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Six ways to support daily activity for the elderly

24.3.2023

Exercise important for all ages, throughout life. However, the older we get, the more important it is to stay active, as age gradually affects your ability to function and perform everyday activities. For example, research shows that elderly women who walk 1.6 kilometres per week are twice as likely to retain their ability to walk over a year as women who walk less. Sometimes, physical activity can depend on being encouraged in the right way and gaining positive experience. That is why we should all promote physical activity among the elderly and think up ways to support and encourage them.

It is not always easy to find the right words or actions to encourage others to be more active. Forcing or pushing are not effective ways to motivate others, which is why supporting the everyday activity and self-reliance of the elderly requires patience and consideration for our own behaviour. It is especially important to emphasise the resources the elderly family member still has, without helping them too much or doing things for them.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought its own challenges to the daily lives of the elderly, and many may have remained more passive than before as a result. The transition to a the normal, more active everyday life after the pandemic requires special encouragement and support. These six tips will help you to assess the everyday life of persons 75 and provide examples of encounters and behaviours through which you can have a positive impact on their daily activity.

1. Put an end to prolonged sitting

Excessive sitting is detrimental to the health and well-being of people of all ages. The amount of time we spend sitting can increase almost unnoticed, particularly as we grow older and our functional capacity decreases. In their effort to be helpful, friends and family members might start to avoid disturbing the elderly and making them get up from their armchair unnecessarily. However, we can all take small steps to reduce or interrupt prolonged periods of sitting. For example, when you visit an elderly friend or relative, do not use your own key but ring the doorbell and wait for them to open the door.

2. Do not do things for the other, do things together

Very often, we want to help our loved ones and therefore offer to do housework or the shopping when we visit an elderly friend or family member. However, instead of helping with everything, we should stop and think when the person’s resources are sufficient and when they really need our help. For example, you can run errands or go to the shop together with the elderly family member, not necessarily on their behalf. Doing housework, cooking and setting the table is not only fun together, but it can also support the activeness and self-reliance of the elderly.

3. Find the right motives

Physical activity can only become an integral part of everyday life when the person is genuinely motivated. Therefore, you should think about or find out what is important to the person and what they are genuinely interested in. For many, maintaining their independence and living in their own home for as long as possible are important goals. Based on surveys conducted by the Age Institute, the effects of increased activity are tangible in the everyday lives of elderly people. For example, many report that regular group exercise has made climbing the stairs easier and improved their balance – they no longer need to hold on to the walls.

In addition, physical activity can also be mentally stimulating, particularly if you see other people while exercising. In other words, some people are clearly motivated by the social aspect. For example, would your loved one be more likely to go for walks or join an exercise group if they met other people there? Interesting things can also be found outside the home, such as bird-watching or monitoring the slow progress of construction sites in the vicinity.

4. Do not give up

Particularly when a person’s functional capacity begins to decline, more support and encouragement are required from those closest to them. For example, if the elderly person is not enthusiastic about going out, you can remind them about the last time you went out together and how good it made you feel. The more one gets used to not leaving the home, the higher the threshold for going out becomes. In this case, do not be discouraged but keep encouraging the person persistently.

5. Go out with your loved one or neighbour

Going out is always a good way to move more, as it automatically makes you take more steps. You can make a habit of going out, for example, every time you visit. For example, if you like having coffee together, could you take your coffee with you and drink it outside, or take a walk before having your coffee? Is there a friend in the elderly person’s neighbourhood or nearby who could go out with them, or are there some motivating activities in the neighbourhood or area? You can also integrate light exercise into your walks, such as getting up from a bench. If the person’s functional capacity is still high, they might enjoy the outdoor gyms that are found all over the city.

If you are not close enough to visit an elderly person and go out with them yourself, there are various services available that are arranged by organisations, municipalities and companies. For example, the Finnish Red Cross offers friend activities that may include going out together. In addition, municipalities, for example, train volunteers who take elderly people for walks. Nowadays, these kinds of services are also offered by companies.

6. Share tips on remote exercise classes

Remote exercise classes were a saviour for many elderly people during the COVID-19 period, making lives more active even while staying at home. For some, going to the place where the exercise class is held might be difficult. Luckily, there are plenty of options, from interactive live classes for closed groups to streamed recordings, which can be viewed and followed at any time. The Etäjumppa (Remote Exercise) project of the Age Institute revealed that home exercises can improve functional ability as long as it is regular. You can help an elderly friend or family member, for example, in finding the different options, purchasing the necessary equipment and using it. Some elderly people may be hesitant to use digital devices at first, but they will learn to use them over time.

Five tips for remote exercise to try together

Heli Starck, Planner for the Voimaa vanhuuteen programme at the Age Institute, was interviewed for this article.