Ebenezer Cares
  • Home
  • Housing & Services
    • Locations
    • Independent Living
    • Affordable Housing
    • Cooperative Living
    • Independence Plus
    • Assisted Living >
      • What To Look For When Choosing
    • Memory Care >
      • Marysue's Blog
      • Tips For Caregivers
      • Care Partner Support Groups
      • Dimensions Program
      • Testimonials
    • Transitional Care
    • Skilled Nursing Care
    • Enhanced Care
    • Child Care
    • Stay By The Day - Short Term
  • Careers
    • Job Search
    • Working Here
    • Current Ebenezer Employee Updates
    • Career Areas
  • Resources
    • Adult Day Programs
    • Beauty and Barber Shop
    • Care At Home
    • Life Line Services
    • Fairview Home Medical Equipment
    • Fairview Partners
    • Hospice Care
    • Palliative Care Program
    • Fairview Caregiver Assurance
    • Fairview Home Care Falls Risk/Balance Program
    • Tips For Caregivers
    • Care Management Services
    • Care Partner Support Groups
    • Advance Care Planning
    • Spiritual Health
  • Blog
  • CEUs
  • Programs
    • Journey
    • Intergenerational Programming
    • Adult Day >
      • Ebenezer Ridges Adult Day Program
      • Ebenezer DayBreak Adult Day Program
      • Martin Luther Campus Adult Day Program
    • Life Long Learning
    • Deaf Services
    • Ebenezer Child Care
    • Spiritual Health
    • EverActive Exercise Classes
    • Volunteer
    • Giving To Ebenezer
  • Ebenezer Management Services
  • Fairview
  • About Us
    • Executive Team
    • Ebenezer History
    • News and Events
  • Ebenezer's Response to COVID-19

Tips and Helpful Advice for Seniors and Caregivers

Independence vs. Isolation – How Senior Living Improves Lives

8/16/2018

 
Many older adults want to stay in their home as long as possible. There is an assumption that staying in your home means you are independent, but the reality is it can often lead to loneliness and isolation. The health effects of long-term isolation are measurable and include chronic health conditions, depression, anxiety, dementia and even premature death. One study reported the negative health effects of long-term isolation are equal to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
 
Loneliness is on the rise overall, but those most affected are those 80 and older according to a 2016 study.
 
Older adults who are most at risk are often:
  • living alone
  • living with untreated hearing loss
  • living with mobility impairments
  • no longer driving or have limited access to transportation
  • recently experienced the loss of a spouse, friend or partner
  • caregivers
 
The best remedy for loneliness is staying connected. Staying connected, interacting with others, and staying socially engaged with friends and your community can help keep fight loneliness and the health risks that are associated with it.
 
How can a move to Senior Living help fight loneliness?
 
When people move into a senior living community, the older adults often tell us, “I wish I would have moved sooner.” And their family members tell us, “We’ve seen our loved one blossom in the last few months!”
 
Here’s why:
  • Senior living brings people together. Coffee socials, happy hours, and even chatting over lunch helps to grow those meaningful relationships that increase health and longevity.
  • Senior living provides opportunities for purposeful engagement in daily life. Our residents like to volunteer, help out their neighbors, and share with friends.
  • Senior living offers spiritual programming in the community, and often offers transportation to local services. Research shows that regular attendance at faith-based services (no matter the denomination) improves life expectancy.
  • Intergenerational programing brings older adults and young children together to work on projects together, enjoy each other’s company, and learn from each other. The young and the young at heart both have so much wisdom to share.
  • Senior living provides regularly scheduled fitness classes to help maintain physical mobility. It’s also an environment where you don’t have to feel judged or insecure about using adaptive devices (like walkers or wheelchairs) you may need to help you stay more independent.
  • An accessible van means you can easily get out and about, to do shopping, visit restaurants, and more. You stay connected with the community at large, and continue to do the activities you love.
 
We invite you to visit an Ebenezer community. Talk with our residents to hear how their health and their lives have changed for the better after moving to senior living.
 
For more information about loneliness and isolation, the AARP Foundation offers its online resource Connect2Affect. There you can find a self-assessment to determine your risk factors and tips on how to stay connected. Click here to take your self-assessment. Resources that informed this article include Government’s Role in Fighting Loneliness by Emily Holland, as published in the Wall Street Journal, and the Blue Zones Power 9 ® by Dan Buettner.

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Ebenezer is Minnesota’s largest senior living operator with 100 years of experience serving older adults. As part of Fairview Health Services, Ebenezer is dedicated to healing, discovering and educating for longer, healthier and meaningful lives. ​
Discrimination is Against the Law. We comply with applicable Federal civil rights laws. We do not discriminate against, exclude or treat people differently because of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex or sexual orientation..
Español  Soomaali   Tiếng Việt    العربية

Русский   Oroomiffa   Hmoob   繁體中文   አማርኛ   ខ្មែរ   ພາສາລາວ   한국어   Français   فارسی   ကညီ

Services

Assisted Living
Independent Living
Memory Care
Transitional Care
Care Centers
Care Suites
Child Care
​
Adult Day Programs
Stay By The Day Apartments
​Intergenerational Programs

resources

​Resources for seniors and caregivers

CEUs

Programs hosted through Ebenezer and our communities. ​

Careers

BLOG
​Fairview Health Services
Privacy Policy
Covered Entities
Ebenezer
Fair Housing
7505 Metro Boulevard, Suite 100
Edina, MN 55439

Top 100 Work Places
Privacy © COPYRIGHT 2020 Fairview Health Systems.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
.
  • Home
  • Housing & Services
    • Locations
    • Independent Living
    • Affordable Housing
    • Cooperative Living
    • Independence Plus
    • Assisted Living >
      • What To Look For When Choosing
    • Memory Care >
      • Marysue's Blog
      • Tips For Caregivers
      • Care Partner Support Groups
      • Dimensions Program
      • Testimonials
    • Transitional Care
    • Skilled Nursing Care
    • Enhanced Care
    • Child Care
    • Stay By The Day - Short Term
  • Careers
    • Job Search
    • Working Here
    • Current Ebenezer Employee Updates
    • Career Areas
  • Resources
    • Adult Day Programs
    • Beauty and Barber Shop
    • Care At Home
    • Life Line Services
    • Fairview Home Medical Equipment
    • Fairview Partners
    • Hospice Care
    • Palliative Care Program
    • Fairview Caregiver Assurance
    • Fairview Home Care Falls Risk/Balance Program
    • Tips For Caregivers
    • Care Management Services
    • Care Partner Support Groups
    • Advance Care Planning
    • Spiritual Health
  • Blog
  • CEUs
  • Programs
    • Journey
    • Intergenerational Programming
    • Adult Day >
      • Ebenezer Ridges Adult Day Program
      • Ebenezer DayBreak Adult Day Program
      • Martin Luther Campus Adult Day Program
    • Life Long Learning
    • Deaf Services
    • Ebenezer Child Care
    • Spiritual Health
    • EverActive Exercise Classes
    • Volunteer
    • Giving To Ebenezer
  • Ebenezer Management Services
  • Fairview
  • About Us
    • Executive Team
    • Ebenezer History
    • News and Events
  • Ebenezer's Response to COVID-19