Most doctors and geriatricians agree that the one thing all seniors can do to improve their health is be more active. Studies show that seniors who are active for at least 30 minutes a day have lower rates of illnesses like heart disease and diabetes. Home care providers can help encourage your senior loved one to get up and moving more to help improve brain health, circulation, and sleep.

Many seniors live pretty sedentary lives because they don’t have the motivation to exercise or they have medical challenges that make working out difficult. Seniors who have home care tend to be more active than seniors that don’t have home care because of that encouraged motivation.

Do More Chores

Household chores aren’t really a workout, but they can get seniors up off the couch and moving. Pushing a broom down the hall, washing dishes, or putting laundry away are easy to do tasks for most seniors and they are good opportunities for seniors to get up and moving. A home care provider can help seniors with chores but seniors can do as much as they can of the chores that need to get done so that they can get more activity into their days.

Walk In Place During Commercials

A fantastic way for seniors to get more activity during the day is to stand up and walk in place during the commercials in their favorite TV shows. Most commercial breaks are just 2-5 minutes long so seniors won’t overdo it or get tired but those extra steps can really up fast. Just watching a couple of hours of TV and walking during the commercials can put seniors at 30 minutes of activity very quickly.

Try Sitting Exercises

Seniors who have trouble moving or walking can try doing exercises that can be done in a chair or on the couch. There are many videos online showing easy to do exercises that use body weight and stretching bands to help seniors strengthen and stretch their muscles. After doing these sitting exercises for a little while, seniors may then have more strength they can use to get up and move around. There are also exercises that can be done while seniors are lying down in bed or on the couch.

Join A Gym

Seniors should consider joining a gym that has programs specifically designed for the elderly. When seniors join a gym, they can try many different types of exercise to see which ones they like.

They can sample activities like yoga, golf, and water aerobics while also taking advantage of high quality exercise machines like treadmills, ellipticals, and stationary bikes. Seniors who want to be more active but don’t know where to start can get professional coaching from personal trainers that specialize in working with seniors at most gyms, too. That way they will have a trusted pro who can help them build a custom exercise plan to keep them moving and healthy.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring professional Home Care in Menlo Park, CA, call the caring staff at Aviva In-Home Care. Call today: (415) 795-2203

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Evan Loevner

CEO at Aviva In-Home Care

As a former hospital administrator, I launched Aviva with the goal of having a more focused, direct impact on the delivery of care than I could ever accomplish within a hospital setting. For me, the joy of running an organization like Aviva In-Home Care is having the ability to positively improve the lives of individuals needing customized care. As a passionate Bay Area resident, I know that many local seniors can benefit from new approaches to in-home care, that will bring them more connection to the community, and provide families with a greater sense of comfort that their loved one is indeed matched with an ideal caregiver.

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