Modern medicine has come a long way toward helping seniors enjoy feeling younger for a longer time. However, there are some signs of aging science is still unable to stop completely. These six normal signs of aging in seniors are all more likely to occur as your loved one gets older. While they’re not completely avoidable, there are things you can do to make life easier as your loved one learns to address them.
1. Lowered Immunity
Many factors can affect immunity, and aging is one of them. Your loved one may need to take additional steps to protect against illness, such as talking to the doctor about getting pneumonia and flu vaccines. Your parent can also focus on doing things that boost the immune system, such as consuming more vitamin C.
2. Reduced Sense of Balance
The health of the brain, muscles, and supportive ligaments all affect balance. Inner ear issues can also affect balance with age. A sense of balance is critical for preventing falls. Help your loved one do exercises each day to maintain his or her balance, and arrange for support at home if he or she is prone to falls.
If you usually help your loved one exercise but need a break now and then, consider having a professional caregiver take over for you. Florence elder care professionals can assist seniors with a wide array of daily tasks, offering family caregivers the chance to focus on other personal responsibilities or take a break to prevent burnout. Whether it’s for a few hours a day or a few days a week, home care is the perfect solution for family caregivers who are feeling overwhelmed.
3. Occasional Memory Lapses
“Senior moments” are sometimes humorous when they involve minor things such as putting pantry items in the refrigerator. However, memory issues are more serious if your loved one forgets to lock the doors at night or take medication. Your loved one may have more memory lapses as he or she ages due to normal brain deterioration. If these lapses happen frequently, arrange for your loved one to be assessed for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
4. Digestive Disturbances
Like many other parts of the body, the digestive system slows down as aging occurs. Your loved one may feel fuller faster or experience discomfort shortly after eating. New digestive symptoms should always be addressed by a physician, but your loved one may find adjusting his or her diet relieves digestive issues.
Home care agencies can be a great boon to seniors. With the help of the caregivers at Assisting Hands Home Care, your aging loved one can lead a happier and healthier life. Our caregivers encourage seniors to eat nutritious foods, exercise and socialize regularly, and focus on other lifestyle factors that increase life expectancy.
5. Lower Energy Levels
Energy levels naturally decrease with age, but you can do things to help your loved one stay active. For instance, you can plan more activities for earlier in the day when your loved one is feeling more energetic. Some seniors might also need to take naps during the day or go to bed earlier every night.
6. Loss of Bone Mass
Bones start to lose their mass around the age of 30, and most seniors have pronounced bone loss by the time they reach retirement age. Osteoporosis and other conditions can increase the rate of bone loss. Seniors can do weight-bearing exercises and take vitamin supplements to slow this loss. Your loved one will also need to focus more on fall prevention to avoid broken bones once he or she begins to lose bone mass.
Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of home care. Northern Kentucky families can rely on Assisting Hands Home Care of Northern Kentucky to provide individualized care plans to meet their elderly loved ones’ unique care needs. Our caregivers help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and we offer mentally stimulating activities that can boost cognitive health and delay the onset of dementia. For more information about our flexible, customizable home care plans, call one of our compassionate Care Managers today.
