Your parent raised you. It’s your turn to look out for them now that they need some assistance as they continue to live in their home as they age. Whether your parent has just gone through surgery, living with a condition, or are feeling more socially isolated, what can you do to help create a positive environment for them during this stage of life and help them thrive?
First, it’s important to put yourself in your parent’s shoes. What could you do to create an energizing and healing environment in their home? With a few simple touches, you can turn your loved one’s home into an oasis of color and enjoyment. Remember: you don’t need to push your ideas; keep your parent engaged in the planning process.
Brighten Their Day with Color
Paint color can transform a room and make it a cheery haven and liven up dimly lit rooms. Light wall colors may make rooms seem larger.
Furthermore, as Blueberry and Maverick explains, “Colors have psychological impact. Different colors influence particular emotions, ranging from peacefulness to excitement or even anger.” Choose colors wisely to bring peace and harmony into the home.
What impact can colors have? Let’s explore a few:
- Red invokes feelings of rage and anger.
- Blue projects calm, tranquility, and peace.
- Orange is synonymous with enthusiasm and connection.
- Pink resonates with nurturing and healing.
If painting your parent’s home is out of the question, textiles, wall decor, and accessories can add pops of interesting colors to brighten the mood instead. Youngsters in the family can share their colorful drawings for your parent to decorate rooms.
Add Flowers and Plants
Flowers are a timeless way to bring cheer to one’s room and create a healing environment — especially if your parent’s windows look out at an uninteresting brick wall or busy highway. Give them a colorful flower arrangement or a potted plant with colored ribbons around it. Bold, bright colors can fill the bouquet’s receiver with joy while giving the room a fresh new focus.
Bring a bit of nature into the home. Plants clean the air and thus have healing properties. Succulent plants like aloe vera don’t need a lot of maintenance. According to Colorado Country Life magazine, “The added benefit of aloe vera is it cleans the air of formaldehyde and benzene found in floor finishes, varnishes and detergents.”
Make New Memories: Keep Your Senior Parent Connected with their Loved Ones
While they may have their television, when a loved one is confined primarily to the home, the loss of social interaction can lead to boredom and be difficult for them to deal with. Seniors who don’t have regular access to their loved ones have a high risk of dementia.
Invest in a tablet or other device that will allow them to video chat with their friends and family members. Zoom, Teams, and FaceTime have all become quite popular and are great ways for people to stay in touch no matter how far apart they may be. The love that comes with connecting with other significant family members can be essential, particularly for loved ones who are undergoing mental therapy.
Fill the Air with Music
Another way to make their home come alive is to fill it with music. Music is the heartbeat of the universe. Buy CDs and bring a CD player. If they have a tablet or cell phone, download their favorite music. Set them up with headphones or a Bluetooth speaker and show them how to operate them. Make sure they have access to different kinds of music. They can play whatever music suits their mood and taste.
Boost Mental Activity
Older people can heal faster, according to research, if they get lots of mental stimulation. Older persons will need mental stimulation to help them maintain and improve their cognitive function. Daily brain games such as crossword puzzles and activities such as storytelling and writing can enhance your loved ones’ mental activity.
Studies show that brain games are crucial for engaging your loved ones’ minds even when struggling with age-related disease. Brain games will also keep your loved ones’ minds sharp and give them the ability to let them know what is going around their environments.
Encourage Physical Activity
Physical activity is crucial for senior persons living at homes while grappling with health problems. Activities may help your senior loved ones relieve stress, stimulate their blood levels and heart health, and relieve anxiety. Regular exercise promotes sleep quality and depression relief. Depending on physical limitations and medical professionals’ recommendation, provide a living environment that encourages your loved one to indulge in activities such as handclapping, walking, or chair yoga.
Safety Prevention
Being surrounded by the beauty in your home is a wonderful thing, but a healing environment needs to be safe, too. New medications can alter one’s sense of perception or cause dizziness. Advancing age can slow reflex time and dull vision. But there are some things you can do to prevent the risk of falls in your parent’s home:
- Rooms should be well-lit. Add a lamp to the bedside. Use nightlights to light up hallways, bathrooms, and the bedroom.
- Replace carpet that’s deteriorating. If rugs are necessary, make sure they have non-slip backings.
- Tape cords to the wall.
- Add grab bars near the toilet and in the shower.
Furthermore, it’s important that your family member always has a phone nearby to make a call (especially should an emergency arise). But hearing your voice on the other end is healing, too!
Creating a healing environment within the home is essential to help your loved one to thrive. Be sure to talk to them to find out what they will enjoy the most. Some may enjoy more sensory activities, while others may simply like the peace and quiet. Create a healing environment your loved one will truly relish.
Do you need assistance with non-medical, in-home care services for your parent? Do you live too far away to check in on your parent on a regular basis? Does your parent need help with tasks like shopping, meal planning, cooking, bathing, or getting rides to appointments? A Peaceful Way Home Care in Palos Verdes is here to step up and help. Our compassionate caregivers can help create a healing environment to help your senior parents thrive.