What is positive ageing?
It is a term used to describe a process of maintaining a positive attitude towards ageing. This encompasses feeling good about yourself, keeping fit and healthy, and engaging fully in life. Ageing can often be seen as something negative during a time where significant changes to the body and mind occur. Therefore, Stanfield Nursing Home endeavours to centre this attention around positive experiences instead. Keeping this in mind is the key to living longer, healthier and having a better quality of life.
Learning to refocus
As we grow older, we must learn to refocus on the more positive aspects of ageing. So, here are 5 things we’ve put together for nursing home friendly ideas.
1. Rediscover yourself
People gain and lose roles throughout their lives – parent, friend, colleague, etc. Therefore, being open to change is a good way to remain resilient to this cycle of life. Rediscover what you enjoy in life by maintaining hobbies or finding new ones. These help people to regain a sense of purpose and clarity over the things that matter.
2. Keep your body healthy
Eat a healthy balanced diet, ensure that you get the right nutrition and keep yourself hydrated. All of these things have been proven to improve the mind and body during the process of ageing. Just 20 minutes a day is a great start! For instance, activities like yoga or chair exercises are a good way of keeping your body and mind connected and feeling well.
3. Stay connected
Social interaction and relationships with others are associated with positive ageing and feeling optimistic about life. So, nurture relationships with family, friends, and others in your community. Encouraging interaction with others prevents isolation and promotes good mental and physical health.
4. Don’t sweat the small stuff
Life can keep you dragged down if you focus on small issues. If something is out of your control, avoid wasting energy on it and change things where you are able to. Don’t worry about things that in the bigger picture, don’t make a difference.
5. Set goals for yourself
Be it big or small, ensuring there are things to strive towards will create a more positive outlook on the future. In nursing home settings, staff can help people to break a challenging goal up into manageable parts. Goals should be ones they are excited about and put plenty of fresh energy behind.
Contacting Stanfield Nursing Home
If you are interested in finding out more about how we encourage positive ageing in our care home then head to our website or social media today. Alternatively, you can call 01905 420 459 to speak to a member of our helpful and friendly team.