Bad habits are something that we can’t avoid from doing time to time. It happens during the course of our life. From biting your nails during the stressful times as a teenager, to unintentionally fidgeting during a job interview, to even picking one’s nose during your senior years. Most of the time, we are unaware of them until someone points them out or we finally catch ourselves doing these habits. From then on, we try not to engage in the habit until we realize we are doing it again. Perhaps it’s time to let go of these habits. And what better time to get rid these habits is during the better years of your life (regardless if you’re living on your own or under some form of senior living care).
Seniors like yourself try to better themselves at this stage of their life. Mainly because they have more time to focus on the lighter things in life. Seniors tend to have more time for themselves to use for personal enjoyment and reflection.
Common Negative Habits that Seniors Make
No one is perfect, everyone has some kind of bad habit. However, some bad habits are more common than others, especially ones that you make. Here are a number of common senior-related bad habits that you should look out for.
Getting Inadequate Amounts of Sleep
Having a lackluster amount of sleep every day can leave several negative effects. This is more serious for seniors who lack a healthy amount of sleep because they can develop certain medical problems. These health and medical issues can range from digestive problems to high blood pressure to even cases of heart failure. Even if you’re in a senior living care community that carefully watches over your health, you should still address any concerns of sleeping problems.
Eating Late at Night
Having a snack late at night can be more harmful than good. It is stated that seniors like yourself are likely to make unhealthy food choices, which can lead to weight gain and other problems. Additionally, our bodies metabolizes more actively in the day than at night. Aside from potential weight gain, other problems can occur like heartburn, indigestion, bloating, and other issues that can negatively influence your senior living.
Holding in Aggressive Emotional Behavior and Stress
If you’re the type that is known for not letting things go, maybe it’s a time for a change. Holding onto old grudges and thoughts that trigger aggressive and emotional outbursts is common among many seniors. Because people who held onto certain emotions and thoughts are likely to lead a less fulfilling and healthier life. It’s also known that anger can lead to shorter lifespans in most people.
The same can be said about stress. Being stressful about everything can cause cognitive impairment in people, causing the mind to be strained and less functional. The best course of action is to not overthink or stress over every situation. And in other words, avoid the things that cause you stress.
Choosing to Be Inactive
Regular physical activity is essential for everyone, including those in senior living care. Regular exercise (like an hour for three or four times a week) can bring a lot of benefits. Sadly a lot of seniors are engaged in a sedentary lifestyle, meaning they are getting little to no physical activity on a daily basis. That can lead to higher cholesterol, metabolic issues, stroke, and other health issues. Main reasons for being inactive is addiction to watching TV, being on a PC/tablet too often, or anything that requires little to no activity.
Inadequate Daily Dental Care
No matter what age you are, good oral hygiene is a crucial part of your senior health. When you take care of your teeth and gums, you can eat the foods you love without any issues. While many senior living care places help seniors with their daily routines (including dental hygiene), many seniors continue to neglect themselves by not flossing, not brushing properly or not making regular dental visits.
Having an Improper or Unbalanced Diet
Many seniors (even those under supervised care), tend to have an improper diet. For example, they might only try to consume meat and potatoes and neglect taking in some vegetables or fruits. Because of this, seniors are neglecting their body of daily nutrients. Aside from weight gain, seniors can damage their immune system, leaving them open to health problems in the future.
Tips on Stopping Bad Habits for those in Senior Living Care
We need to face the facts, bad habits are hard to break, at any age. That is, if you’re like many people and go cold turkey on the habit. Most people fail at using this method. There are different ways kick the bad habits out of your life.
Understand the positive benefits of getting rid of the bad habit.
Most bad habits that seniors engage in could have some impact on their life or health (like smoking or overeating). If you positively focus on the good parts of stopping your bad habits, you have something to look forward to in the end.
Have something better to replace the bad habit with.
For many seniors, it’s hard enough giving up a bad habit and leaving that void in their life empty. Instead writing out the bad habit, consider finding a replacement for it. For example, instead of smoking or drinking, consider using a lollipop in its place.
Getting the Right Support.
It’s likely you’re not the only one trying to kick a bad habit. Since most senior living care places and communities are so populated, it’s likely you’ll find someone trying to kick some sort of bad habit as well. It’s been known that seniors who draw support from each other usually tend to be more successful in getting rid of their bad habits.
Bad habits can be hard to break or notice. However, if you take the time to identify them and figure out how to kick the habit, you should be able to enjoy the benefits of one less hindrance in your life.