Becoming as physically active as your senior is able to be can have tremendous benefits for her overall health and well-being. That can be easier said than done, however, depending on other health challenges she’s facing.

Helps with Mental Health and Cognition

Because of how the body functions, moving encourages your senior’s brain to release endorphins and other chemicals that assist with mood and with mental health. Reducing stress levels through movement helps your elderly family member to be more emotionally and mentally resilient. Physical activity also helps your elderly family member’s brain to have what it needs to keep functioning well.

Can Improve Immune Function

Your senior’s immune system also gets a boost from all those feel-good chemicals that movement helps to release in her body. Exercise alone isn’t going to keep her from getting sick, but it can help her to strengthen her immune functioning. Moving more also helps your elderly family member to manage chronic health issues, like higher blood sugar levels, so that it’s easier to stay healthy overall.

Can Reduce Fall Risks

The less your senior uses her body, the higher her risk of falling becomes. By moving more in a safe manner, your aging family member helps to reduce muscle loss and improves her balance and flexibility. All of that can pay off in a big way by helping her to avoid a potentially serious fall. One fall now doubles your senior’s risk of falling again, so anything that she can do to avoid falling is important.

Your Senior Can Have Targeted Assistance with Her Concerns

It’s easy to say “move more” to your senior, but there may be a lot of reasons that’s difficult for her. Home health care can offer your elderly family member a way to manage her concerns and issues in a way that is truly helpful. A physical therapist is able to work directly with your senior to offer her exercises and therapies that improve her ability to move well. Physical therapy at home can be exactly what your senior needs to become as mobile as possible again.

Preserving your senior’s sense of independence involves a lot of different activities, including helping her to protect her mobility. Talk with your senior’s doctor about how much physical activity is okay for her, so that she knows what her goal is as she’s increasing her movement on a daily basis. A home health care provider can easily follow the doctor’s recommendations for your senior and assist in performing the activities safely.

If you are considering home health care in Marcellus, MI, for an aging loved one, please call the caring staff at Fresh Perspective Home Care at (269) 329-4717. We are here to help!

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Shelly Nutter

Area Vice President at Fresh Perspective Home Care

Shelly Nutter has been a driving force in the Fresh Perspective Home Care team since 2008 and is currently the Area Vice President. She began caring for others at a young age and has never looked back. Her strong faith and family values drives her passion for helping others. Shelly says she never found a career that fulfilled a "bigger purpose" her previous jobs until begin her home care career with Fresh Perspective Home Care. "Here I found growth, purpose, and a career to match my personal ambition of making a difference in the lives of others." Shelly is native to the Kalamazoo/Portage, Mi area and has been married for over 25 years Together they have three children that she believes have benefited from watching Mom work hard to help others, advocate for others, and give to others. She also holds a bachelors degree in Accounting and an associates degree in Business Management.

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