Health and Wellbeing

Here is a list of easy exercises that you can incorporate into your daily life to keep you fit and healthy:

• Chair exercises – They can help you strengthen the muscles of your lower body, bones and joints also improving circulation. A good chair exercise is chair squats, these involve sitting down slowly and standing back up slowly.
• Arm lifts – They can help you improve mobility, posture and strengthen muscle. Stand with your back against a wall, hold your arms out to the side and slowly raise your arms above your head and back down to your side. Make sure your arms remain in contact with the wall. It’s just like making a snow angel against the wall with your arms.
• Arm curls – They can help strengthen your arm muscles. Arms curls are great as you can do them either standing up or sitting down between each sip of tea. Just hold your weights down by your side and then lift them up towards your shoulder by bending your elbow then slowly lower them back down to your side and repeat.
• Stair stepping – They can improve coordination and lower body strength. Use the bottom stair of your staircase and step up right foot first followed by your left foot then back down with your right foot followed by your left foot. Repeat this for 30-60 seconds then change your leading foot to your left foot and repeat for the same amount of time.

Exercises in social settings are great for the body and mind especially if your loved one is experiencing feelings of loneliness. Here is a list of activities that are great for elderly mental happiness and physical health:

• Yoga classes for the elderly – Yoga can strengthen your muscles, help lift your mood and improve balance and posture. You also have lots of opportunities to interact and socialise with other people your age at classes and because they are tailored for your age group routines will be low impact and suitable for your body. Regular classes give you a sense of routine and something to look forward to throughout the week.
• Walking or dog walking – Getting out of the house and breathing in the fresh air always feels good. Walking is a great way to strengthen your muscles and people who do regular exercise have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. It’s also a great way to meet and have a chat with people.
• Mindful meditation – Meditation can improve focus and sleep, enhance calmness and can relieve stress. Research shows that older adults who meditate often report a reduction in depressive feelings and a boost in emotional wellbeing. There have also been reports of meditation stimulating the memory centres within the brain.

You want to keep giving your brain-stimulating challenges as you get older to keep it functioning well and entertained. Here are ways to keep your brain performing well:

• Learn something new – Learning new skills is a really good way to keep your brain active, entertain yourself and feel good about yourself. From cooking to languages to sports to musical instruments to arts and crafts there’s bound to be something to catch your fancy.
• Play thinking games– Research shows that brain puzzles can help elderly people with keeping their brains sharper for longer. Cognitive training exercises for the elderly can be board games, reading, chess, card games, crosswords, riddles, sudoku and jigsaw puzzles.
• Volunteering – volunteering is a meaningful activity that leaves you feeling good about yourself, it also often involves lots of social interaction and learning new skills.

When checking in with your body and minds health it’s important to recognise when to ask for help. Pushing yourself too far or suffering in silence can have serious effects on your well-being.

At Esteem we offer a range of services that can be tailored to your specific needs no matter how small or big they seem. Browse our range of home care services or get in contact with us today to see how we can care for you whilst living an independent life.