The role of caregiver is not always filled by a professionally trained individual. In fact, as you might already know from our blog here at Paradise In-Home Care, much of the time, the role of caregiver goes to a family member. And often times, that family member is a senior citizen themselves. When this occurs, we need to remember that it might not just be the person receiving care that needs assistance, but the caregiver, too. A recent study looked at a certain population of family caregivers and came to a surprising conclusion.
Those family caregivers that assist a family member with Alzheimer’s disease often lead very stressful lives. High blood pressure is a common illness among this population, and a study conducted by the University of California San Diego points out a simple solution. Leisure time activities can help reduce blood pressure levels.
This particular study looked at over 120 different family caregivers that had been helping with a loved one suffering from Alzheimer’s. It was a long term study, and the results showed that there was a high correlation between fun activities and lower blood pressure. On average, the caregivers were 74 years old, and were comprised of about two-thirds women and one-third men.
One other thing that this study points out is that caregivers are not always young adults. They are usually spouses, and as such, they may be at risk for things like injury, heart attack, or dementia themselves. This is a delicate population, and many of these family caregivers may need some sort of senior care themselves in the near future. They deserve to have healthier lives. This simple fix might help some of them to achieve this.
This is such a simple and easy conclusion that it is surprising to many of us. But it shouldn’t be. Everyone needs time for themselves. People need time to sleep, to relax, to unwind, and to recharge. When you are caring for an older loved one with Alzheimer’s, it can seem like there is no time for these things, even sleep. But if we skip out on taking care of ourselves, we won’t be able to care for the people that we love. There are a number of different ways to fix this, but the one proposed in the above mentioned study is probably the easiest. Just taking a few minutes per day to do something fun can help improve our health. That’s it.
You can hire a professional respite care service, you can have your mom or dad live in a nursing home, or you can have another family member step in and provide care once in a while. All of these things can be beneficial to you and your family in various degrees, but you don’t necessarily need to use these options if they are not necessary or the most helpful choice. Sometimes just spending a few minutes enjoying ourselves is all that we need to live healthier lives so that we can help the people that we love to do the same.
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