Ever feel unbearably stressed out? It’s called being human. Stress is a totally natural response that urges us to deal with the threats and challenges in our lives. It’s just that too much stress isn’t healthy—especially for the elderly.
When stress in seniors becomes overwhelming it can have all kinds of negative consequences. This is especially true when it comes to metabolic syndrome, which is made up of a range of factors that include obesity, hypertension, and low HDL cholesterol. Stress can also contribute to increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and diabetes.
The good news? There are a range of mental and physical stress reduction techniques for seniors. Mental therapies include engaging in an activity-rich social life and practicing mindfulness. Additionally, physically managing stress through aerobic exercise and resistance training can be similarly beneficial.
Encouraging the elderly to develop a healthier social life has been shown to reduce the progression of stress. Social activities such as arts and crafts, games, singing, or playing a musical instrument are all great ways to enhance the quality of life in older people.
Practicing mindfulness has also shown incredible results. A recent study demonstrated that an 8-week program of mindfulness-based stress reduction significantly reduced loneliness in older people. A separate study showed that this same technique improved symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress while also lowering blood pressure and body mass index in patients with coronary heart disease.
As a physical treatment for stress, exercise has also proven to be effective in preventing metabolic disease—without the need for pharmaceuticals. In fact, the CDC recommends that adults get 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity and 75 minutes of vigorous activity every week. It’s also been shown that resistance training three to four times a week has been highly beneficial.
So what are our go-to tips for senior stress reduction?
Here’s what we recommend:
- Recognize that stress is natural, everyone feels it
- Develop a healthy social life by engaging in group activities
- Engage in consistent aerobic exercise
- Perform resistance training three to four times a week
- Practice mindfulness-based stress reduction
For more information, or to book a tour, contact our friendly staff at The Plaza Assisted Living.