Aging is associated with a natural decline in physical and cognitive health. However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t a number of great things that you can do to maintain independence in old age while also keeping yourself as healthy as possible.
Safety is particularly important for those of you who live alone. When you’re on your own, nobody is there to help you if you fall over or if an intruder tries to enter your property. This can be a scary thought and it can make you feel extremely vulnerable as an older adult.
Hopefully, this article will put your mind at ease. Even if you’re a senior who lives alone, it doesn’t mean that you need to feel worried about your safety! There are plenty of great devices and tools that you can take advantage of to maximize your health and safety.
How to Keep Yourself Safe as a Senior Who Lives Alone
As you get older, the need to keep yourself safe and well becomes increasingly important. Here are some top tips to help you stay as safe as possible when you live alone as a senior.
- Invest in a great medical alert system
You can now get a wide range of different personal emergency response systems that you can keep on your person or in your home. Also known as medical alert systems, they work by putting you in direct contact with emergency medical services when activated.
If you fall over and are unable to get up, you can activate your medical alert system with the touch of a button and receive immediate help. Emergency services will be dispatched to your location and will arrive on the scene as quickly as possible to help you.
Many medical alert systems have additional features that make it even easier for you to stay healthy and safe as an older adult. For example, many manufacturers offer systems with built-in sensors that monitor your vital signs and sleep patterns.
Other systems come with built-in fall detectors that automatically send a signal to emergency services if they detect that you have fallen to the ground and have not moved for several minutes.
- Hearing aids
If your hearing has begun to decline as you have reached old age, you’re not alone. Hearing loss affects millions of older adults across the world.
Luckily, hearing aids have advanced drastically in the last decade or so. They have never been more sophisticated than they are now.
Hearing aid devices can improve your physical and mental health. They enable you to hear what is going on around you more clearly so you can quickly detect if an intruder is trying to access your home.
When you’re able to hear more clearly, you will find it easy to navigate your home. You’re less likely to fall over and injure yourself.
Your hearing aid will give you confidence and independence, which naturally boosts your self-esteem and makes you feel great. This will have a positive impact on your mental well-being, which is important when you live alone.
- Get a daily carer
For those of you who struggle to complete general day-to-day tasks, eliciting the help of a carer could be exactly what you need. Your carer can be a close family member, a neighbor, or a healthcare professional.
With a daily carer, you can get help with washing, feeding, getting dressed, taking medications, and cleaning your home. Not only do they provide you with basic care but they can also offer emotional and social support. Living alone can be isolating and having a daily visitor in your home will make your feel less lonely.
Your carer also offers physical safety and security. They can check in with you every day to ensure you are healthy and safe. For example, if you fall over and are unable to get back on your feet, you may not need to wait long before your carer arrives for their daily visit. If you didn’t have a carer, you could be waiting much longer to receive help.
If you feel that you need ongoing support and care, you can request a live-in carer. This is a healthcare professional who stays with you in your home to provide around-the-clock care.
Live-in carers can assist you with personal care, feeding, and household tasks. They can also take you out to do your grocery shopping or for social activities.