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Caregivers in Cranford, NJ

Caregivers in Cranford, NJ

Caregivers in Cranford, NJ Take a deep breath, loved ones who are taking on the burden of elderly care for their family members! Although every day will bring its own unique challenges, you can help reduce the stress of daily activities by creating a daily checklist of tasks to do that you know you can handle. You know your day better than anyone else, but these steps can help guide you towards making the checklist for yourself.

Medication and Meals
Most medication is taking at least once a day, and nutritionists recommend that people eat three to five small meals throughout the day. A weekly pill box with daily dividers can make delivering the medication less prone to lapses in memory, and you can use multiples if the medication needs to be taken throughout the day. For drugs that won’t fit in the pill box, use a small slip of paper with the name of the medication and dosing instructions.

Keeping It Clean
While some messes are unexpected, there are patterns in the levels of dirtiness that can help us form a battle plan to keep things clean. High use areas like the kitchen or living room will need cleaning twice a day or more, so set aside the time for these vital chores. To keep the rest of the house from falling apart, create a rotating list of additional cleaning tasks. Pick one a day for the “Extra Cleaning” slot on your checklist. Remember that incidental messes will need to be cleaned as they come, but you can make a note of your extra efforts on the checklist to reward yourself for the hard work.

On the Move
Getting some form of physical activity every day is important for family caregivers and their loved ones. In addition to the doctor’s recommended exercise plan for your charge, leave at least thirty minutes a day for an activity like walking or jogging. If you know you will have more free time than normal, such as on the days a home care assistant is relieving some of your burden, use some of that time to get in a more robust session. In case the weather is awful or you don’t expect to have much time, create a quick exercise routine that you can do indoors with the equipment you have on hand.

The Science of Sleep
As people age, they tend to experience longer periods of light sleep and fewer occurrences of the deep stages where rapid eye movement occurs. They also have trouble sleeping for longer times, but the onset of illnesses that limit their activity and other physical changes can cause more frequent urges to sleep. Instead of one block of sleep at night, try to setup a schedule that includes multiple nap times. If you are unsure how much sleep your loved one should be getting, ask the doctor for a recommendation based on their age and medical health. Regulating sleep can be difficult, but keeping it under control can help prevent mental illness and promote physical health.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring a professional caregiver in Cranford, NJ, call the caring staff at Helping Hands Home Care today at (908-418-4299).
Providing Home Care Services in all of Northern and Central NJ, including Clark, Westfield, Cranford, Scotch Plains, Rahway, Linden, Summit, Edison, Elizabeth, Mountainside and the surrounding areas.

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3142094/

Robert D'Arienzo

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