Managing stress can be difficult regardless of a person’s age, but it’s often more challenging for the elderly. Stress can continue well after retirement because seniors are concerned about things like finances and their health. If your senior loved one is experiencing stress, it’s important to find an effective method for alleviating it. Many seniors are turning to meditation for this purpose, and here are a few reasons your loved one might want to join those numbers.
Combats the Physical Effects of Stress
Studies show meditation reverses the body’s stress response, which can protect your loved one from the harmful effects of chronic stress. When meditating, breathing automatically slows and blood pressure decreases. The body produces less of the stress hormone cortisol, and immune system function increases. Meditation may even help the brain age at a slower rate.
A home caregiver can help your loved one reduce stress by offering companionship, support, and encouragement. Whether you need respite from your caregiving duties or your aging loved one needs live-in care, Waterloo, ON, Home Care Assistance can meet your family’s care needs. Our dedicated caregivers are available around the clock to provide transportation to doctor’s appointments, ensure seniors take their prescribed medications, and help with a variety of tasks in and outside the home.
Makes Seniors More Mindful
When meditating, seniors may become more aware of their emotions and patterns of behaviour and how they respond to stressful situations. For example, meditation can help your loved one become conscious of the fact he or she tends to blow situations out of proportion. By becoming aware of internal thought processes and tendencies, your loved one is in a better position to change them.
Come with No Side Effects
Prescription medications for anxiety can carry side effects like sedation, which can be particularly dangerous for the elderly. Even supposedly benign herbal remedies may interact with medications or exacerbate other health conditions. Meditation has no physical side effects, costs nothing, and can be practised by anyone regardless of physical abilities.
Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of home care service. You can rely on Home Care Assistance to provide an individualized care plan to meet your elderly loved one’s 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.
Creates Feelings of Happiness
Meditation activates the prefrontal cortex, also known as the “feel-good” centre of the brain. When the prefrontal cortex is stimulated, your loved one may experience increased feelings of happiness. This can alleviate symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, and anger, allowing your loved one to enjoy a renewed zest for life.
Focuses on the Present
Stress often comes from worrying about what has happened in the past or concerns about the unknown future. Your loved one may spend hours wallowing in anger over old grudges or become set up for disappointment when his or her plans for the future don’t turn out as expected. Meditation involves focusing on the here and now. The practice involves facing each moment as it comes and then letting it go so the next moment can be experienced.
Practising meditation to reduce stress is just one way aging adults can enhance their overall health and wellbeing. Seniors who want to remain healthy as they age can benefit in a variety of ways when they receive professional homecare. Waterloo, ON, Home Care Assistance is here to help your loved one accomplish daily tasks, prevent illness, and focus on living a healthier and more fulfilling life. Call us today at (519) 954-2111 to learn about our high-quality in-home care services.