Home Care Assistance Activities to Promote Mindfulness

Senior Mindfulness: Home Care Assistance Riverhead NY

The health community has been in a rage over practicing mindfulness because it is one of the best ways to promote mental health and well-being no matter what age you are. It can help with stress, depression, anxiety, or other mental health concerns. Even if your senior has home care assistance, they should be finding ways to practice mindfulness each day, which can be something a caregiver adds to a senior’s routine. Here are some activities a senior can do with or without the help of home care assistance that allows them to practice mindfulness.

Walking Outside

This may seem like a step that is too easy to take, but it is often overlooked by many. Practicing mindfulness does not have to be expensive, and you don’t need to buy tools for this to work. That is one of the reasons the health community loved practicing mindfulness, it’s free, and anyone can do it. Encourage your senior loved one to walk outside and focus on the physical feeling of walking and the emotions floating through them. The goal is to be aware of their bodies, environment, and minds.

Try Mindful Eating

No matter what age you are, you need to eat. It’s a fact of life, especially if you want to live longer and age in place gracefully. So, it’s time to encourage your loved one to practice mindful eating each time they snack or have a meal. This means eating slowly, savoring each bite of food, and focusing on how the food makes you feel as you go. Of course, a senior should stop when they’re full.

They may want to take this a step further and write about the food they eat in a food journal. This doesn’t mean they need to diet or count their calories, but they just start noticing how certain foods make them feel.

Journaling in the Morning

Although it doesn’t have to be first thing in the morning, journaling can be a great way to promote mindfulness. It can allow them to sit in silence and process the day before or the upcoming day.

They can write down their feelings, thoughts, and steps to overcome something. It can be prompted or unprompted; it is totally up to your loved one. If they want prompts for each day, have their home care assistance provider help them devise a calendar plan and write out prompts for each day on the calendar. Starting in the morning can help your senior wake up feeling good and ready to start the day.

Try Out Breathing Exercises

These exercises should never be underestimated. Breathing exercises can help a senior focus on their body and mind while blocking everything else out. This can help them work through panic attacks, anxiety, and stress, or just eating tension in their bodies. If they need help finding the right breathing exercises, they should ask a therapist, doctor or even look up videos online of how to breathe correctly. When they start practicing this, they may just want to notice how they breathe naturally and how it makes them feel.

If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Assistance in Riverhead, NY, call the caring staff at Artful Home Care today at 631-685-5001.