Aging adults can volunteer their time at the local library, hospital, or senior center or work with community nonprofits and various businesses that do charity work for local families and organizations. Volunteering can boost emotional and mental health and provide physical activity. Here are some of the benefits seniors can receive when volunteering.
Leads to Intergenerational Relationships
Volunteering with children and young adults gives seniors the ability to remain connected to society while enhancing their mood. Maintaining intergenerational relationships allows your elderly loved one to share his or her knowledge with the younger generation, and they’ll provide affection, admiration, and appreciation. The relationships your loved one establishes while volunteering with youth could stave off many health limitations and provide the nurturing he or she needs. Older adults who have intergenerational relationships generally experience less stress and engage in more physical activity.
Reduces Stress
Depression is common among older adults because they often lack companionship and fail to engage in meaningful activities. However, volunteering can keep your loved one socially active and provide purposeful duties. When other people rely on your loved one, he or she may feel appreciated and valued, which boosts mental health and lowers stress levels. Encourage your loved one to volunteer for fun groups or with an organization that shares his or her love for a specific cause or charity. Volunteering can increase the levels of mood-boosting endorphins released throughout the body and combat stress hormones that raise the risk of depression. Seniors over the age of 65 who continue to work or volunteer are less likely to experience isolation and other issues that lead to chronic stress.
Social isolation can result in mental, emotional, and physical challenges for aging adults, but they don’t have to manage them alone. In Altamonte Springs, senior care agencies can be a great boon to seniors. With the help of the caregivers at Prestige Home Care, your aging loved one can lead a happier and healthier life. We offer a revolutionary program, which encourages seniors to eat nutritious foods, exercise and socialize regularly, and focus on other lifestyle factors that increase life expectancy.
Boosts Memory
Volunteering can preserve memory and stave off issues such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. While volunteering, your loved one will need to learn new things, whether it’s how to become an effective volunteer or how to complete the various responsibilities that come with the new role. Staying mentally, socially, and physically engaged also increases circulation, preventing strokes and other issues that have adverse effects on the brain. Your loved one should contact local businesses, schools, and organizations to see what opportunities are available for senior volunteers.
Many seniors need assistance with transportation, and if you usually help your loved one get out and about but need a break now and then, consider having a professional caregiver take over for you. Family caregivers sometimes need a break from their caregiving responsibilities. When they need respite care, Orlando families can rely on professional caregivers to help their senior loved ones remain safe at home.
Increases Longevity
Volunteering keeps seniors active and strengthens their cognitive abilities, which can lower the risk of slips, falls, traumas, and various forms of cognitive impairment. Seniors need to use their cognitive skills or run the risk of losing them. Volunteering increases sensory stimulation, provides something fun to do, and enhances quality of life. Happy people tend to live long, healthy lives, and volunteering to help others is an excellent way for seniors to boost their happiness.
Volunteering can make a huge contribution to robust mental and physical health in seniors. Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don’t all need the same type of home care services. Windermere families can rely on Prestige Home Care to provide individualized care plans to meet your elderly loved one’s unique care needs. Our method was designed to help seniors focus on healthy lifestyle habits such as eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and maintaining strong social ties, and our Cognitive Therapeutics Method offers mentally stimulating activities that can stave off cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia. For more information about our flexible, customizable home care plans, call one of our compassionate Care Managers today at (407) 232-7155.