Seeing an aging senior can prick your heart like no other. The experience can certainly make you want to lift a finger to help them. Of course, it’s a question of how. The most emotionally-charged event in a son’s or a daughter’s life is to see his/her parents wither without being able to do anything. That’s why looking into hospices can turn you teary-eyed. Most, if not all, seniors there have terminal illnesses that have given them but a few months to live.
Luckily, there are ways wearable technology can help your aging senior live a longer life. Assuming, of course, that he or she is not suffering a major life-threatening disease as we speak. With about 50 million Americans aged 65 years old and above, looking into these devices can be most opportune. Already, about 17 percent of these seniors are using wearable tech to track body vitals, according to Accenture research. As more and more Americans of this age group are adopting this new technology, it’s paramount you let your seniors into it. For a happier and longer life.
More Personalized Care
For seniors, health is foremost on the list. It’s inevitable. As we age, one thing that happens is that there is an increased risk to develop chronic conditions. Like any machine, our bodies give in to all the wear and tear.
And with some personal health habits, the risk can be reduced. This is where the wearable device comes into the picture.
With the wearable device, the senior is encouraged to have personal daily habits. These habits will help improve the general health of the patient. What’s impressive is wearable tech can now incorporate analytics to personalize what’s best.
For instance, wearable tech can nudge a senior to stand up if they’ve been sitting for an unhealthy amount of hours. The possibilities are endless.
The best part is that these devices can track movements. From this vantage point, many things can be done. Thus, this is good support for any personal health care plan.
Signal Risky Conditions
As mentioned earlier, old age is a risk factor for many conditions. As the body ages, the organs get weak. The cells in the body don’t multiply like they used to. With all these coming together, it’s easy to have certain health conditions. That’s why for seniors, paying close attention to their health is a big deal.
One thing you stand to gain with the wearable device is an alert that something is wrong. Remember that the tracking device helps to monitor movements and habits. So when something is off, it is easily detected.
Take, for example, an alarm that could be raised when there are frequent visits to the toilet. This can be caused by a wide range of conditions.
One of the most popular happens to be UTI. If that’s the case, the health care workers have a hint there is a problem. With that, they can take action by running tests to find out what the problem is. And when they do, they can commence treatment. With this, the condition wouldn’t get worse and affect other parts of the body.
Promote Greater Independence
According to statistics, there are about 1 million Americans that stay in assisted living or nursing homes. These homes are designed to give maximum care to seniors while allowing them to live a joyful community living. Thus, there is the presence of healthcare workers to provide needed medical attention. Plus, they are provided support in their day-to-day living. In short, seniors are taken care of.
And in years to come, it is believed the number of seniors in these facilities would double. But what’s shocking is that 90% of these adults would love to rather spend their last days in their home. Well, probably because they want to be closer to their family. And also have a sense of independence even as they age.
As a loved one, this can be a bit hard for you to agree to. Especially if you’re very busy with work. So maybe you can try striking out a balance. With the help of wearable devices, seniors can stay home. But at the same time, you can keep track of everything going on with them with the help of the device. So it’s a win-win scenario.
Connect Help
Apart from getting the wearables for them, you can connect these wearables. What does that even mean? All thanks to technology, wearables can be a way to connect to other people. For instance, by just pressing a button, the senior can send the message that he needs health assistance and emergency care. And help should come in a jiffy.
One way through which it is connected is cellular technology. This is a good thing because wherever they go, connections should not be an issue. And that means every second of the day, you can keep track of how they’re doing. And you wouldn’t have to be worried sick.
This makes the job for healthcare providers easier as well. They can easily check notifications for the day to ensure nothing seems off. And even from the comfort of their home, seniors can still receive medical advice and attention.
Certainly, having wearable tech for seniors is spot on. It allows us to take care of the people we care about most. Even from a distance.
