As people age, they often require a bit more special care. Taking care of an aging parent can be both rewarding and difficult. However, it is important to remember that ensuring your parent’s health and well-being should be a top priority.
Senior citizens constitute about 16.9% of the United States population and are often unable to keep up with their physical and mental health independently. Therefore, the duty of managing their lifestyle and well-being is often in the hands of their family. Here let’s look at a few tips that can help you ensure the health of your aging parents:
Monitor Their Physical And Cognitive Health
The earliest signs of aging are shown through health issues, both physical and mental. Physically, ailments and diseases may become increasingly apparent as your parents age. They’ll experience new types of aches and pains that shall quickly take a toll on their health if a timely diagnosis is not carried out.
Unfortunately, elders grow neglectful towards their health as the years go by, leading to even minor health problems becoming a major hindrance in the optimal functioning of their bodies.
Especially if your parents had worked in the military or construction, they could possibly suffer from a higher rate of disability and chronic illnesses, such as mesothelioma—the reason: fiber asbestos exposure. During the 1940s and 1950s, asbestos was widely used by many industries to insulate buildings and ships. The US Navy, too, extensively used asbestos until the mid-1970s.
So, it’s important to take regular trips to the doctor’s office for a checkup and ask questions regarding any physical or cognitive health issues you may have noticed in your parents. Mesothelioma doctors can diagnose your parent’s condition and provide treatments to help them manage their symptoms. You can also look up mesothelioma attorneys to get the legal help you need to claim compensation for your parent’s medical costs.
Pay Attention To Their Diet
More than often, your aging parents will be too busy or forgetful to track their diet well. With the lack of energy that old age brings, consuming three nutritious meals daily becomes burdensome for older people. Furthermore, the digestive system slows down with age, creating a lack of appetite and poor dietary intake for the ideal functioning of an aged person’s body. To tackle these issues, you must ensure your aging parents receive ample well-balanced meals daily. For the elderly, proteins, fibers, vitamins, and minerals are paramount to boost muscle growth, digestion, and immunity. You may have to teach them how to incorporate these food groups into their diet and keep reminding them of the benefits they’ll confer if they discipline themselves regarding food intake.
Encourage Them To Exercise
Another tip, which your elderly parents will likely not be fond of initially, is exercise. Most senior citizens give up on physical activity completely as they grow older. Their bones and muscles fall weak, rendering them unable to move about on foot. The long-term effects of this are diminished physical health, proneness to non-communicable diseases, and a lower quality of life. Lack of exercise can even negatively influence their mental health and cognitive thinking skills. Hence, your aging parents must incorporate exercise into their daily routine. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity, such as brisk walking, or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity activity, such as hiking, jogging, or running. Since this recommendation can be straining and tedious for some senior citizens, they can switch to alternatives like yoga and tai chi.
Make Sure They Get Ample Rest
Rest is necessary for all aging adults, regardless of their lifestyle or routine. During sleep, our body repairs cells, restores energy and releases hormones and proteins. Due to the depleting internal workings of aging adults, they need sleep more often to benefit from the bodily processes that occur during it. Hence, all aging adults must get their recommended 7-8 hours of sleep. If you notice that your elderly parents are struggling to fall or stay asleep, encourage them to sleep in one stretch, refrain from naps, and discourage screens, caffeine, alcohol, or nicotine right before bedtime.
Keep a Check On Their Sensory And Cognitive Health
As senior citizens’ physical and mental health declines, so does their sensory and cognitive well-being. Their ability to think on their feet, experience their senses without being over or under-stimulated, and carry out activities of daily living, such as personal hygiene, may become increasingly difficult due to cognitive and sensory decline. If you sense that your parents are struggling with their cognitive and sensory health, know that an expert can easily diagnose. Following this, thanks to modern technology, equipment such as hearing aid and prescription glasses can be used for better sensory performance. For cognitive health, a caregiver can be hired to assist in carrying out personal care activities, while brain games and dabbling into new hobbies can strengthen cognition and decision-making.
Motivate Them To Socialize And Participate
Isolation can be deadlier than any illness or disease for a senior citizen. Being an active community member shall prevent them from becoming idle, lonely, and lacking human interaction, which can harm their health. Encourage them to get involved with fellow seniors or others in their community, and participate in activities such as visiting friends and family, going for leisurely strolls in the park, or joining a local senior citizens’ group. Suggest that they volunteer and share their skills with the community or just take the time to interact with their neighbors.
Manage Their Finances
Managing their funds is a final task your parents will need assistance with as they age. As a child, understanding your aging parent’s financial position and managing their retirement funds can help you understand how they should save and spend their money and whether they require additional monetary aid. Through this information, you can create a budgeting and saving plan for them that will come in handy in their day-to-day life and if an emergency comes knocking.
Conclusion
Aging parents require and deserve the same care and attention they showered us during our lives. As a young adult, it can be taxing to manage your parent’s matters and needs alongside your own, but adherence to the tips mentioned above can make the process easier. The effort you put into providing for and supporting your parents in their later years shall pay off as they bestow their valuable knowledge and wisdom onto you and your kids!
