In the past, there has been a lot of speculation regarding the toll that being a family caregiver takes on someone. The consensus opinion was that because being a caregiver is stressful and because it can quite easily have a negative impact on the quality of life that someone lives, that being a family caregiver is overall bad for your health.
New research is leading doctors to question whether or not this conclusion is accurate. In fact, new research seems to indicate that acting as a family caregiver is not actually as bad for you as we were once lead to believe.
By looking at inflammation levels and the immune systems of caregivers, doctors were able to establish a more comprehensive way to evaluate the toll that being a family caregiver has on someone. The team of researchers, who were from John Hopkins University, concluded that less than 1 percent of inflammation and immune level decline could be attributed to caregiver stress. This was data that came from a population of caregivers, which helps to add to the reliability of the information that was found.
One of the goals of these researchers is to eliminate some of the fear that is associated with acting as a caregiver. Many people who would otherwise be great family caregivers shy away from this because of health concerns. Although care can take a toll on someone, this fear does not need to be as widespread as it has become.
The researchers published their findings in the medical journal, The Gerontologist.
This study does not say that caregiving is easy or that it is not stressful. Being a caregiver is difficult, and this stress will impact people in different ways. The good news is that, overall, this is not nearly as detrimental as was once thought. Still, many people will struggle with care and it can have a negative impact on their health, both physical and mental. Finding a way to alleviate that burden is important if you are going to do a decent job of providing care to a loved one.
That’s where professional care can help. Regardless of what this study says, thousands of people struggle to give a loved one that high quality of care that they deserve. For some, this can be fixed simply by taking a break. Having a respite caregiver step in for a few days or weeks might be all that you need to relax and refresh and come back to giving care with a renewed spirit. For others, something more permanent might be necessary. Either way, having a caregiver on your side that you know and trust can be a helpful way to fix this issue.
If you’re located in the Bay Area and want more information about professional senior care, please feel free to reach out to us. Our team of trained caregivers would love to help you go over what your options are and how our service might match your family’s specific set of needs. Give us a call today to learn more.
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