Family care and fighting the winter blues

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Winter is hardly a season of joy for the elderly who are confined at home or at the hospital because of an illness. Their inability to join in the celebration could result to an intensified feeling of loneliness and loss, often leading to cases of winter depression. Accordingly, one of the best means to fight the winter blues is by interacting with family members and other loved ones.

The winter blues involves more than just being sad or upset. It cannot be likened to a mood change that passes within a short period of time. Known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), it affects millions of people, young or old. There are many theories as to what causes the condition, but the reality of the disorder and its effects cannot be discounted.

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There have been reports of old people brought to the hospital because of SAD. The winter blues can cause people to lose appetite, which can then result to malnutrition, weakness, and dehydration. This nutritional imbalance could cause further incoherence in behavior and worsen the depression.


To fight the blues during winter, experts advise sufferers to socialize. Spending time with family and friends can help lighten the mood and lift them from the clutches of anxiety and depression. Interacting with kids is especially effective for elderly people going through SAD. For others, mere company is enough to keep their spirits up. Even care professionals from various agencies like BrightStar Care are now trained to give their wards companionship during the time when they need it the most.

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BrightStar Care provides assistance to its patients and their families for them to enjoy the holiday season. For more information about how the agency can help you and your loved ones, visit this website.

Exercise and memory improvement for older individuals

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The importance of daily or constant exercise to a person’s wellbeing has been stressed enough by health experts on journals and publications. It contributes to the preservation of youthfulness in a person and is, therefore, one of the activities that aging adults must add to their daily routine. Exercise not only keeps them mobile and their bodies strong, but it also boosts their mood and enhances their memory. Both effects are important to maintain a high quality of life in old age.

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However, as professional caregivers from companies like Interim HealthCare or BrightStar Care can confirm, the lack of knowledge on how much physical activity is required to get those health benefits can lead to unnecessary dependence on medication to improve or maintain cognitive function in aging individuals.


This is why a group of researchers from the University of California, Irvine sought to find out just how much exercise was enough to get the memory boosting effects of exercise. It turned out that even a brief exercise routine was enough for an older adult to gain boosts in memory function.

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The researchers link the improvement in recall after exercise to the release of the brain chemical called norepinephrine. While the connection is still speculative at present, researchers are optimistic that the results of the study may open up new avenues for more appropriate intervention methods to prevent individuals from succumbing to the effects of dementia and cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer’s.


For more information on professional care for aging adults, visit www.brightstarcare.com.