As COVID-19 continues to affect many areas of our lifestyle, for senior citizens it seems to be a lot more than just the sickness. They aren’t feeling comfortable going out in public as much, so they don’t move around a lot anymore. If this is the case for your elderly loved one, there are some simple and safe exercises they can do at home that can get them moving. If needed, you and home care assistance providers can help remind them to do these exercises regularly.
Just Move
This isn’t necessarily an exercise, but it certainly helps improve health and reduce pain. If your elderly loved one is sitting down a lot, you should encourage them to get up for 10 minutes every hour or two, so they can just move around. Even if they are just pacing in their house, that is better than staying mobile. The CDC recommends that senior citizens walk for at least 30 minutes a day. However, if you can get your elderly loved one to walk at all, that is better than nothing.
Practice Yoga with Home Care Assistance Aides
One exercise that is very safe for senior citizens is yoga. This is an exercise that keeps them flexible, strong, and active. There are even yoga practices that are designed for the elderly. You or a home care assistance provider can help your elderly loved one find yoga exercise videos online.
Resistance Bands
Using resistance bands is another great workout for the elderly. There are different bands that provide more or less resistance. They can be used depending on your elderly loved one’s fitness level. They may need to start with the ones that have the least resistance. Just as with the yoga workouts, there are resistance band exercises online that you or a home care assistance provider can find for your elderly loved one.
Move Around While Watching Television
Does your elderly loved one usually just sit in their chair or lie on the couch when they are watching television? If this is the case, you should encourage them to move around when they are watching t.v. from now on. This can be a great way for them to get some steps in and it can keep them more active throughout the day, as well.
Balance Matters
If you want to help your elderly loved one reduce their risk of falling, balance should be key. There are numerous balance-based exercises that can help your elderly loved one move around better and improve their balance at the same time.
Hire Home Care Assistance Providers
These are some of the most simple and safe exercises for the elderly. If you are taking care of your elderly loved one, you should encourage them to do these exercises every day. They don’t have to do each one of these every day, but they should pick one or two they can do. If you can’t be around to help them do these, you can get home care assistance providers to do so instead.
Sources: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/how-older-adults-can-get-started-exercise
If you or a family member need to hire Home Care Assistance Services in Dix Hills NY or the surrounding areas, contact the caring professionals at Star Multi Care Services today at (631)956-8835. We are the Right Choice for Home Health Care Services!
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