Health and Maintaining Your Independence

Today, people over 65 years old have a 25% chance of moving to a long-term care home. Usually, it’s because they have two or three chronic conditions that make it difficult for them to live on their own.

• 72% are women.
• 70% are single: never married, divorced, or widowed with poor family support.
• nearly 50% are over 85 years old.

Here’s a list of the most common reasons people move into long-term care:

• 90% can walk, but need assistance or supervision.
• More than 80% need help with at least three activities of daily living, such as bathing and getting dressed.
• More than 75% find it hard to make everyday decisions.
• 50-70% have dementia.
• 67% have problems with memory, such as not knowing where they are.
• More than 50% have incontinence, either bladder or bowel.
• 50% have difficulty communicating, i.e., being understood or understanding others.
• More than 30% have hearing or vision problems.
• 30% have problematic behaviours, such as wandering, acting inappropriately, resisting care, or being verbally or physically abusive.

Do you know someone who moved to long-term care for any of these reasons? 

The main reason people can no longer look after themselves and need help from others is because of poor health. This is something that we can choose to control. Conditions that predispose people to poor health are

• being overweight
• not exercising enough
• isolation

Did you know that 75% of the factors that determine your health in later life are not the aging process? Rather, they have to do with lifestyle. This means that you have a lot more control over your health and where you live later life than you may have thought.

The sooner you start taking action to improve your health, the better you will feel and the more you will reduce your chances of needing long-term care.

Choose healthy living.

Do you need some guidance to help you feel like you’re in control of your health as you age? 

• Have you seen someone close to you struggle with health issues in their later years? 
• Are you seeing signs that this might happen to you too?
• Are you afraid of aging and the declines in health it may bring?  

Sign up below to receive my free guide with 7 tips on healthy aging.