Important Habits For Seniors And How To Maintain Them

Life is full of habits. Habits are a great way to manage your life and ensure you get everything you need for your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Your needs change as you age, and upgrading your habits to accommodate these changes is important to get the most out of life. 

What Is A Habit?

A habit is a tendency or behavior people develop from frequent repetition or physiological exposure. It’s something you do every day or almost every day, often without thinking about it. 

Nearly anything can be a habit. A habit can be waking up early to read with a cup of coffee to start your day or always going for a mid-afternoon walk after lunch. Habits can also be small things you do throughout the day, like carrying a water bottle or washing your face before bed. 

Important Habits For Seniors

Often, people implement habits to reach a goal or start a behavior. Habits are also essential to living a healthy lifestyle. As you age, it’s worth considering implementing healthy habits such as adequate sleep, physical activity, hydration, and medication management. 

Sleep

Sleep is essential to overall health, especially for the brain. Not getting enough sleep can affect thinking, reactions, and learning. It can also affect the heart, metabolism, immune system, and respiratory system. 

Creating healthy sleep habits ensures you get quality sleep every night. Sleep habits can include a routine bedtime, ways to relax the body and mind before bed, a specific time to wake up, or creating a peaceful environment before bed. 

Physical Activity

You should strive for physical activity on most days. Physical activity can improve your brain health, help you manage weight, strengthen your muscles and bones, reduce your risk of chronic health conditions, and improve your mood. 

Creating a physical activity habit doesn’t mean high-intensity workouts five days a week. A physical active habit can be something as small as walking every morning or dedicating thirty minutes each night to stretching. It’s about finding a physical activity you enjoy and incorporating it into your daily routine.

Hydration

According to a study from UCLA, nearly 40 percent of seniors are not properly hydrated. Dehydration can lead to serious health concerns, such as kidney problems, low blood volume shock, and seizures. Being dehydrated in the summer can also increase your risk of heat-related conditions like heat stroke or exhaustion. 

Make drinking water a habit by starting and ending each day with a full glass. You don’t need to chug the water but make an effort to drink it consistently every day. It might be helpful to purchase a refillable water bottle with time markings on it to use throughout the day. The purpose is to sync the amount of water you drink to the time listed on the bottle. You can find small ones that you refill twice or three times a day, or huge ones that cover you for a full 12 hour period.

Medication Management

Consistently taking medications is a habit many older adults need to learn. Medication management is especially important if you’re taking daily medications that significantly affect your health, such as beta-blockers or pain management medicines. 

If you have trouble remembering your medications, try using a weekly pill container and placing it somewhere you’ll see it every day, like next to your coffee maker or on your bathroom sink. You can also set reminders on your phone or purchase a handheld alarm to remind you. 

Building Habits With Visiting Angels

Building healthy habits can take time. Sometimes, however, it is easier to do so when you have someone on your side dedicated to your health and well-being. The Visiting Angels caregivers will happily help you navigate a healthier lifestyle and instill healthy habits throughout at-home caregiving services. 

Visiting Angels of Flagstaff, Arizona, is a locally owned and operated home care agency that serves seniors in Flagstaff and the surrounding Arizona communities. Our caregivers provide various nonmedical services to help clients stay healthy and safe at home. These services can include helping you start and maintain a nighttime routine to improve your sleep, joining you on neighborhood walks, ensuring you get enough water throughout the day, and providing medication reminders. Our caregivers also provide hands-on assistance to help with daily tasks like showering, grooming, dressing, toileting, and light housekeeping. 

At-home care services with Visiting Angels are customizable to meet the needs of each client. Contact us today to learn more about professional caregiving services with Visiting Angels!