3 Creative Ways to Personalize Your Senior Living Apartment
You’re prepared to take one of the biggest steps of your life!
You did your research and found the perfect senior living community that exceeds all your expectations! It fits your needs and you’re ready to relocate.
To make the transition from your old home to the senior living apartment smooth and easy, make sure you design and personalize your space. This way you can feel right at home in your new living space.
No, you don’t have to be an interior designer or hire one just to make the most of your new apartment. All you have to do is follow these tips and turn the foreign place into a familiar and comforting environment.
Let’s now head into discussing some ways you can personalize your senior living apartment.
1. Hang Up Pictures
Getting used to a new living space can be exceptionally hard. It can take a toll on your emotional well-being. The best way to make a foreign place to start feeling like home is to fill it with happy memories you share with your loved ones. You can hang pictures of your children, your grandkids and your friends in your new apartment which will ease up the transition period.
2. Paint the Walls (If Allowed)
A large number of senior living communities allow their residents to paint their apartments with the color of their choice. If the community you’re relocating to provides this flexibility, then you can customize your new living space with a color that’ll help you settle right in.
3. Put Indoor Plants
You can brighten up your new apartment by adding indoor plants to the interior. There are many benefits that come with having plants in your living space; these include improved air quality, lower levels of depression and more feelings of happiness.
Before you personalize your new living space, here are some things that you should keep in mind.
Accessibility
While you’re decorating your apartment, make sure you give extra attention to the aspect of accessibility. If you have fellow senior living residents coming over to your apartment, you should consider that they may have walkers or wheelchairs.
Lighting
It’s important to keep your apartment well-lit. Install bright lights in the kitchen, bathroom, corners, balconies and wardrobes.
Storage
Storage might be limited in the new apartment, so before you move in, make a note of downsizing your belongings, especially your wardrobe, and give away what you don’t need.
Are you looking for a senior living community in Calabasas, CA? Get in touch with AvantGarde Senior Living and Memory Care.
We’re one of the most reliable senior living communities in the area, committed to providing senior adults with excellent retirement facilities, and a spectrum of services tailored to the needs of all our residents.
We offer luxurious senior living apartments and a wide range of amenities to make our residents feel loved and satisfied.
Connect with us today!
Pets in Assisted Living Care: How Can Our Furry Friends Help?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heat-related illnesses and fatalities can be prevented easily. However, approximately 700 people still die every year because of extreme heat in the United States.
While too much heat isn’t good for anyone, adults are at an increased risk of health problems when it comes to hot weather.
The umbrella term for the different illnesses caused by extreme heat is hyperthermia. These problems include heat syncope, heat cramps, heat edema and heat exhaustion.
In this blog we’ll focus primarily on heat exhaustion and how it can be prevented in older adults.
What’s Heat Exhaustion?
Heat exhaustion is essentially the body’s response to excessive loss of water and salt because of heavy sweating. Older adults along with people with high blood pressure and those who work in hot environments are especially vulnerable to this condition.
The symptoms of heat exhaustion include:
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Thirst
- Weakness
- Headache
- Sweating
Preventing Heat Exhaustion in Older Adults
Here are some precautionary measures the elder people should follow to beat heat exhaustion.
Increase Liquid Intake
As the water and salt levels in the body decrease because of excessive sweating, and cause dehydration, it’s extremely important to make up for the lost amounts by increasing your liquid intake. Even if you’re not thirsty, make sure you consume water or juice every other chance you get.
Dress Appropriately
Weather-appropriate dressing can help you prevent heat exhaustion. When it’s hot outside, wear light colors, loosely fitted and lightweight clothes. A hat and sunglasses are also must-haves.
Limit Outdoor Activity
During the mid-day hours, when the sun is at its peak, it’s better to stay inside. Outdoor activities and errands should be done when it’s relatively cool outside, which is either after 6 p.m. or before 10 a.m.
Seek Air-Conditioned Environments
If you don’t have an air conditioner at home, we suggest that you find a cool place such as the library, mall or a senior center to spend the hottest parts of the day.
Connect With AvantGarde Senior Living and Memory Care!
AvantGarde Senior Living and Memory Care is a luxurious senior living community in Calabasas, CA that provides 24 hour specialized care and support to its senior residents.
We’re a certified Positive Approach to Care (PAC) community offering a wide range of retirement facilities, top-notch services and amenities that suit the unique interests and needs of the residents.
You can take a virtual tour of our senior living community here.
What’s the Empty Nest Syndrome and How Can Senior Adults Overcome It?
All parents want their children to grow up into responsible adults and lead independent and successful lives. They encourage their kids to dream big and to achieve those objectives. However, when the time comes for children to move out of the house to pursue their goals in life, parents often start feeling lonely, sad and depressed. This is called empty nest syndrome.
Even though it’s not a clinical disorder, the empty nest syndrome can have some real effects on a person’s life. Research suggests that it can lead to depression, alcoholism, marital conflicts and identity crisis.
If you have children who’ll soon be moving out of your house, make sure you’re ready to overcome the empty nest syndrome with these tips.
Identify Your Roles
While being a parent to your child was the most important part of your life, the truth is that, there are many more roles that you play. These include, being a neighbor, a daughter or a son, a cousin, an aunt or an uncle and more. Now that you have more time at your hands, you can become more involved in your other roles to ensure that you keep on feeling valuable.
Pursue Fulfilling Activities
Parenthood can easily take over your whole life. You hardly get enough time to pursue your hobbies and what you love to do. But with your children moving out, you’ll finally have spare time; so make sure that you use it to participate in fulfilling activities. You can volunteer at a local shelter, take a class or join a club that you’ve always wanted to try out.
Seek Spousal Support
Not all parents experience the empty nest syndrome when their youngest child leaves home. If your spouse fails to notice that you’re feeling lonely, make sure you share your thoughts and concerns with them. On the other hand, if your spouse is the one dealing with the syndrome, you should be there for them for support.
Consider Relocating to Senior Housing Community
One of the most effective ways to beat the empty nest syndrome is to relocate to a senior living community. A place filled with like-minded people, and countless opportunities to socialize and live an exciting life is just what’s needed to overcome your sadness.
Connect With AvantGarde Senior Living and Memory Care!
Are you searching for an outstanding and luxurious senior living community in Calabasas, CA? Get in touch with AvantGarde Senior Living and Memory Care.
We’re a certified Positive Approach to Care (PAC) community, committed to providing excellent retirement facilities, top-notch services and amenities to suit the unique interests and needs of all our residents.
Take a virtual tour of the senior living community and connect with us for more information today!
How Music Can Help Seniors with Memory Problems
While to laymen music might not mean more than concerts and loud partying, there are problems you could solve using music—problems that range from memory issues to depression to beyond.
In fact, music therapy is pretty widely known these days, and is renowned for helping people improve their mental health. Not only is music therapeutic, but it’s also known to improve quality of life. Seniors with memory problems such as dementia often have trouble connecting with the here and now. When they listen to music, things begin to change—and this blog will discuss what you can do with 5 minutes of a great song.
Reduces Stress
Music helps reduce stress. Listening to a song that you like can help slow down your heart’s fluttering beating, and thus cortisol levels in the body are reduced. The music used for this purpose is usually rhythmic so as to help a person relax.
Improves Cognition
Degenerative diseases such as dementia are characterized by memory loss and speech impairment. Music helps improve nonverbal communication skills by making people hum or even sing along, which is great in terms of improving speech skills.
A Stanford research highlighted how music helps in stimulating specific brain regions, resulting in increased blood flow, which in turn boosts cognition.
Encourages Movement
It’s common knowledge that good music makes you want to dance along. It doesn’t even have to be full-fledged dancing—one could be moved enough to want to clap or tap toes, but that music encourages people to move is a given. This is specifically good for people with musculoskeletal issues, and for seniors in general whose lethargy limits their ability to do physical activity.
Songs for Seniors
To start with, music doesn’t really have to be in “song” format for you a senior. If it’s a senior loved one or a parent, chances are you probably know what kind of music they liked in their youth and adulthood. You’d know their favorite artists and bands, and that’s where you can start from. You can, of course, experiment with the music choices you have, and try playing some of your own music for them.
However, always bear in mind that there’s a whole generation between you and your senior loved one, and that they won’t always like what you like. We’d especially suggest against loud music (we don’t think it’s a sensible idea to make seniors with Alzheimer’s listen to metal or rock) and go in favor of something more serene and soothing.
At best, you need something upbeat (to encourage them to move), something rhythmic and nice to listen to (to help in the cognition and speech skills department), and something from their era (preferably the 80s) which they’ll have no qualms listening to.
If you’re looking for a senior living or memory care community center near Calabasas, you should try out AvantGarde Senior Living and Memory Care in Tarzana. Take a visual tour or contact AGS to find out more today.