Healthy aging refers to a wide range of behaviors, but the top three that help seniors age well are physical exercise, social connection and nutrition.
Just three things, but each one is extra difficult for seniors. Limited mobility, fatigue, fear of falling and normal anxiety about trying new things, among others, all get in the way of healthy aging.
Luckily, seniors and their loved ones don’t need to handle it on their own. Flower Mound is full of resources that address the common barriers to aging, and many of them even make improving your health fun.
The Best Ways to Help Seniors Age Well in Flower Mound
Flower Mound is a great place for seniors focused on living well. With enjoyable exercise classes that make it exciting to hit the gym every day, easy avenues to meet new people and even meal support, we make healthy aging easier here. These are a few of our favorite resources to check out:
Make Movement More Fun
The National Council on Aging recommends older adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per week, which should include both aerobic exercise and muscle strengthening. That’s at least 30 minutes, 5 days per week. It doesn’t sound like a lot on the surface, but finding time to work out is difficult for many adults even without the unique barriers to exercise that seniors face.
That’s why Flower Mound’s Seniors in Motion program is so helpful for our residents. They offer a wide variety of classes, including strength training, line dancing, yoga and more. Your loved one can even join a chair volleyball team!
They can drop in for an individual class or register for a monthly unlimited pass to make the most of everything Seniors in Motion has to offer.
Find Fellowship and Connection
While social connection is extremely important for healthy aging, it can be difficult to put yourself out there and make new friends! As time passes, old friends move away and families get busy, it’s very easy for seniors to become socially isolated. Making it easier for them to stay connected is extremely important; in addition to the emotional health benefits of friendship, socializing is important for cognitive health, and building a group of friends they see regularly can help your loved one get out of the house.
It’s easier to make new friends when you know you have something in common, which is why Flower Mound has Fellowship Groups for seniors. There, your loved one can connect with hobbyists who enjoy the same activities they do or engage in a new interest. There’s a poets society, a gardening club, and even an improv group!
Groups are free to join and meet monthly.
Keep Them Nourished
Planning, shopping for, cooking and eating three meals a day gets complicated for many of us. Add in the special diets, suppressed appetites and fatigue older adults often face and it’s easy to see why so many seniors tend to graze on snacks throughout the day rather than try to make a meal.
That’s not enough to keep your loved one nourished, though, so it’s important to make mealtimes easier whenever possible. If you and your loved one enjoy cooking, you could prep and freeze meals together in single-serving containers that can easily be taken out and reheated. If you’re not a chef, grocery stores often offer a wide variety of delicious hot or frozen meals. If you’re not local, consider ordering them a meal delivery service or helping them to stock up on frozen and shelf-stable meals that sound appealing.
You don’t have to help your loved one with nutrition alone. Metroport Meals on Wheels and the Flower Mound Senior center know the importance of making it easier for seniors to get the prepared meals they need. They work together on a weekly lunch program that provides lunches every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Seniors can enjoy their meals together at the Senior Center or take them home for later. They just need to register ahead of time, and you can even pay for their whole month of meals at once.
Home Care Helps Flower Mound Seniors Age Well
Seniors in Flower Mound and their families have plenty of support for healthy aging, from targeted exercise classes that meet their needs and social groups that help them build connections to convenient help with mealtimes. Sometimes, though, what they really need is individualized support.
At FirstLight Home Care of Flower Mound, our reliable professional caregivers help local seniors age well and make every day your loved one’s best day. They offer targeted support for what older adults need most, whether that’s light meal preparation, help with mobility and hygiene or transportation and support for social events.
Reach out to us today to learn more about your care options.
