5 New Year’s Resolutions for Seniors

It doesn’t matter how old you are. Every year brings new opportunities for personal development and improvement. With the help of new year’s resolutions, you can hold yourself accountable to your goals and find new ways to improve your life: For the better.

We’re here to walk you through five new year’s resolutions for seniors, so you can start making changes tomorrow.

Let’s dive in:

Eat healthier

A healthy, balanced diet will help you look and feel good about yourself. If this is the resolution you want for the year, aim to prepare a balanced, well-rounded diet. You’ll want to include protein, whole grains, fruits, veggies, and dairy. You’ll also want to make sure you’re also drinking an adequate amount of water with every meal you have.

As you get older, it can be challenging to shop for food and make new meals all on your own. If it helps, plan out your meals for the week, so you don’t need to make too many trips to the store.

If you need more assistance with groceries or preparing your meals, consider connecting with a Senior Care Companions. We can help you run errands and maintain a healthier lifestyle throughout 2023.

Stay active

Exercise is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. On average, seniors should aim to get at least 150 weekly active minutes. That means you’ll want to have at least 20-25 minutes of daily activity.

If your new year’s resolution is to work out more, consider restructuring your daily routine to have more walks or time on the treadmill. You can also consider signing up for workout classes for seniors at your local community center or a gym near you. This will hold you accountable for your goals and help you get closer to 150 active minutes.

Here are a few other low-impact activities you can try:

Yoga
Riding a bike
Jogging
Swimming
Water aerobics

Don’t forget to have fun with the activities! Find something that you enjoy doing and look forward to doing every day. If you haven’t worked out in a while, start small and work up to 20-25 minutes a day. Start by setting aside 10 minutes every day to go on a walk and slowly increase the time.

Downsize your space

Are you considering moving into a senior care facility soon? Do you want to sell your home and downsize to a smaller apartment? If so, consider adding downsizing your space to your new year’s resolutions. Eliminating clutter, selling what you no longer use, and getting rid of items that take up space will make things easier when you’re ready to make the big move.

Don’t be afraid to lean on the help of your friends and family! If you’ve lived in the same house or apartment for years, there might be tons of boxes and items to go through. With help from your loved ones, you can de-clutter your living space and start looking for new homes.

Organize your important documents

If you’ve struggled to stay organized the last few years, make 2023 the year of organization. You’ll want to gather your important documents, including financial documents, medication lists, wills, or end-of-life wishes documents. Consider looking through. Have a special place where all of these documents will live and consider updating them at the beginning of every year.

Reading is a great hobby that has proven to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia. It can also help reduce stress levels, sharpen your decision-making skills, and be a great way to entertain yourself. If you want to read more in the new year, start by setting a goal to read at least one book a month. Look at the current list of New York Times bestsellers for inspiration, or pick up a book that aligns with your hobbies and interests.

You can keep track of how many books you read by marketing it on your calendar. At the end of the year, you can reflect on all the books you were able to read.

Connect with Senior Care Companions for help

If you’re ready to take on the new year with a set of resolutions, congrats! You’re one step closer to being a better version of yourself. Whether you want to enhance your diet or workout more frequently: You’re sure to feel the effects of these lifestyle changes in just a few months.

If it’s hard to stick to your goals and you need additional assistance, lean on Senior Care Companions for help. We can help you with errands, cooking meals, or other chores around the house.

Connect with us today to learn more.

Seniors need attention and love during the holidays, just like everyone else. Unfortunately, some people forget to visit their loved ones during the busiest times of the year.

Finding ways to take care of seniors during the holidays is extremely important. Doing so involves helping them with their physical, mental, and emotional needs. Let’s look into the ways you can take care of seniors during the holiday season.

Hire a Service

Some seniors might not be able to help themselves with different tasks such as:

Mobility to go places
Remembering important details and schedules
Assistance with motor skills

Whatever you may need, we here at Senior Care Companions can help. We offer various services to help seniors each day. You can find assistants to help them 24/7, or just a few hours of the day.

While you should help seniors when you can, you may need professional help. After all, you can’t be at their sides 24/7, so see if you can find a reliable service to look after them.

Plan Fun Activities

Seniors can face boredom during the holidays, especially if they don’t have people to spend time with them. Coming up with fun activities you can do with one another is important to their mental and emotional wellbeing. Potential activities include:

Sit down and play board games together
Enjoy holiday activities like eating or watching movies
Go for a walk through the park

Focus your attention on letting them have fun. Doing so can help you take care of them emotionally and mentally. For example, they could feel happy after the activities or thankful you thought of them.

Seniors can potentially become lonely and depressed during the holidays, so take the time to plan fun activities for them. Doing so can help them overcome the mundane and boring moments in their lives.

Prepare Them Ahead of Time

Some seniors may like to stick with their schedules. If you know seniors like this, you should prepare them before any activities. Some seniors may have health problems, so make sure you accommodate them.

You can do this in multiple ways such as:

Ensure they have a way to safely reach the areas if they have to use wheelchairs
Give them specific food if they have dietary restrictions
Show them pictures of who they’ll see at the event if they suffer from memory loss

You don’t want to worry them, so make sure you take some time to talk and prepare. This can help them understand the plan and feel comfortable during the activity.

Visit Them Regularly

Often people forget to help seniors with their mental and emotional health during the holidays. If you want to help them during the holidays, just visiting them is an easy way to make their day.

Visiting seniors can help them out in many ways:

Allows them to talk with someone
Shows them others care about their well-being
Help them with tasks or anything else they need

When you visit a senior, you can help them feel happy. You can also help them avoid feelings of loneliness or boredom if they have to live away from home. Even if you have seniors in your life who live on their own, you should visit them during the holidays.

Seniors recognize the time you take to visit them, so they’ll appreciate your efforts.

Ask Them What They Want

Sometimes, people try to make decisions for seniors, so you should communicate when possible. If you communicate with them, you can avoid some problems.

Ensure they do something they like and avoid boredom
Meet their personal needs and keep them safe
Learn more about them and their interests

These points can help you find an activity that will make the seniors happy. You don’t want to drag them to an activity they don’t like, so you need to communicate with them. That way, you can find something you’ll both enjoy.

Some people forget to remember each senior as a person. Make sure you show these seniors you care by asking them what they want. As you do so, you can form stronger relationships with them.

Final Comments

The holidays give you a great opportunity to show your love to the seniors in your life. Whether you want to help relatives in your family or the local seniors, you can make the holidays better for them.

If you want to help these seniors out, try out the ideas above. If you need assistance in taking care of the seniors in your life, reach out to Senior Care Companions.

Have any Questions? Just give us a call, we would love to help in any way.

“Quality Care You Can Trust – Since 2004”