Taking care of your physical health involves staying active, making healthy food choices, getting enough sleep, limiting your alcohol intake, and proactively managing your health care. Small changes in each of these areas can go a long way to support healthy aging.
What is the most important health habit for the elderly?
Diet and exercise are the two most important changes you can make. Even if you've never been active, it's never too late to get started. A healthy diet and physical activity are good at any age. As you age, these healthy habits strengthen muscles and bones.
Staying healthy is especially important as we age, since older adults are at greater risk for complications from illnesses like the flu and COVID-19. While you can't change genetics or family history, there are things you can do to help prevent chronic health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
Exercise with the goals of increasing strength and coordination. Try to do something every day to maintain your muscle strength and conditioning. Senior exercise classes, swimming, and mall walking are great choices. If illness or injury slows you down, make rehabilitation a top priority.
What are 3 values important to caring for the elderly?
Treat clients with respect and privacy at all times. Do the right thing even when it's not acknowledged by others or convenient for you. An individual with integrity is honest and keeps their word even when it's difficult. Having compassion gives us the ability to want to approach and care for other people.
Generally, older adults in good physical shape walk somewhere between 2,000 and 9,000 steps daily. This translates into walking distances of 1 and 4-1/2 miles respectively. Increasing the walking distance by roughly a mile will produce health benefits.
Adults over the age of 70 need more calcium and vitamin D because they help maintain bone health. Choose calcium-rich foods and beverages and aim to eat three servings of low-fat or fat-free dairy products every day.
ADLs include bathing, showering, dressing, mobility, and more. Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are activities you do to care for yourself, your family, and your home. IADLs include cleaning, managing money or medications, shopping, meal preparation, and more.
Experts widely consider exercise, good nutrition, relaxation and sleep crucial to healthy living. While these so-called “four pillars” of good health help keep your body running, they also do wonders for your emotional well-being.
Usually, personal hygiene (specifically bathing) is one of those things that gets neglected. So how often should an elderly bathe? To avoid any skin conditions or infections, a senior should bathe at least once or twice a week.
But for the elderly, having a shower once or twice a week is sufficient to keep skin conditions and infections at bay. At Helping Hands, we have been providing elderly care for more than 30 years, so our customers can live independently and comfortably in their own homes.
Choose foods with little to no added sugar, saturated fats, and sodium. To get enough protein throughout the day and maintain muscle, try adding seafood, dairy, or fortified soy products along with beans, peas, and lentils to your meals. Learn more about protein and other important nutrients.
What is the biggest concern for the elderly today?
Some of the most prominent concerns facing seniors today include healthcare costs, physical aging, financial security, and more. These issues become more difficult to deal with as patients age, but there are ways we can help seniors through these concerns.
