According to one study, almost 90 percent of seniors over age 65 want to live at home rather than moving to a nursing home or assisted living facility.
Aging at home is always the preferable option but in some instances, it’s just not possible for medical or safety reasons.
Today, aging in place is more doable than it has been and more adults are considering it a real possibility. But what if you are not sure if you want to stay at home? Our list of five benefits of aging in place will give you, not only reasons to age in place but detailed information on what these reasons mean and how they affect you in the real world.
Safest and Healthiest Choice
Don’t be homesick; be at home, healthy. Our homes are where we feel safe and secure, and for good reasons. Of the many benefits of aging in place, the most important is that living independently at home is a safe and healthy option for seniors.
Packed with people of all different physical abilities, nursing homes can be overcrowded, limiting the amount of attention and care that the staff can provide at any one time. With so many people at different levels of health, these facilities can also be a favorite hangout of some nasty germs–and that’s the last kind of company you want for your loved one.
As people age and their immune systems weaken, the risk of infection becomes even higher, and assisted living situations can expose them to sickness they could have avoided.
An article in Aging Health warns of the health risks in nursing homes, saying their older and frailer population “creates unique challenges for infection control.”
As long as the home is equipped with the right gear and gadgets, aging in place is the safe and healthy choice.
Allows Seniors to Keep Their Independence
Growing up there was nothing like that first feeling of independence, realising that you could do it all by yourself without anybody else’s help.
Freedom and self-sufficiency are a crucial part of maintaining mental and emotion health in seniors, and aging in place allows them to hold onto their independence.
Maintains Familiarity and Comfort
You don’t need to pull out the ruby slippers to agree that there’s just no place like home. Author Mary Shelley got it right when she said that nothing is as painful to the human mind as great and sudden change. We connect deeply with the places in our lives, and having to leave the familiarity of a family home may be jarring and stressful for older residents.
When having to change normal routine to fit that of a foreign facility, seniors may have to eat and sleep at different times, and might not be able to continue with their scheduled pastimes or hobbies. Aging in place maintains the familiarity and comfort that seniors need.
Today, products exist that allow people to change their homes to fit their physical needs; they won’t grow out of the place they love, but rather, the place will grow with them.
Customisable home stairlifts, vertical lifts and wheelchair lifts allow residents even more years in the comfort of their own home and lifestyle. With 70% of seniors opting to make home modifications as they age, products like these make aging in place comfortable, efficient, and familiar–no ruby slippers necessary.
Lets Seniors Be Close to Their Loved Ones
Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s, er, assisted living facility? It just doesn’t have the same ring.
Being close to loved ones is a high priority for many seniors–and often for their loved ones, too. Assisted living facilities can regulate visits in a way that limits this valuable social time, and seniors may feel lonely or displaced when separated from not only their home, but from their family too.
According to an article by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, independence for the elderly is more than just living outside an establishment, and “involves control over their own lives and meaningful participation in the community.” Seniors want to hold onto their independence just like anybody else.
As said by Health Advocates Homecare, they don’t want to be told how much help they need, or what they can’t do.
Aging in place allows seniors keep their independence they want and deserve.
Aging in place lets family members help out or hang out as they please, and allows residents to maintain other social relationships, like friendships with neighbours. It’s also important to remember that not all older people want to be surrounded 24/7 by other old people.
Frequent visits from children, grandchildren, and other relatives or friends may be just what a senior needs to stay happy.
