A Detailed Guide to Boosting Your Emotional Health & Well-being as an Older Person
Mental health issues, concerns, and the guide to boosting emotional health & well-being are finally becoming ever more prominent in both media articles and discussions among friends and family members on a more casual basis.
For older people and the elderly, a strong and sturdy mental state with a healthy and, at least, realistic, outlook on life becomes even more important, and as such, here’s a detailed guide to boosting your emotional health & well-being as an older adult.
Improve Your Sleeping Patterns
First and foremost, it can be frustrating when you know you should stop what you’re doing in the evening and head upstairs to bed when you’re not feeling tired. However, getting into a good sleeping routine will do wonders for how you feel and your overall mood on an average day.
If you’re someone who struggles to sleep, there are several effective ways to improve both the quality and duration of your sleeping patterns, including:
- Trying not to watch the clock.
- Avoid drinking caffeinated drinks and alcohol before bed.
- Investing in blackout curtains.
- Exercising vigorously in the evening.
- Avoid using any technology while lying in bed.
If, after following these tips, you’re still unable to get a good night’s sleep, then book an appointment with your medical doctor as soon as you can to discuss your available options.
Connect with Friends & Family Members
Loneliness is an affliction that can be detrimental to the mental health of anyone, regardless of age, but for older adults, it can send them into a downward spiral.
If you’re fortunate enough to have a strong support network, the next time you’re feeling low and are naturally drawn to spending the day at home on your own, fight this feeling and call a close friend and arrange a lunchtime date.
Alternatively, if you are in a situation where there is no one you feel you can talk to, this situation needs to be addressed. Make an appointment with your medical doctor to discuss how you are feeling, and consider changing your living arrangements to one with a more social foundation.
If you’re interested in looking into different living options, either right now or for the future, do not hesitate to contact a Shrewsbury nursing home to arrange an initial appointment to discuss your options and to find out all of the amazing benefits that moving into such a space can afford you.
Develop a Sense of Gratitude
The more grateful you feel, in terms of everything you have, the people around you and even the smaller things such as your extensive collection of LPs or your new clothes from a recent shopping spree, the more positive you’ll begin to feel.
Now, if you’re a visual person, then you could look into creating a mood board with a selection of images and quotations that not only summarize how you’re feeling in that moment but also how you would like to feel in the future.
Instead, you could treat yourself to a decorative notebook and use it exclusively as a gratitude journal, writing down the events, however large or small, throughout your day that made you smile, laugh, or even feel glad.
The power of gratitude can never be overestimated, and as such, the more grateful you feel about your position in life and situation, the happier and more positive your outlook will be.
Adopt an Animal
Next, especially in the case of those who live on their own and don’t have children and grandchildren visiting them regularly, another way to stave away loneliness and therefore, low mood, is to consider adopting a deserving animal from your local shelter.
Dogs, of course, require daily walks, and as such, are the ideal choice if you’re entirely physically mobile and are looking for motivation to get out there and exercise. As they are generally more self-sufficient and prefer to explore on their own, cats are a good choice for homebodies.
There are a huge range of advantages to sharing your life with a furry friend, including:
- You will be saving the life of an animal.
- Your social life will improve.
- You will feel happier and more motivated.
- You will form a strong and intrinsic bond with your pet.
- You will be supporting an incredibly worthy cause.
- You will be enabling another animal to be taken in.
Fill Your Home with Indoor Plants
The healing power of nature is such that spending just twenty minutes a day outside, whether that’s pottering around your garden or walking around your local neighbourhood, can do wonders for your mood and general outlook.
As well as physically immersing yourself in nature, you can also choose to bring a touch of nature inside your own home by doing some research into the right kinds of beautiful plants that can thrive indoors.
More indoor plants in and around your home will serve to clean and freshen the air inside, reduce feelings of stress, and sharpen your focus and attention. Other leading benefits of indoor plants include an improved immune system and a more productive and positive outlook in general.
Transform Your Diet
Finally, healthy eating plays a hugely influential part in how you feel, and as such, every effort should be made to improve your daily diet.
This isn’t to say, of course, that cakes, biscuits, candy, and chocolate bars are a thing of the past, but just that such high-fat and high-sugar processed foods should be a treat, rather than something that’s regularly consumed.
Many more natural foodstuffs have purported benefits to mental health and well-being, including avocados, whose levels of lutein support cognitive brain function, and nuts, which aid oxygen supply.
Other healthy foods that guide you in boosting your emotional health & well-being include blueberries, raspberries, tomatoes, salmon, chicken, and whole grains. If you’re unsure how to transform your daily diet into a much healthier one, don’t hesitate to make an appointment with your medical doctor who will be more than happy to help.
