With age, your senior loved one’s memory may begin to decrease due to altered connections in his or her brain cells. However, keeping the mind and body active are great ways to increase vitality, build reserves of brain cells and connections, and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Here are some creative activities that can preserve your loved one’s memory.
1.Write a Blog
For many seniors, there’s no better way to express creativity than through writing. Your loved one could begin with a small blog on social media or create a website with a blog. If your loved one doesn’t want to write a blog, he or she can do a video blog instead.
The critical thinking skills required to operate a blog can keep your loved one’s brain active. The interaction with followers of all ages provides socialization, which stimulates the brain and staves off Alzheimer’s.
For families living in Lincoln, respite care can be a wonderful solution when their aging loved ones need companionship and socialization a few hours a week or just need minor assistance with daily household tasks. At Home Care Assistance, we thrive on helping seniors maintain their independence while living in the comfort of home.
2.Learn a New Language
It’s never too late to enroll in a college course and learn something new, such as a foreign language. This is a creative way to challenge the brain and keep it active. Your loved one can learn multiple languages if he or she feels up to the challenge. There are courses your loved one can take online, or he or she can search for local adult classes geared toward learning new languages.
Regular brain stimulation boosts memory, and there are many other things seniors can do to remain healthy. If your elderly loved one needs help maintaining a high quality of life while aging in place, reach out to Home Care Assistance, a trusted provider of at-home care. Our caregivers provide transportation to and from medical appointments and social events, nutritious meal preparation, assistance with daily exercise, and help with everyday tasks like bathing, grooming, and light housekeeping.
3.Create Food Art
Many people refer to Alzheimer’s as “diabetes of the brain” because inflammation and insulin resistance injures neurons and prevents communication between a senior’s brain cells. However, adjusting eating habits can reduce inflammation and protect the brain. Creating food art is a great way to get your loved one interested in the foods he or she eats. Make cooking fun by encouraging your loved one to choose from brain-healthy foods that can be made into food art with ease, such as fruits and vegetables, cheeses, and lean meats.
4.Develop a Bedtime Ritual
Disrupted sleep is one of the risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. The body flushes out toxins that have a negative impact on the brain during sleep. If your loved one is unable to get the sleep he or she needs, the risk of developing Alzheimer’s could increase. Creating a bedtime ritual is a fun way to sleep better throughout the night. Encourage your loved one to be as creative as possible when deciding on a bedtime ritual.
5.Try Zumba
Being overweight can increase a senior’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Zumba is a creative physical activity that doesn’t feel like exercise. After dancing and exercising all his or her muscle groups, your loved one will have more energy and less stress, which could also slow the progression of cognitive decline. The basic steps in Zumba can help your loved one maintain a healthy weight, allowing him or her to keep blood and oxygen flowing normally, which protects the brain.
Regular exercise can not only stave off Alzheimer’s, but it can also reduce your loved one’s risk of dementia and other health conditions. Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of elderly home care. Lincoln families can rely on Home Care Assistance to provide individualized care plans to meet their elderly loved ones’ unique care needs. Our holistic Balanced Care Method was designed to help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and our Cognitive Therapeutics Method offers mentally stimulating activities that can stave off cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia. To create a comprehensive in-home care plan for your parent, give us a call at (916) 226-3737 today.