As people age, they experience different changes both physically and mentally. For many seniors, staying healthy and active is a top priority to maintain their independence and quality of life. Promoting senior wellness is essential for helping seniors live long, happy, and healthy lives. In this article, we will discuss what senior wellness is, the benefits of holistic senior care, and five ways to boost senior wellness.
What Is Senior Wellness?
Being healthy as we get older may involve taking medicines to stay well—but in truth, health is much more nuanced than that. “Senior wellness” is the term used to describe the holistic wellbeing of an elderly individual—meaning that their physical, spiritual, and emotional needs are met. This can include activities like daily walks, memory puzzles, swimming, or even group spiritual study.
Why Is Senior Wellness Important?
While it is definitely important for seniors to routinely take any medication they have been prescribed by their doctor, this often only takes care of a small portion of what it means to be healthy. In fact, medications are a great first step towards improving one’s health—but holistic wellness looks at the quality of life for seniors in addition to their mere physical needs.
Of course, holistic wellness is important at any stage of life, but it may be all the more precious in later years of living. Sometimes complications arise as we age, whether physical, spiritual, or mental—and with these complications comes a new set of challenges. Our seniors deserve not only attentive support from community members who value them, but also to look forward to the time they have left as potentially some of the best years of their lives. Many senior care facilities aim to do just this by providing a space where people can gather and chat, play games, exercise, and eat nourishing meals.
Benefits of Holistic Senior Care
It can be tempting for doctors to prescribe a pill for a symptom rather than looking at the bigger picture—which may end up holding the key to the root cause of their poor health. Holistic senior care aims to take inventory of the overall lifestyle of the individual and find ways to improve their health and happiness. This typically involves looking at three primary aspects of health and making sure they are in alignment: mind, body, and spirit.
Mental and Emotional Health
All too often, we hear of senior citizens who end up feeling isolated, alienated, or lonely in their twilight years as they become less mobile or are unable to drive. Putting an emphasis on senior socialization can mean the difference between surviving to a ripe old age and enjoying each day as it comes. Not only this, but the thoughts we think and the emotions we feel can actually end up having a physical effect on our wellness—so good mental health for seniors is a priority!
Physical Health
Getting older is not without its aches and pains—but it’s important to stay active as we mature to keep our bodies resilient in the face of illness, a fall, or some other unfortunate event. This isn’t to say our seniors need to pump iron and drink protein shakes all day long—but even regular walks or gentle swimming exercises can be a safe, enjoyable way to get the heart rate up. Exercising is a great social activity as well, so it has the twofold benefit of being emotionally and physically stimulating while encouraging a state of general health.
Spiritual Health
Some needs run deeper than our need for healthy food, bodily movement, and conversation; the search for meaning and purpose is one of these profound human needs. It’s natural and normal at this stage of life to look for spiritual nourishment in addition to earthly comforts, and as such, spiritual or religious inclinations are absolutely considered a part of holistic senior wellness. Providing seniors with a space to cultivate their spiritual wellness can afford a piece of mind that can not only provide great comfort, but even produce physical manifestations like lower resting heart rate, and more.
Five Ways to Boost Senior Wellness
Fortunately, with a little planning and attentive care, it’s relatively simple to set the senior in your life up for a long, happy, healthy retirement. Here are the top five tips for promoting senior wellness:
- Nourishing meals: If food is medicine, eating right is all the more important as we get on in years. Eating healthy, well-balanced meals three times a day not only increases vitality, but may also help to reduce inflammation, stave off infection, or reduce the likelihood of certain diseases!
- Physical health programs: Staying active is an important aspect of maintaining health as we age. With a senior care program like Jazba, exercise circles are part of the daily routine for senior guests, which offers them an opportunity to move their bodies and socialize. Guests are also offered a wide array of attentive services, such as medication management and housekeeping!
- Socialization opportunities: A holistic senior care facility like Jazba offers ample opportunities for elders to mingle with planned social events such as painting, puzzles and games, flower arranging, and more. This can dramatically increase positive outlooks within the senior community while reducing feelings of isolation and loneliness.
- Encouraging volunteering or community service: Some people find volunteering or other means of giving back to their community to be a significant source of spiritual nourishment. This can reap rich dividends whether the volunteer is young or old. Offering seniors an opportunity to occupy their days with meaningful work can help them find purpose in their retirement and offer opportunities to socialize while strengthening their community.
- Other opportunities for spiritual development: Whether seniors enjoy Bible study or a meditation circle, there are all sorts of ways you can touch the lives of seniors near you. This includes therapeutic contact with animals. Look for an organization in your area that is of interest to the seniors in your life that will benefit their spiritual health, too.
Superior Senior Wellness at Jazba Care
There are many factors that affect an elderly person’s health, from their physical well-being to their mental and emotional states. Living meaningful, active, social lives after retirement is an important part of maintaining health for seniors that can even have physical manifestations affecting everything from the quality of their sleep to their heart rate. The future of elder care is in attentive service for seniors’ holistic needs, whether they be spiritual, social, or physical, which is why we take senior care seriously at Jazba.
Are you looking for a holistic senior care facility with a dedicated and attentive staff? Contact Jazba Care today to schedule a visit and see if your loved one would be a good fit for our community!
