6 Ways to Give A Breath of Fresh Air to An Elderly Care Patient’s Home
Familiar and comforting, people want to stay living in their own home as they grow older. This doesn’t mean it can’t be updated from time to time. Here are six ideas for breathing fresh air into an elderly care patient’s home.
1 Reduce clutter
Published in the ‘Better at home’ report, more people are increasingly opting to remain in their own home as they get older. A live-in carer makes all the difference, a great way of ensuring that someone is cared for and safe. But, clutter not only makes the home feel smaller and disorganised, but it can also be a health and safety issue. Reducing clutter gives a whole new perspective on a room! It goes without saying, however, that this and any of the other ideas on this list should be done in collaboration with the patient and only if they agree.
photo/ Volha Flaxeco via Unsplash
2 Add colour
Colour has an impact on our emotions, as well as on the room itself. Lighter colours affect our mood, helping us feel calmer. Light hues also help in making the room feel bigger and lighter, whilst warm colours can help us feel comforted. There is no doubt that redecorating a room has an amazing impact on how we feel about a space.
3 Add houseplants
Adding plants to a room or space is known to give it an immediate lift. Plants and humans co-exist in balance because we are opposite – plants enjoy carbon dioxide which we exhale, and we use the oxygen that they don’t want. But there is also something else about houseplants that help breath fresh air into the home, and it comes in the shape of looking after these plants. Watering and feeding them regularly will reward you and your patient with a healthy living plant, and in some cases, a flower or two as well.
4 Music
Research into how a live in carer can help their elderly patient feel relaxed has found that people receiving live in care have higher levels of happiness with ‘softer’ positive outcomes. One of the reasons for happiness is music within the home. Music, playing and listening to it, lifts mood, reduces agitation and increases engagement especially if it is music that the patient recognises and enjoys.
5 Fresh or silk flowers
Bringing in fresh flowers can brighten up any room in the home, but this depends on the health needs of your elderly person. Heavily scented flowers can induce a respiratory response. If this is the case, a basket of silk flowers which can be refreshed every season and will be just as pleasing.
6 Books
Having a mini library or bookshelf filled with favourite books is a great way to make them feel comfortable. You could read aloud to them or even listen to an audiobook together. Make sure to regularly update the books and audiobooks. Don’t forget that magazines are also a great way to not only engage but also an ideal addition to the living room too.
Author: Joanne Jeffries
