Family Health & Wellness
Learning to maintain health as a part of your every day routine is very important to being at a young age, but applies to us all at any age throughout our lifetime. Engaging in physical activity not only keeps your body healthier by keeping it active, moving, and strong, but it also strengthens our mental health at the same time. Families can try many different ways of keeping everyone active - from grandparents to toddlers, keeping active together can be fun! Many Americans live in multi-generational homes, and learning about the ways you can help each member of your family with their physical and mental health is a great way to engage in together time. For children, there are lots of fun ways you can get moving at home or around your neighborhood. Check out some of our recent ideas for keeping kids moving at home!
For anyone in your household, there are some easy things to remember to help yourself stay healthy while getting active.
Hydration Matters
Keeping yourself hydrated is an easy thing to do, but also can be an easy thing to forget about if you aren’t used to monitoring how much water you drink each day. Dehydration can cause many different issues and can just make you feel drained of energy. It becomes much harder to be active when you feel tired or depleted. No matter whether you are physically and mentally healthy, elderly, young, or have different abilities, hydration is a critical part of overall health and wellness.
Seniors and those who are immune compromised can experience negative effects from dehydration and that can put them at risk for other kinds of issues or even accidents. Many people in advanced age groups are at a greater risk for fall accidents when they are not properly hydrated. Being dehydrated can make your muscles and whole body feel weak or make you feel dizzy, which can more easily lead to an accidental fall.
If you live in an area with less moisture or high temperatures, efforts to stay hydrated really need to be in focus each day. It is easy to get dehydrated after simply running errands or going for a walk outside in a hot climate. Keep water on hand wherever you go to ensure proper hydration.
Challenge yourself! To make it more fun and interactive on your road to better hydration, challenge yourself to drink one extra glass of water per day to try to feel the difference it makes for you. Track which days you remember to have that extra glass by filling in a habit tracker or calendar. And remember, it is about progress, not perfection! Any effort is a good effort, and simply becoming more conscious of it is a step in the right direction.
Health & Wellness Challenge
For this month’s Therapy Tune-Up, we are introducing a health and wellness challenge! It is easy to participate and easy to make progress.
The challenge is: Spend (at least) 10 minutes per day moving your body!
If you can move for longer than that, like going for a walk, a hike, a run, a bike ride, or anything you prefer, that’s great! If you don’t already have an exercise routine or fitness regiment, then start off with focusing on physical activity for 10 minutes per day to get things going.
Track your progress and achievement on our habit tracker!
Fill in one of the weights for each day you moved for 10 minutes or more. Print one out for every member of the family so you can all join in on the challenge and help motivate each other.
Home Exercises for Seniors
Chair exercises are a great way for seniors to incorporate safe daily fitness into their routine. Before getting a routine started, be sure to have your therapist evaluate the smartest and safest way for you to properly get your movement in each day. One thing to remember is to stay away from using desk chairs or office chairs (on wheels) for your exercise, as their instability could be dangerous.
Foot Lifts
While seated on a stable chair (without wheels) extend the knee to straighten the leg with the toes pointing toward the ceiling. Hold on to the sides for the chairs to stay stable and repeat this extension as many times as you can, up to 10 times.
Torso Twist
Hold a ball with both hands and the elbows out to the sides. Twist from the waist to the left as far as you can without pushing too hard to straining. Then rotate and twist in the opposite direction.
Chest Press
Hold an exercise ball out in front of you with both hands and squeeze from both sides to activate chest and arm muscles. Repeat about 10 times or as many times as feels comfortable.
Be sure to consult with your therapist or healthcare professional to know how to exercise without causing any injury. We encourage everyone to be safe and smart with their physical activity.
Home Exercises for the Family
Whether you have kids, care for older family members in your household, live in an apartment, or any specific situation you have, there is always a way to get your body moving for at least 10 minutes per day. If the weather permits, simply go for a stroll outside. For those in the desert, that might be an evening walk for the whole family to be safe in the heat. If you are living in an island or forest climate, if there is no rain in the forecast, take a walk on the beach or through the trees. Parks are a great way to have a destination away from home that can also provide some extra fun and exercise for the little ones.
Get recommendations and ideas from your therapist! The team at Tilton’s can help you assess your goals and the best path for helping you get active this year.
For patients of any age, Tilton’s works with individuals in their natural environment to help you work with current situation. We aim to help our clients reach the maximum level of independence.
