Advanced Home Health Care, providers of Burlington dementia care, provides tips to boost senior socialization.
It is intuitive to most of us that senior socialization improves health and wellbeing. It connects seniors to other people’s experiences, beliefs, challenges, humor, opinions, and various other human occurrences. Now, however, scientific studies are confirming seniors socializing with others actually can enhance the wellness of both their minds and bodies.
The outcomes point clearly to the impact of friendship and social engagement for seniors. A study carried out by Rush University Medical Center demonstrated that someone who noted a high degree of senior socialization was almost twice as likely to remain free of a disability involving activities of daily living than someone with a lower amount of social activity, and nearly one and a half times as likely to avoid disability involving instrumental activities of daily living or mobility. Very social older persons had a 70% decrease in their rate of cognitive decline as compared to unsocial seniors.
And yet, staying social is not instinctive to everybody, and for many, it turns out to be harder with age because one’s capability to get around may be greatly reduced. Here are just a few ways a home care agency such as Advanced Home Health Care can help seniors stay social and protect their quality of life:
- Encourage attendance at and serve as a personal escort to social outings including club meetings, community happenings such as fairs, holiday activities and parades, concerts, plays, and sports events, faith-based services and activities.
- Play interactive games together such as board games, cards and Nintendo Wii.
- Plan and schedule visits with friends and neighbors.
- Offer transportation to an adult day facility or a senior exercise class.
- Offer companionship during family get-togethers or vacations for maximum comfort and safety.
- Introduce seniors to social platforms like Facebook and Skype to help them to connect with family and friends even when they are homebound.
In the Social Activity and Wellbeing of Older Australians Study testing over 6,000 seniors over about 5-1/2 years, older adults with ongoing, regular social activity had a slower decline in intellectual and memory skills. Enhanced mental capacity was observed most in those people who were the most socially engaged.
Having a trusted home care agency provide in-home care to motivate and help with senior socialization may just be one of the best ways to help an older person continue to thrive and feel alive. At Advanced Home Health Care, a top provider of home care and memory care in Burlington, Iowa and surrounding communities, we are dedicated to supporting the independence, dignity, and social connection of every older person we serve. To learn more about our Burlington dementia care services and care in nearby areas, contact us online or call us at 800.791.7785, or 319.753.6270 if you’re in Burlington or 319.524.2144 if you’re in Keokuk.
