According to SmartAsset, there's a 70% chance adults will require long-term care at some point after turning 65. They'll need help with one or more activities of daily living (ADLs), like personal hygiene, dressing, or ambulation.
If you have a senior loved one living in Lee's Summit, MO, who fits the category, it may be time to speak to them about transitioning to assisted living.
Fortunately, you won't have to look long for a community you can rely on for exceptional assisted living in Lee's Summit, MO. After all, it's home to our retirement community, Addington Place of Lee's Summit. Here, your older loved one will get all the help they need for the ADLs they now find hard to do independently.
Besides tailored personal care, though, our community also provides many physical, recreational, and social activities for seniors. In this guide, we've shared their many roles in healthy aging, so please read on.
Boredom is an uncomfortable, unpleasant feeling of disinterest in one's surroundings or life. Over time, it can lead to a person not finding any meaning or purpose in their life.
Being in retirement and living alone can result in boredom in older adults. After all, once people retire, they no longer have to follow a daily schedule and structure. They no longer have to wake up early, plan their workday, or be in meetings with their bosses and workmates.
Although not having to do all those things may feel like freedom, it's often temporary. After a few months, having so much time in one's hands without doing anything productive can result in boredom.
Boredom may also occur in older adults who lack social connections due to living alone. They don't have people to talk to every day, so they may go days without speaking with anyone!
Unfortunately, boredom isn't only uncomfortable and unpleasant; it can be a mental health risk, too. According to Psychology Today, studies have associated it with worse mental health, even dangerous behaviors.
Assisted living communities help lower boredom risk in residents by helping them regain structure in their daily lives.
For example, at Addington Place of Lee's Summit, we meticulously plan a full calendar of daily senior living activities. Each day in our community, there is a scheduled event or program. For instance, after breakfast, we may have:
Through our daily scheduled activities, we give our residents something that has a set time to look forward to. Our seniors can then use these planned events and programs as opportunities to organize their days, too. By providing them with ways to put back the structure into their days, we aim to help them fight off boredom.
When people are lonely, they feel disconnected and alone and have no sense of belonging. Loneliness is a distressing feeling that can affect anyone, even those surrounded by people. However, people living alone are at a higher risk of experiencing this negative emotion.
Social isolation is when a person has limited or no social connection, contact, relationship, or support from others. Living alone is the primary cause of social isolation.
According to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), older adults who live alone face a higher risk of experiencing loneliness and social isolation. Unfortunately, these two states of being can negatively impact their health and overall well-being. Research has shown an association between them and a heightened risk for:
The NIA further pointed out that many Americans aged 65 and older feel lonely regularly and also face social isolation.
At Addington Place of Lee's Summit, we help curb loneliness and social isolation through the high-quality assisted living care services we provide our residents. When our team of expert care providers assists with ADLs, they also use it as an opportunity to connect with our residents. Their compassion and understanding make our residents feel cared for, that they belong, and that they are not alone.
As mentioned above, our community holds daily fun, engaging, and brain-boosting events and programs. We aim to increase elderly engagement and enhance our senior residents' social lives through these activities and events.
Here are more examples of what your older loved one can look forward to once they become a resident of our warm, welcoming community:
If your loved one wants to go to town, whether for medical appointments or socialization with friends or fellow residents, they can also rely on our staff for help. Our team can coordinate and schedule their transportation services.
Our community also provides exceptional resident amenities, such as beautiful outdoor spaces, for even more senior health benefits. According to ScienceDaily, researchers found a link between better senior mental and physical health and urban green and blue spaces.
So, by giving our residents easy access to gardens, we believe we can further enhance their health and well-being. Our outdoor spaces are ideal for fresh air, sunshine, relaxation, exercise, and socialization!
High-quality assisted living in Lee's Summit, MO, goes beyond helping seniors with everyday tasks. It also gives them access to numerous physical, recreational, and social activities. Engaging in these events and programs can help older adults avoid boredom, minimize loneliness and isolation, and keep their brains and bodies engaged and stimulated.
So, if all that sounds fantastic to you and your older family member, please don't hesitate to connect with us here at Addington Place of Lee's Summit. We look forward to helping enrich your senior loved one's golden years.