Elder Care: 4 Lifestyle Tips That Help Improve Cognitive Functions

Posted in Cognitive Functions, Elder Care |

October 28, 2021

| by

Elder Care: Has your elderly loved one’s doctor told them they have a cognitive disorder?

Maybe, they had testing done and they don’t have a disorder, but they are experiencing some cognitive difficulties. Either way, it could be beneficial for your elderly loved one to make some lifestyle changes. Research shows there are certain lifestyle tips that can help to improve cognitive functions. Hopefully, these will help your elderly loved one. Elder care should be considered at this time.

 

Elder Care in Headland AL: Cognitive Functions

Elder Care in Headland AL: Cognitive Functions

 

Learn, Learn, Learn

The more your elderly loved one learns, the better it will be for their cognitive health. Research shows that elderly people who continue learning suffer from fewer cognitive issues. This is because they are keeping their brain active. They are firing those neurons that are needed to prevent the death of brain cells. There are many things that you and elder care providers can help your elderly loved one to learn. They can take classes, learn new skills, or watch random educational videos.

Making Decisions

Did you know that making decisions doesn’t just help to have a decision be made? When someone makes a decision, they are using different parts of their brain to come up with that decision. Even the smallest decisions such as what to have for dinner can help to keep your elderly loved one’s brain active.

Socializing Regularly

Another way that your elderly loved one can improve their cognitive functions is by socializing regularly. Research shows that socializing includes communication, thinking, processing, and interacting. It involves people skills, as well. If your elderly loved one can keep socializing often, it can keep their brain active and intact. If they need people to socialize with, it may be a good idea to hire senior care providers. They can go to your elderly loved one’s house whenever your elderly loved one wants a visitor.

Eating Right

Did you know there are specific vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that can help to improve cognitive functions? Vitamin A and C are great ones. Your elderly loved one’s cognitive health could also benefit from zinc and folic acid, too. It would be a good idea if you could help your elderly loved one to incorporate more of these into their diet.

Elder Care: Conclusion

Are you worried about your elderly loved one’s cognitive health? Does it seem like they could benefit from doing things to improve their cognitive functions? If so, the lifestyle tips that are mentioned above would be a great start. If you and elder care providers can help your elderly loved one to do these things, it could help to improve their cognitive health now and prevent cognitive decline in the future, as well.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Elder Care in Headland, AL, please contact the caring staff at Wiregrass HomeCare today. Call us at 334-539-5900.

 

Source
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5934999/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2805706/
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/cognitive-health-and-older-adults

Four Places to Pay Extra Attention if Your Senior Has Memory Issues

Posted in Caregiver in Headland AL, Elder Care in Headland AL |

March 5, 2020

| by

Memory problems, particularly ones related to dementia or to Alzheimer’s disease, can rob your senior of so much that she’s used to handling on her own. At particular risk can be her safety because there’s so much that just might not seem dangerous to her anymore.

 

Elder Care in Headland AL: Places to Pay Extra Attention

Elder Care in Headland AL: Places to Pay Extra Attention

 

General Safety Around the House

Staying on top of general safety issues is paramount if your aging family member has memory issues. These may be things that she’s aware of on some level, but forgets to mention or forgets can be a problem. Check that her lights are functional. Make sure that handrails are secure. Take care of clutter whenever you can. Anything else that you can think of, add it to the list. If you’re doing regular safety sweeps, you should be able to stay on top of potential issues before there’s a true problem.

 

Take Stock of Any Household Chemicals

Another area you might want to pay very close attention to could be household chemicals. These are often chemicals that your senior may have been perfectly fine around for most of her life, but now it could be easy to forget what is safe to do with them and what isn’t. Even something as simple as window-cleaner can be distracting because of the unusual colors. It’s best to try to secure these if possible.

 

Your Senior’s Refrigerator May Need Some Help

Very often people with memory issues have difficulties with food. Your elderly family member may stop cleaning out her refrigerator, which can leave leftovers continuing to grow bacteria. Memory problems can also create a situation in which she starts to believe that those foods are perfectly fine for her to eat, which is not necessarily the case. She may forget to look at expiration dates, too. If you’re cleaning out her fridge regularly, that can solve the majority of that problem.

 

Doors, Drawers, and Cabinets Might Be an Issue

If your aging family member has extremely severe memory problems, then anything that can hold other things, like drawers and cabinets, might be something that can open doors to other issues for her. Using household safety locks can be an excellent solution. You may also want to reduce the likelihood that your senior might wander away. Putting special locks or alarms on exterior doors can be a good idea.

Keeping your senior safe can feel like a full-time job in itself as a caregiver. Having some extra help frees you up to handle other situations as they crop up. Elder care providers can also help your senior with other tasks, like personal care tasks and activities that help her to stay physically and mentally active.

 

If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Elder Care in Headland, AL, please contact the caring staff at Wiregrass HomeCare today. Call us at 334-539-5900.