How Outdoor Time Can Benefit Seniors
Does your elderly loved one spend a lot of time indoors? If so, you may want to talk to them about getting outside more often. Studies show that senior citizens who spend time outside regularly are less depressed and have fewer physical health issues. If your elderly loved one just really doesn’t like to be outside alone, you or an in-home care provider could go with them. In the meantime, there are some benefits of being outdoors that you might want to share with your elderly loved one.
The Color Green
One of the reasons why it is so beneficial for senior citizens to be outside is so they can see more of the color green. Sure, there isn’t much of that in the wintertime throughout certain regions. However, soon enough, it will be warm and green outside again. The research shows that seeing the color green helps to improve mood and happy thoughts. So, when it is warm enough, if your elderly loved one is feeling down, you or a home care provider should encourage them to go outside for a while, so they can cheer up.
Getting More Vitamin D
The sunlight helps to boost vitamin D levels in the body. If your elderly loved one currently isn’t getting enough of this vitamin, getting them to go outside every day can help a lot. The increased vitamin D can help with the following:
- Lowering the risk of diabetes
- Reducing the heart disease risk
- Increasing bone strength
- Boosting energy
If your elderly loved one could use these benefits, as most senior citizens can, you or an in-home care provider should encourage them to schedule time outside every day.
Caffeinated Effects
Did you or your elderly loved one know that being outside can offer similar effects to those that occur when someone takes in caffeine? Studies show that sunlight and just being outside on a nice day can:
- Increase energy
- Help people to get more done
- Reduce afternoon tired slump
These are just a few of the ways that being outside can help your elderly loved one to feel better throughout the day. If your elderly loved one is drinking caffeine and needs to stop or limit those drinks, going outside can provide them with the effects they are looking for.
Fighting Depression
Unfortunately, there are many senior citizens who are depressed right now. With all that is going on in the world, there is no blame in being depressed. With this being said, it is crucial that your elderly loved one has a toolbox of resources that help to fight depression. Studies show that people who go outside at least once a day for 15 minutes are less depressed than those who don’t get outside that much. This might be something that you want to share with your elderly loved one.
In-Home Care Providers can Follow these Recommendations
These are only some of the benefits that outdoor time can have on senior citizens. Now that you know about these benefits, you can talk to your elderly loved one about them. From there, your elderly loved one may need help getting motivated to go outside more often. If that is the case, you and in-home care providers can encourage or remind them to spend time outside regularly throughout each week.
source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3546779/
If you or an aging loved one are considering In-Home Care Services in the Kansas City MO area, please contact the caring staff at Elder Care of Kansas City, today. Proudly serving Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass Counties in Missouri as well as Johnson and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas for over 30 years. Call us at 816-333-3322.
Prior to purchasing Elder Care, Kevin spent over 20 years in the health insurance industry.In his most recent position, he was in a financial operations role with Humana where he worked with doctors, nurses and other health professionals developing programs to keep Humana members healthy.Their focus on primary care and medication adherence improved the lives of thousands of seniors in Kansas City and the surrounding area.
Kevin and his wife, Lori, have three children.Kevin has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Missouri.
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