Family Awareness: The Importance of Exercise

As you think about the best ways to care for your aging loved ones, one of the things you can do that will provide the most benefit in all areas of life is encouraging exercise. Being active can help them in a wide range of ways, from strengthening social relationships to improving memory and even preventing depression.

Social Activity

For many seniors, exercise is a social activity. Walking in groups provides the chance to catch up on exercise and the latest social news. Encouraging your senior to stay active means encouraging a healthy social life, in many cases. Here at Tennyson Court, we have many residents who are constantly walking!

Improves Mood

One of the benefits of exercise is its ability to affect mood and disposition.  Just ask those crazy runners who say that jogging gives them a “runners high”. :)

Exercising releases mood-boosting endorphins, which can help lessen feelings of depression! If your aging loved one is suffering from mood swings or depression, exercise could help re-direct their negative thoughts and provide a great deal of support.

Improves Strength and Mobility

Keeping the body strong is one of the most important tasks for seniors, and exercise is the best way to improve both strength and mobility.

Seniors who do not move around much can suffer from atrophied muscles, difficulty breathing and walking, unsteady balance, poor blood flow, and other common physical problems. Getting off the couch and moving can help with these issues. Even a short walk a few times a day has its benefits! At Tennyson Court, we have a dedicated Activities team who designs activities to get your loved ones moving! This helps in the prevention of falls, which we all know can be devastating to senior’s health.

Increases Mental Capacity

Physical activity has been directly linked to slowing the process of mental decline. When you get your body moving, every part of you, including the brain, receives more blood flow. By encouraging your loved one to stay active, you are actually encouraging better mental health and improving their cognitive functioning.

Improves Healing

The healing process takes longer as we age. Active adults have wounds that heal as much as 25 percent faster than those who do not exercise. Beginning an exercise program now, before an incident occurs, may allow your aging loved one to benefit from improved healing and a faster recovery after an injury or surgical procedure.

We all know that healthy eating and exercise is essential to improving our lifespan.  That is no different for our aging loved ones!  We understand that it can be difficult for you to monitor your loved one’s activity level.  Take the stress away from yourself! Find a facility, like Tennyson Court, that will provide activities to help your loved ones thrive and remain active!  We encourage all of our residents to participate in our daily activities.  To find out more about our activities team, check out our website, or give us a call 716-632-9496.