Healthy Aging

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) healthy aging is the “process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age” which basically means that healthy aging is being able to continue functioning as you would like to because this leads to a sense of wellbeing.

WHO also states that “Healthy ageing is about creating the environments and opportunities that enable people to be and do what they value throughout their lives” again focusing on the fact that it is about their ability to do things that matter to them.

The role of an Occupational Therapist in supporting “healthy aging” is very clear. As Occupational Therapists we help individuals to overcome challenges that they may face when completing everyday tasks, helping them to maintain their functional abilities ie their ability to do activities that matter to them.

A huge focus of my services at Quality Life Enablement is around supporting healthy aging.

My Occupational Therapy service helps people to maintain their functional abilities and looks at ways of supporting and promoting independence or at the least making people lives easier and safer leading to improved wellbeing. I look at how we can adapt the environment (most commonly home environment but could also be other community environments) or adapt activities that you want to be able to continue doing so that you are able to do them.

My Enablement Support Service supports healthy aging by giving individuals the support they need to do activities that matter to them, activities they may not be able to do/may not have the confidence to do on their own.

If you want more information on how to promote your own healthy aging then do not hesitate to give me a call. Maybe you would like to know how my service can support you/ a loved one to age more healthily or maybe just a quick phone call to pick my brains is all you need (which I am more than happy for you to do).

But aside from accessing Occupational Therapy services what else can you do to promote healthy aging.

This graphic from National Institue for Aging can give some top tips.

The thing to remember is that you can start these tips at any age as they are just generally good for leading a healthy lifestyle. So don’t wait until things start getting a bit more difficult before you start these tips. Start now to get the most benefits.