Winter blues, also known as seasonal affective disorder, can feel really heavy. That’s especially true if your senior lives alone and the weather and other factors are keeping her close to home pretty much all the time. There might be some little things your senior can try to help her to feel better more consistently.
Try Tweaking Her Daily Routine
It’s a good idea to look at your senior’s daily routine to see what’s working for her and what’s working against her. Is she sleeping well, for instance? If she’s going to bed too late and subsequently waking up later and later, that can be interfering with things like regular mealtimes, too. Finding ways to tweak her routine so that it supports good habits can be important.
Talk to Her Doctor about Vitamin D
Lots of folks find that during the winter months they get a lot less vitamin D than usual. That might be the case for your elderly family member, too. It’s a good idea to talk to her doctor about whether supplementation might be a good idea. Testing vitamin D levels involves a simple blood test, and that can be an easy way for your senior’s doctor to see exactly where her levels are.
Help Her to Stay Connected with Other People
Feeling disconnected from other people can make winter blues an awful lot bigger. Help your elderly family member to find ways to stay connected to the people that she cares about. Even if they live far away, trying new technology, like video calls, can be really helpful. Something else to consider is hiring Senior Home Care providers to drop in and spend some time with your senior. These new friends can go a long way toward helping your senior to feel less alone.
Find Things that Help Her to Laugh
Laughter is often recommended as “medicine” for whatever ails someone, and it’s highly recommended for a reason. Look for ways to help your senior to laugh as much as possible, whether that means reading funny books or watching funny shows together. Electronic assistants of all brands from Siri to Alexa also have some sort of cue for sharing jokes, which can be a fun and random way to hear some new jokes.
Managing winter blues doesn’t have to be a big production for you and your senior. Look for simple ways to help her feel as good as she possibly can feel.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering Senior Home Care in Olney, MD please contact the caring staff at Just Divine Home Care Agency today at (301) 219-1585.
