Five Ways to Keep Your Senior’s Brain Going
Many seniors worry that they’ll experience memory trouble or brain issues and that fear can lead them to avoid talking about what they’re experiencing with brain health. Instead, a better option is for you and your elderly family member to talk about what you can do together to help keep your senior’s brain strong and healthy for a long time to come.
Address Health Issues with Her Doctor
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The healthier your senior’s body is, the healthier her brain can be as well. Talk with your elderly family member’s doctor about what changes she may want to consider in order to get health issues under better control. Conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol can all take a big toll on brain health. Understanding what she needs to do to get her body healthy can help your senior to take better control of her overall health.
Work on a Sleep Routine
Sleep is more important than most people realize, and doctors are starting to tell their patients this as well. If your elderly family member has a fitful relationship with sleep, it’s vital to make sure that she has a good sleep routine. Working out what isn’t helping her to sleep and getting her back to sleeping well may only require a few little changes, but they can pay off big in terms of brain health.
Encourage Her to Cut Back on Less Healthy Choices
You never want to feel like you’re nagging your elderly family member, but some of the choices she might be making, like drinking more than a few alcoholic beverages a week or smoking, can have serious impacts on her well-being. Dropping those habits or even just cutting back a little can help. If she’s concerned about not being able to make those changes, talk with her doctor about what might help.
Help Her to Find a Daily Routine that Works
Routines are really helpful for aging adults. Having a good routine helps your aging family member to hit all the targets she wants to hit each day. The problem is that sticking with a routine, especially a new one, can be difficult. Elder care providers can help your senior to remember what her plans are for the day and gently steer her back on track when she might otherwise give up on keeping to her routine.
Find Ways to Keep Her Socially Active
Social engagement is more powerful for brain health than you might think. And if your senior isn’t spending a lot of time around other people, companion care at home can help. Companion care at home ensures that there is a friendly person stopping by to check in on your elderly family member and to spend time with her. Conversation, games, and other activities can help to while away the time as your elderly family member spends time with someone else.
Brain health is made up of all sorts of variables that stack together. The more of those variables that you and your senior include in her brain health plan, the better.