Skip to main content

5 New Year’s Resolution Ideas for Seniors

Another year has come and gone, and a new one has just begun. It’s never too late to make positive changes in your life to boost your health and happiness. New Year’s resolutions often get a bad rap because many people set their sights high and then lose motivation partway through the year. However, setting realistic goals and slowly incorporating changes into your life can help you be more successful.

Many seniors are past the point of “lose 10 pounds” or “have better work-life balance,” but that doesn’t mean you can’t put meaningful resolutions in place that fit with where you are in life. Here are a few New Year’s resolutions to consider:

  1. Be More Proactive About Your Health
     This goes beyond the common goal of losing a certain amount of weight. Make it a point to schedule regular checkups and get preventive screenings. Pay attention to your blood pressure and cholesterol so you can keep these numbers under control. As part of your plan, start making small changes to your diet to incorporate more fresh produce, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats while cutting down on sodium and processed foods.
  1. Increase Your Activity Level
     You don’t have to start running every morning, but be purposeful about moving more each day. This could be a 10-minute walk that increases to 20 minutes then 30 minutes over time. Try a water aerobics, senior fitness, or yoga class at your local gym or rec center. Play with your grandkids at the park when the weather is nice. Get moving!
  1. Plan for the Future
     Resolutions don’t have to be diet- and exercise-focused. Now is the time to put Power of Attorney and medical directives in place – before you need them. Though it can be a difficult topic, talk to your family about end-of-life care and your wishes. Update all of your legal documents so you know they’re current. Think about what accommodations you’ll need as you continue to age in place, and begin making changes around your home such adding grab bars, improving lighting, or getting rid of clutter.
  1. Make New Friends – and Reconnect with Old Ones
     Socialization is essential in aging. Why not decide this year that you’ll start volunteering or join a club in order to meet new people with common interests? Dig out your address book (or log onto social media) and reach out to someone you lost touch with to reconnect. Maybe this year you want to spend more time with family as well.
  1. Learn to Use Technology
     The world is changing, and technology only continues to be more prevalent. Make it a goal to learn how to navigate a smart phone, use a video chat app, or order products online. Talk to family and friends about what skills you could benefit from, then be open to learning new things.

Set goals that are meaningful to you and that you are motivated to work toward. Remember that you don’t have to do everything all at once – goals are meant to be for the whole year. As you’re looking ahead to the future, consider scheduling a free consultation with Always Best Care to learn more about how you can benefit from senior care services throughout different stages of aging. Contact us today at (855) 470-2273 to get started.



from Always Best Care https://ift.tt/38ufN2v
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dads and Pops: Your Good Health Matters to Us 

Did you know  June is  Men’s Health Month  and Father’s Day anchors Men’s Health Week ?   Celebrate dad on Father’s Day and thank him for all he  has  done, but  also  make sure to seize an opportunity sometime this month to have a conversation with him about his health. This awareness campaign has the critical purpose of informing men   that avoiding preventive healthcare puts them at real and serious risk of  contracting a disease or  acquiring  a chronic condition.   Studies consistently  show the numbers go against men , particularly as they advance into their senior years.   Even with dramatic advances in diagnosis and treatment over the past 100 years, men’s life expectancy still lags significantly behind women. According to  Harvard Health ,  the gap is widening. In 1900, the life expectancy for women was 48.3 years vs. 46.3 for men. In 2017, it was 81.1 years for women vs. 76.1 for men. Harvard...
Post a Comment
Read more

Memorize These Six Signs of a Scam

An 88-year-old woman is one of the latest victims of the sweepstakes scam. She lost $160,000 in order to get the millions the scammer claimed she’d won through the Publishers Clearing House. She’s not alone. This scam has been around for years and has affected tens of thousands. Be aware of the six signs of a scam to avoid losing money. The Caller Insists You Not Tell Anyone In a scam, the caller will insist that you cannot tell anyone. This is more likely to happen with the grandparent scam. The caller will say that the grandchild’s parents cannot know. Secrecy is important to the “grandchild.” If your parents are told not to tell anyone, it’s very likely a scam. Your parents should immediately report the scam to local authorities or the FTC at 1-877-382-4357. The Contact Arrives Out of the Blue A scam is going to start with a random call, email, or unsolicited mailer. Your parents didn’t enter a contest. It could be a scammer posing as a police officer, IRS representative, or ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sleep in the Elderly: What is Normal?

If you are a caregiver for a senior, or even just have elderly people in your life, you may wonder about their sleeping habits. It sometimes seems that the elderly don’t need as much sleep as the average person. You may feel like the elderly in your life are sleeping a lot, or sleeping too much during the day. Unfortunately when it comes to sleep in the elderly, what is normal may not necessarily be what is healthy. Excessive sleep or daytime sleeping in the elderly are all related to sleep disorders and can be helped. How Many Hours of Sleep Does an Elderly Person Need? A pervading myth related to sleep claims that elderly adults need less sleep than the average adult. It’s not quite clear how this myth began. Perhaps because elderly adults tend to nap in the afternoons and sleep less during the night. Perhaps because the elderly tend to wake up earlier in the morning, it appears they do not need to sleep as much. Whatever the reason, it remains a myth. From the mid-’20s onward, do...
1 comment
Read more