What Hobbies Might Benefit My Parent with Parkinson’s?
By Home Care Assistance Des Moines 9 am on
Hobbies are important at every stage of life. Having something enjoyable to do helps seniors with Parkinson’s disease wake up with a positive mindset about the day. Your aging loved one also benefits from activities that encourage exercising the body and stimulating the mind. While it becomes challenging to maintain favorite hobbies as the symptoms of Parkinson’s progress, you can keep your loved one busy by suggesting these activities.
Singing
Parkinson’s disease eventually begins to affect the muscles in the throat and mouth that control how well your loved one can speak and swallow. Singing is essentially like doing leg lifts for the throat muscles. Your loved one will enjoy singing his or her favorite melodies while working out the muscles responsible for swallowing. If your loved one enjoys music, he or she can also take voice lessons or sing in a choir to add a social component to the hobby.
Dancing
Partner dancing gives your loved one a person to lean on in case his or her body freezes up or muscles suddenly weaken. Dancing keeps the leg muscles strong, and there’s a cognitive benefit to dancing as well. Dance lessons require learning series of steps that can help your loved one retain his or her memory abilities. Many seniors in the early stages of Parkinson’s are able to live on their own, but they may need a bit of help with the everyday tasks of life, such as exercising and preparing nutritious meals.If your senior loved one has been diagnosed with a serious condition and needs help with tasks like meal prep, transportation, bathing, and grooming, reach out to Home Care Assistance, a leading provider of elder care Des Moines, IA, families can trust. We also offer comprehensive care for seniors with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.
Cooking
There’s nothing like enjoying the results of spending time in the kitchen preparing a lovely meal. Seniors with Parkinson’s disease can reduce their symptoms by following a diet that’s healthy for both the heart and the brain. While your loved one may already know how to prepare basic meals, taking up cooking can teach him or her so much more. Your loved one can learn how to cook food from a specific culture or experiment with a new plant-based method of cooking. Either way, your loved one will exercise his or her mind and body while also filling up on nutritious foods.Aging in place can present a few unique challenges for older adults. Some only require part-time assistance with exercise or meal preparation, while others are living with serious illnesses and benefit more significantly from receiving live-in care. Des Moines, IA, Home Care Assistance are leaders in the elderly in-home care industry for good reason. We tailor our care plans based on each senior’s individual needs, our caregivers continue to receive updated training in senior care as new developments arise, and we also offer comprehensive care for seniors with Alzheimer’s, dementia, and Parkinson’s.
Reading
Reading is a hobby many older adults gave up when they were busy raising families and maintaining careers. Now that your loved one spends more time at home, he or she can get back to the love of reading. This hobby works well because it can easily transition with your loved one as the condition progresses. For instance, your loved one can switch to audiobooks if hand tremors make it difficult to hold a book. Seniors can also join book clubs, where they can make new friends who help them enjoy a better sense of mental wellbeing.
Playing Seated Games
Many of your loved one’s favorite games can be altered so he or she can play them from a chair. Golf, horseshoes, and even darts are all potential options seniors can play with the assistance of someone to retrieve the playing equipment. These games all require focus, and the intense concentration seniors use while they play can reduce symptoms such as tremors.Caring for a loved one with Parkinson’s can be extremely challenging, and a compassionate professional caregiver can be a wonderful source of support. If your elderly loved one is living with a serious medical condition and needs help managing the tasks of daily living, reach out to Home Care Assistance, anat-home careagencyyou can trust. Our caregivers are available 24/7, there are no hidden fees in our contracts, and we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all of our in-home care services. To learn more about our reliable, compassionate in-home care services, contact us at (515) 264-2438 today.
