Caregivers typically lead very busy lives. It’s a role often sandwiched in between other responsibilities, like children and a career. This can make the holidays, and all the hustle and bustle that comes with them, especially stressful. If not managed properly, caregiver stress can lead to a more serious case of burnout.

We have a few suggestions that we hope will allow you to relax more, and stress less this holiday season.

4 Ways to Thrive during the Holidays When You Are a Caregiver

1. Identify specific stressors

While it’s easy to lump stress altogether, identifying where your stress is coming from is necessary. Here are a few factors family caregivers often say are causing them anxiety and stress:

• Worrying that the senior’s needs aren’t being met
• Feeling concerned about neglecting a spouse, partner, or children
• Lacking enough time to get things done
• Missing work due to caregiving duties
• Needing more time for self-care

Once you’ve identified where you are struggling, it’s easier to find solutions. For example, call your church or synagogue to see if they have a volunteer visitor program for homebound seniors. This assistance would allow your loved one to have a regular visitor, and you to take a break.

2. Accept that no one can do it all

One mistake caregivers routinely make is thinking they can and must do everything alone. In most situations, that just isn’t realistic. Before the holidays are in full swing this year, set a goal to be more pragmatic. Here are a few ideas to consider for your holiday goal setting:

• Simplify holiday celebrations: It really is okay to simplify holiday traditions while you are busy caregiving. Instead of cooking a formal, sit-down dinner for family and friends, ask everyone to bring a dish or find a restaurant you can all meet at for a meal. Remind yourself that it doesn’t have to be forever, just until life is a little calmer.
• Responding to invitations: Most people have a difficult time saying no. Set your feelings of guilt aside and don’t feel obligated to attend every holiday event you are invited to. On the flip side, don’t feel guilty if you want to go to a party and have someone else stay with your loved one. A night out to laugh and enjoy yourself will likely make you a better caregiver.

3. Your health matters, too

The hectic pace of the holidays combined with the demands of caregiving, can lead many to take shortcuts with their diet and to skip exercising. Neither is a good idea.

If you need to rely on fast food or take out during the holiday rush, review the menus (and nutritional content!) at your favorite restaurants and opt for those that are the healthiest. This information on healthy foods at big chain restaurants will help.

4. Explore senior care options

Caregiving is a lot of work any time of year. Before the height of the holiday season, explore your local senior care options. Adult day centers and home care are two possibilities. Respite care and assisted living are others. You can take advantage of these services on a short-term or permanent basis.

Continuum of Care and Support at Five Star Senior Living

Sometimes, during the holiday season, caregivers begin to realize that a senior loved one needs more assistance than can be provided at home. If this situation sounds familiar, we’d like to help.

Contact a Five Star community near you to learn more about senior living options including respite care and short term stays.

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If you are a caregiver for a senior loved one who will be going with your family on vacation this spring, there are a few things you should consider before heading out. Preparing in advance can help make the trip more relaxing and enjoyable for everyone. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Thoughtful Planning: While direct flights might cost a little more, they can make a big difference when you are traveling with older adults or a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease. If you are traveling by car, pre-plan your route and stopovers. Make sure to plan for rest breaks. If your senior family member has any health problems or lives with dementia, driving for more than six or seven hours in one day might not be very realistic.
2. Copy of Medical File: No one likes to think their vacation will be interrupted by an emergency, but it is important to be prepared just in case. Make sure to bring a copy of your senior loved one’s medical file that includes their medical history, medications, and physician contact information. You might find it easier to safely store the information in a smart phone app like Care Zone.
3. Emergency Contact Cards: On the chance that you become separated from your older family member in a busy airport or rest stop, be sure they have a card with your cell phone number on it or they have their own cell phone. Even a disposable phone that you purchase for them just for vacations and outings would work. If your senior loved one has memory loss caused by some form of dementia, you might also want to include additional family members’ names and contact information on the cards. Put copies of the cards in their wallet, purse and pockets.
4. GPS Tracking Watch or Bracelet: If your loved one has Alzheimer’s disease or a related form of dementia, consider signing them up for a GPS tracking service. There are several different kinds on the market including some that work off of cellular technology. In the event your family member wanders while you are away from home, you can safely track their location using your smart phone.
5. If you decide that taking your aging family member with you on vacation just isn’t feasible, a respite stay in a senior living community might be a solution to consider. Call the Five Star Senior Living community closest to you for more information.”

For decades doctors have recommended drinking eight glasses of water a day to stay hydrated. While that amount may not always be necessary, it’s a good guideline to follow.

In cooler weather, most people may not need as much. But in hot summer weather, we often lose more fluid to sweat. It means we need to hydrate more frequently to replenish those fluids.

Why Seniors Struggle with Hydration

It can be a challenge for anyone to drink enough water, but it may be especially difficult for older adults for a variety of reasons.

• A senior loved one may struggle with incontinence and steer clear of beverages for fear of having an accident.
• Seniors with Alzheimer’s may feel thirsty, but forget the steps to get a drink of water. Other adults with this disease simply fail to recognize thirst any longer.
• Older adults who live with mobility issues may think it is too much trouble to get up and down to go to the kitchen for water which then requires them to make more trips to the bathroom.
• Like so many of us, our senior loved ones just might forget to drink six to eight glasses of water a day.

As a caregiver, it’s important to make sure your senior loved one stays hydrated in the summer heat.

These tips can help you ensure your senior loved one gets enough to drink without resorting to nagging or begging.

Easy Ways to Encourage Hydration in a Senior Loved One

1. Offer – don’t suggest.

Rather than asking, “Are you thirsty?” or “Would you like a drink?” simply provide an enticing beverage, whether it’s an ice cold glass of water or a cup of caffeine-free herbal tea.

2. Make drinking water convenient.

Young or old, we all strive for convenience. Keep a filled water bottle at arm’s reach from your senior loved one to sip throughout the day. Stock the refrigerator with water and other healthy beverages in ready-to-drink containers.

Keep in mind that older adults with arthritis or illnesses like Parkinson’s disease may struggle to pour water from some pitchers or with opening store-bought bottles of water. Instead, fill easy to open water bottles so your senior loved one can get a drink whenever the mood strikes.

Choose easy to carry containers so your loved one will have water wherever he or she goes.

3. Change it up.

Consider infusing water with fruits for a refreshingly different flavor, serve up flavored seltzers, or experiment with herbal teas. Just steer clear of caffeine-filled coffee and black tea, which can dehydrate.

Healthy soups made with low-fat broth also count toward a daily water quota, so consider starting every meal with a tasty soup. Other foods with a high water content include cucumbers, melons, berries and leafy green lettuces.

4. Schedule drink breaks.

As a caregiver, you probably live by schedules: doctor’s visits, medication dosage times, meals.

Why not schedule time to drink water, as well?

The best times to drink water include:

• when you first wake up
• before every snack or meal
• before, during, and after physical activity (such as walking, Pilates, or a yoga class).

Schedule alarms to remind your loved one to drink before these events and several other times a day.

5. Drink together.

Don’t underestimate the value of modeling good behavior. Pour a drink for yourself when you provide one for your loved one and you’ll start to feel the benefits of a well-hydrated body, too. Primarily, you will find you have more energy and healthy, glowing skin.

Know the Signs of Dehydration

As you take steps to encourage your senior loved one to drink more water, also take time out to learn the signs of dehydration. A senior suffering exhaustion, sore limbs, dry mouth, confusion, headaches, or infrequent urination may be suffering from dehydration.

One final tip is to remember that while dehydration occurs more often in summer months, it can be a problem for seniors all year long.

More Resources

For more information on topics ranging from successful aging to caregiving, we encourage you to visit Five Star Senior Living “Resources for Families.” We share the latest news and research there several times each week!

<!–[CDATA[As baby boomers continue to age, the demand for family caregivers keeps climbing. These informal caregivers are spouses, adult children, friends grandchildren, and neighbors. They are 62 million strong and expected to almost double in ranks over the next 30 years. With the demands of caregiving, come some hidden costs families don’t often expect. It can lead to an adult child dipping in to their retirement fund or a child’s college fund to cover the expenses.

So what are the true costs of being a family caregiver?

• Direct costs of caregiving: Gas and other car-related expenses running back and forth from a senior loved one’s house can add up, as can the costs of prescriptions and other health care supplies. When the family member you are caring for lives with you, out-of-pocket caregiving expenses can total about $5,000 each year. If you are a long-distance caregiver, the costs of traveling to and from an aging family member’s home can be significant.
• Lost career opportunity costs: Almost half of all family caregivers say they’ve lost a job or have missed out on career advancement opportunities as a result of their caregiving duties. 37% of caregivers quit their job or cut back on hours to care for a loved one. Lost wages and benefits can add up quickly. Researchers at Caring.com found family caregivers can expect to spend an average of four years caring for a loved one. The median annual salary in this country is just under $29,000 per year. If a caregiver leaves their job for four years that equates a loss of $116,000, not counting lost benefits.
• Caregiver health care expenses: Family caregivers experience health problems of their own as a result of the demands this role places on them. A few health-related problems that often develop among caregivers include hypertension, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol. Back problems and cardiac issues are also more common in caregivers than their non-caregiving peers. Depending upon your health care insurance copays and deductibles, you may find yourself spending thousands of dollars on your own health care while you are a caregiver.

The bottom line when you are debating the best and most cost-effective senior care solution is to be certain you are considering all the costs. You might be surprised at the true cost of caring for a senior love.

Talking with a parent about senior living isn’t easy. In fact, many people often avoid having that conversation until a medical emergency occurs and they are forced to make a hasty decision. In order to guarantee that your parent is making the best possible decision for their future health and wellbeing, it’s best to be prepared and go into it with a plan.

Starting the Conversation

The outcome of a conversation is rarely positive when the other person is caught off guard. This is especially true when it comes to talking with a parent about senior living. In order to warm them up to the idea of senior living, it’s best to start the conversation early and lay the groundwork for an eventual move.

Some tips for opening up the lines of communication with your loved one include:

1. Soften your language. Try not to use phrases like, “you have to,” or “you need to.” Instead, express your concern by telling them that you are worried about them because you love them or that you have concerns about their health and safety. It will help them to be a part of the process rather than feel like they are being forced into something they don’t want.
2. Find ways to bring up senior living indirectly. You can share stories with your parent about friends who recently moved their parents into a senior living community and are thriving. You can also print out articles for them to read about how much senior living has changed over the past few decades. Educating them about the realities of senior living might help to dissolve the stigma senior living had when they were younger.
3. Share your own emotions about watching them age. Telling a parent that it’s been hard for you to see them struggle with age-related health issues is also a great way of starting to talk to your parent about senior living. It will help them to understand that the issue is not just about them, it affects the rest of the family as well.

Managing Resistance

Of course, just because you are ready to begin the conversation about senior living with a parent, does not mean that they are ready to hear it. It’s not uncommon for people to get stubborn and defensive when it comes to decisions about their future. Even though their health may deteriorate with age, they still want to feel as though they are in control of their lives.

Here are some ways to better navigate resistance to talking about senior living with a parent:

• Respect their feelings. If they begin to get angry or agitated every time you start to broach the subject, it might be more helpful to back off than to keep pushing the issue.
• Bring in backup. Inviting additional family members or close friends to join the conversation can help ease any tension that has arisen between you and your parent.
• Encourage them to take a tour. And then promise that if they still really, really hate the idea of a senior living community, you will drop it. You can even schedule a tour with a Five Star community near you today!

Dealing with Guilt

Once they have agreed to move into a senior-friendly residence, caregiver guilt can creep up on you. But don’t let it overwhelm you; while you may feel as though you should have done more to help your loved one, the reality is that all the hard work and research you put into finding them the right place to live will pay off in the end.

Once you see how your parent is thriving in a community environment, participating in activities like group fitness classes or taking up new hobbies like art classes, language courses and bird watching you will feel much better!

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