Elderly Care in Dulles VA
One of the most important things to almost every elderly loved one is keeping her independence for as long as she can. You can help her to do that with a solid plan of action.
Develop an Exercise Plan
Having an exercise plan and sticking with it ensures that your loved one is working her body regularly. Exercise keeps her blood flowing and helps her to deal with stress as well. Always talk to your loved one’s doctor before beginning an exercise plan, though. You want to make sure that the exercise that you and your loved one have in mind is right for her current health levels. If you need to make adjustments to that initial plan, it simply helps to make sure that your loved one is safe.
Check Your Loved One’s Social Network
Your loved one’s social network has a huge impact on her emotional well-being. Ideally, your loved one has a mix of friends, neighbors, and other family members on whom she can rely. That isn’t the case for everyone, of course, and there may be other people that your loved one considers part of her social network, like her elder care providers. The main key here is that your loved one needs to have a social support network of some kind.
Plan for Mental Stimulation
Everyone needs mental stimulation, especially your elderly loved one. Often when people become older and retire, they’re no longer doing a lot of the same activities that they did every day for years. Sometimes they don’t know what to replace those activities with and it can become a problem if they’re not doing things that keep their brains active and happy. Puzzles, brain games, and word games are all great ways to keep your loved one’s brain active. Intelligent conversation works well, too.
Look into Her Psychological Health
Finally, your loved one’s psychological health rounds out the overall plan for helping her to stay independent. When the other elements of the plan are working together properly, your loved one is more likely to feel happy, optimistic, and as though she has a purpose. Breakdowns in the plan or even health problems that affect her psychological health can undermine those positive feelings, however.
Keep working closely with your loved one and her doctor so you can make adjustments to any of these elements as needed.
If you or an aging loved one are considering elderly care in Dulles, VA please contact the caring staff at Assisting Hands today. (703) 982-0050.
