When we are sick or injured, we view rest as a good thing. And most of the time it is. However, bed rest isn’t always beneficial to senior citizens. In fact, research shows that prolonged inactivity can be detrimental to the long term health of individuals, and seniors are some of the most heavily impacted people. Rest and inactivity are meant to be rejuvenating, but the problem that arises is that the exact opposite often happens.
So why is rest so bad for seniors? Well, it decreases blood flow, something that many elderly people already have a problem with. After just 24 hours of inactivity, blood flow is decreased by 5 percent. After ten days, this number doubles to 10 percent. It also leads to a higher resting heart rate, which means that your heart needs to work a lot harder to do the things that were once much easier for it to do. Not only is this dangerous when resting, when the term of rest is over, it makes moving around the house much more difficult and can increase cardiac risk. Both of these things can lead to dizziness as well, which can increase the chances of a fall and a subsequent injury. Muscle strength is also lost during this time, usually around the rate of 1 to 3 percent per day. Muscle weakness is often cited as a common contributor to falls, and when muscle atrophy is bad enough, a lot of the protection that muscles provide disappears, making any injury that occurs much more severe in nature. There are also complications with how the body processes glucose, and if diabetes is a factor, it can become a much worse one.
This should illustrate the point we are trying to make very well. Bed rest has many negative consequences, and these can often outweigh any good that comes out of it. The next thing that should be considered is how do we avoid these awful consequences when it comes to our loved ones? How do we keep them healthy, even if they are ill or injured?
The point of senior care is to keep our elderly loved ones as healthy and happy as possible, not to see their health decrease. This is why active forms of care should be your go to choice over more inactive forms. For example, a nursing home almost always sees seniors become less active. In some cases, this is a necessity, but many people that go into nursing homes do not truly need to be there. Instead of opting with this, look to alternative forms of care, such as assisted living or in-home care. When seniors are not confined, but have more freedom and independence to move around and live a less impeded lifestyle, staying active is a lot easier because it comes more naturally.
In some cases, rest is a must. But if it can be avoided, it should be. People need exercise, both for physical and mental health. If your loved one is capable of activity, but isn’t getting it, then help them to get the care that they need that will be promote this lifestyle.
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