as poor vision or weak muscles.
• Illnesses can greatly affect balance and flexibility, such as labyrinthitis, Acoustic neuroma, and even a head cold can dizziness and vertigo.
• Lack of exercise, which is the main cause of immobility.
• Side effects of certain medications can also upset your body balance.

Other causes include:

•    Improper foot wear
•     Incorrect use of walking aids
•     Improper lighting in the house
•    Uneven floor and clutter

What works?

Learning some fall prevention tips is essential for the older adults to keep themselves safe. Here are some prevention tips seniors should be aware of: 

• Make sure that the home is as safe as possible. Be sure it is well lit, night bulbs are installed in the kitchen, bathrooms and other places travelled in the late evening, and that grab bars are installed properly in the bathrooms.
• Avoid wearing loose clothes. 
•  Exercise is really important to avoid falls. There should be a proper routine of exercising so that flexibility, balance and coordination are maintained and there is a smaller risk of falling due to such issues.
• Maintain your blood pressure.
• Visit your doctor for regular eye checkups.

For any help regarding senior care, contact Always Best Care. They are a senior care firm that has been helping seniors and their families by providing excellent Senior Care Solutions In Vancouver. To learn more about their services, feel free to call (778) 945-3010.

Home Improvement Ideas for Seniors

Falls are the one of the leading causes of injuries among seniors. Serious falls lead to severe pain, paralysis, bone fractures, and in some cases, even death. We usually think that our home is the safest place for our senior loved ones, but that is not always true. Seniors accidents occur at home all the time. However, with some precautions, it is possible to avoid some risks of such a mishap happening.

Here are some home improvement ideas to increase the safety of seniors at home.

1. Floors and surfaces: Make sure that the floors are non-slippery. Non-skid, non-plush mats should also be placed in risk prone areas such as near the bath tub or shower or in front of the kitchen sink. For bathroom floors, non-slip or patterned tiles should be used to reduce or avoid falls from moisture. 
2. Doorways: Choose door hardware with a lever handle rather than a door knob. The lever handle requires less force to operate, making it much easier for seniors.
3. Emergency and safety devices: To increase your senior loved one’s safety at home, home safety alarms should be installed. These include gas detector alarms, smoke detector alarms, fire alarms, water detector alarms and several others. Make sure to regularly check the battery in each.
4. Lighting: Proper lighting should be placed in the bathroom, bedroom, hallways, staircase and other risk prone areas. Light switches should be easily reachable.
5. Grab bars: Grab bars are essential for seniors to avoid accidental falls. They should be installed in areas such as bathrooms or staircases.
6. Remove unnecessary furniture: Do not keep any unnecessary furniture. This will largely help in avoiding falls as seniors will have more space to walk without tripping over anything. 
7. Remove rugs: Either remove rugs or tack them down to ensure the senior doesn’t slip or trip on them. 
8. Declutter the house: Remove clutter and rearrange furniture to have a clear walking path. Make sure that the items your senior loved one frequently uses are within reach and doesn’t require a step ladder.

If you are unable to take care of your senior loved for whatever reason, hire a caregiver who will help them remain at home and help manage their day to day tasks, including their health, medication and meals. Contact Always Best Care for the best In Home Senior Caregivers in Vancouver. For more information, call (778) 945-3010.

Anger Management Tips for Seniors with Dementia

Dementia in seniors is marked by a persistent decline in their intellectual abilities like memory, judgment, language, and abstract thinking. The activities which are very simple for us, like brushing our teeth, becomes difficult for a senior suffering from dementia. Sometimes, they may even forget the color of their brush and so many other basic things.

When even the easiest tasks of the daily routine seem complex and overwhelming, it is obvious for seniors to feel frustrated. This frustration often turns into anger, which can harm relationships, impair their judgment abilities, and have a negative impact on the way people see them. This is when the need of anger management comes in.

Here are some tips to follow as a family member in order to manage anger towards both yourself and your senior loved one:

1. Keep the distress and worries away from them as long as possible, and try to comfort them by listening to their talks attentively. Most of all, they need is your love, support and care.
2. Try to help them diminish their confusion. Due to the decline in their brain function and loss of memory, seniors often get confused in simple things, which further results in anger.
3. Handle them calmly and politely. They may be angry for some reason you can’t understand but your support, care and attention will help them deal with the situation better.
4. Give them memory reminders. Help them by providing small memory cues so that they do not forget things. Split a task for them into small parts so that they can easily carry out the whole “small” task without difficulty.
5. Never make them feel lonely and try to understand their emotions rather than focusing on their rude behavior.
6. Encourage them to exercise regularly. Exercises have many physical and mental health benefits.

If your senior loved one is suffering from dementia and you are unable to deal with their anger, try to follow the tips mentioned above. You can contact Always Best Care for professional help regarding senior care. Always Best Care is one of the leading Home Health Care Providers in Vancouver. To learn more, call them at (778) 945-3010.

5 Foods Seniors Should Avoid Eating

Once you reach your senior years, you become more prone to food poisoning because of your weakening immune system. Therefore, it becomes more important to change your eating habits as you age. Enjoying tasty treats with no nutritional merit occasionally is fine, however your daily diet should have all the essential vitamins and minerals your aging body needs.

There are also some foods that you should cut or exclude from your diet as you get older and some of them are listed below:

1. Raw eggs: Raw and under-cooked eggs can be very dangerous for seniors. This is because eating raw eggs presents a risk of salmonella infection and can have other unfortunate health consequences as well. Although anyone can develop a salmonella infection, seniors are at a higher risk.


2. Soft cheese: Soft cheeses are generally unpasteurized and can allow bacteria to breed in large amounts. While the soft cheese may not be much of an illness threat for younger people, they can harm seniors’ health.


3. Bean sprouts: Seniors should avoid eating raw or lightly cooked bean sprouts as they are a breeding ground for illness-inducing bacteria, which causes food poisoning. To get all the benefits of sprouts without the dangerous risk of bacteria, you should consume leafy green vegetables like collard greens, Kale, Swiss chard, and spinach.


4. Unpasteurized Milk: Most of the minerals found in milk are lost during the pasteurization process. This is probably why some people think that unpasteurized milk is much better for their health. However, unpasteurized milk harbors a lot of bacteria that pose a threat to your health. Therefore, seniors should only drink milk which has been thoroughly pasteurized.


5. Raw Seafood: Eating raw sea foods, such as oysters and other shellfish, can cause food-borne diseases in seniors. Vibrio vulnificus is a disease that is caused by bacteria found in uncooked shellfish. If you want to eat clams, mussels, or oysters, make sure they are completely cooked.

If you are worried about the nutrition of aging your loved one, hire Always Best Care’s caregivers to give them the best Home Care services in Vancouver. Call (778) 945-3010 to learn more.

Do Not Let Your Elderly Loved One be Lonely this Christmas

Sadly, every year more than half of the senior population in America spends Christmas alone. They are struggling to cope with the tough winters, increasing heating and fuel costs – and most importantly – the absence of human companionship.

Loneliness and isolation is the life of many seniors all year round, not just during Christmas. If you have an elderly loved one living on their own, welcome them to spend time with you this Christmas season. There are a lot of things you can do to bring the Christmas spirit to them with very little effort. Take a look at some ideas:

How about some classic Christmas songs from Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and other artists of their era? We all know that majority of the classic Christmas songs come from the 1940s and 1950s. Every Christmas, we hear the magical voices of Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and other artists to help us get into the festive spirit. You can take your senior loved one on a wonderful nostalgia trip by playing all their favorite classic songs on Christmas Eve.

Make a video call if you cannot visit them: The emergence of applications, like Google Hangouts and Skype, has given video calling a big advantage over traditional calling, especially when you wish to make it personal. Since it allows you to see the other person and stimulate a real conversation, most families prefer it over other modes of communication when they want to talk to their loved one around the holidays. So, if you are unable to visit your senior loved one, make sure your entire family joins in on the video call.

A little effort can go a long way: Showing seniors that we’re missing them during the holidays does not have to be a big commitment. With some simple Christmas traditions, you can easily convey your love for them.

If your loved one needs a professional caregiver to help them with daily living, contact Always Best Care, the most trusted Senior Care firm in North Vancouver. For more information, call (778) 945-3010.

3 Reasons Why Yoga is Good for Seniors

As people age, they often become less active due to any number of reasons, such as no longer working, fewer friends or distant family, or even many chronic diseases. They may suffer from conditions such as osteoarthritis, joint stress, and other types of pain. Seniors are also likely to experience higher rates of stress, depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems. However, there are a number of ways by which you can improve the overall health of your aging loved one. For example, healthy eating and exercise can keep your loved one physically, as well as mentally, fit. Yoga also offers a wide array of benefits, both physical and psychological. Here are a few reasons why yoga is good for older adults.

• It promotes balance – As people age, they tend to lose their body center and suffer from frequent tripping, slipping, or falls. Practicing yoga regularly can help seniors develop a better body balance, which will ultimately reduce the risk of falls.
• It improves the flexibility – The different positions involved in yoga helps keep muscles limber, causing less stress on their joints. The more your loved one practices yoga, the looser their muscles and joints become. This improves their flexibility, making daily living tasks easier for them.
• It alleviates stress – Studies show that practicing yoga can help in reducing stress and anxiety. Practicing deep breathing is better than many other types of stress management techniques.

However, your loved one may need someone to accompany them to classes and look after their safety while they practice yoga. If you are unable to bring them to classes and watch over them while they practice yoga, consider hiring a professional help in the form of caregivers.

An in-home caregiver will be able to assist your senior family member with daily living tasks and ensure that they are safe and practicing their daily yoga properly. Just make sure to do your homework and hire reputed caregivers who have years of experience in taking care of seniors.

Contact Always Best Care to hire their experienced in-home care providers in North Vancouver. For more information, call (778) 945-3010.