Age comes with the baggage of memory loss, and loneliness makes seniors vulnerable, which can result in mental and emotional health strains. Seniors may experience anxiety and depression as they age. Since they live slow lives, their mental and emotional health can be affected. You may lead a stressful and disturbing life if you ignore your emotional and mental health.
For this reason, it's essential to mind seniors' mental and emotional health. The good news is that these conditions can be treated. Your doctor can give you some medical prescription or therapy to see you through your recovery journey. Below are some essential tips for using for seniors' emotional and mental health:
1. Socializing
As indicated earlier, most seniors are lonely. Loneliness can take a toll on their mental health. Humans are social, and you'll be lonely when you detach your life from social connections. Thus, it's essential to give them a chance to socialize. It could be with their peers. You can create a group that involves several seniors so that they can hang around. During their hangouts, they can chat and engage in conversation.
Alternatively, you can bring them their grandchildren. When asked, they said there are several fun activities to do with their grandkids. A weekend with the grandkids can involve numerous fun activities. For instance, telling stories, playing games, and crocheting. These activities give them a chance to interact as they get along.
Creating socializing events for seniors makes them feel loved and wanted. Therefore, ensure you occasionally plan and attend social events.
2. Getting Enough Sleep
As you grow older, your sleep needs change. You become a lighter sleeper and thus need more time to get adequate sleep. Thus, seniors need to get enough sleep. It helps improve their concentration and memory formation and restores any cell damage.
Note that the longer you sleep, the better it is for your mental health. Seven to nine hours of sleep are recommended. When you sleep, your brain goes into overdrive and generates hormones such as cortisol and melatonin. These hormones help you relieve your stress, and you become more energized.
3. Taking Care Of The Pet
You can keep seniors busy by giving them some responsibilities. For instance, taking care of pets has several benefits. A pet offers companionship and, in return, keeps the senior active. Remember, they need to be fed and taken for walks. If the owner can take their dog for a walk, they'll be engaged, and it's part of the exercise. However, the first thing you should do is ensure they love the animals. This way, you'll be certain they'll be interested in taking care of the pet.
4. Picking A New Hobby
Even seniors can learn new things at their age. To kill the boredom, you can introduce them to a new hobby. They don't have to be thorough in their practice. The goal is to keep them engaged. Therefore, when picking a new hobby, ensure it's artistic and creative. Some of the hobbies you can introduce the seniors to include:
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Painting
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Playing musical instruments
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Crocheting
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Scrapbooking
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Jewelry making
The beauty of creative activities is that seniors can look at their results. They'll appreciate taking the time to polish their artistic skills. The sense of accomplishment can significantly boost their mental health. Additionally, there are cognitive skills that you build while taking part in artistic and creative activities.
5. Playing Mind Games
Your mind needs stimulation to remain sharp and avoid cognitive decline. Mind games can be excellent for maintaining focus, memorizing, and making decisions. As such, you should ensure you have time to engage in mind games. It will turn your lonely times into fun-filled events where you get to have enjoyable moments. Some board games, such as chess, jigsaw puzzles, and sudoku, go a long way toward keeping seniors engaged.
6. Exercising
Regular exercise is more important for seniors to stay healthy. In most cases, you'll have few to no engagements. As such, it's best to keep your body engaged in physical exercises. One of the significant reasons you need physical exercise is that it's good for your muscles, joints, and bones.
On the other hand, you can also ensure that you take part in calming and relaxing exercises such as yoga or meditation. It helps reduce anxiety and depression. If you create a schedule for your workouts, you'll have organized your day to the minute. This way, you can create enough time to socialize or exercise.
7. Talking To A Therapist
In most cases, seniors have no one to talk to. Hiring a therapist could go a long way toward ensuring they're not lonely. A therapist will address matters that seem to bother them. Having the engagements helps them feel part of the community. Remember, your personality can affect your brain's health as you age. If they used to be engaged in talks in their early days, neglecting to have a conversation can take a toll on their health.
Conclusion
Maintaining emotional and mental health among seniors is vital. Instead of leading lonely lives, engaging them in numerous activities such as exercises and playing mind games helps them maintain their cognitive health. As such, they'll be socially engaged, and this keeps them off from depressing and unhealthy ways. That said, it's best to include one of the ways suggested above in your daily program to make the most of your day.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of sciencetimes.com
