Life expectancy depends on a huge range of factors. Simple things like our gender, where we live, and family history have an impact, but things like what we did for a living, if we have a partner, and how big our friendship circle is can also play a part.
Moving into an assisted living facility isn’t a magic wand. It won’t suddenly mean that you automatically live for much longer. But many of the benefits of living in an assisted living community mean that you could live longer. Let’s take a look at some of those benefits, and how they might affect your life expectancy.
Friends and Opportunities to Socialize
When you move to somewhere like Brandywine Living you don’t just get a new home, you get a whole new community. You’ll make new friends and enjoy groups and clubs. You’ll get out more and your social life might be better than ever. This can help to prevent depression and loneliness, give you something to look forward to, and mean that you are surrounded by people who want to look after you. Generally, seniors who have more friends, better friends, and friends who they see regularly, can have a longer life expectancy.
Access to Healthcare
As we get older our healthcare needs start to grow. Without access to fast and responsive healthcare, it can be hard to stay healthy and even harder to recover from an illness.
When you live in assisted living, you get healthcare on-site, and you are given treatment and care plans to suit your needs, even as they start to change and develop. This can work both preventatively and palliatively to extend your life expectancy.
Access to Memory Care
Our physical health needs more care as we get older, and so do our memories. Memory care services in assisted living communities can help to keep your mind sharp. Being around friends and a community can also boost your memory.
A Chance to Learn
Another great way to improve memory and reduce the risks of serious cognitive decline as we age is continued learning. This keeps your mind young by giving it a workout. When you live in an assisted living community, there’s a range of classes to try, and new hobbies to have a go at.
Exercise and Activity
When we live alone it can be hard to exercise, especially if we’re struggling with mobility and other health issues. Moving into an assisted or independent living community means that you’ll have more opportunities to exercise, from exercise classes to gentle walks, people to exercise with, and the medical support that you need to do it. Increased exercise can reduce blood pressure, improve circulation, decrease the chance of your developing heart disease and other conditions, and improve your mental health, all of which can increase your life expectancy.
Improved Diet
If you live alone, it can be easy to neglect your diet. Teamed with fewer opportunities to eat socially and a reduced appetite, your diet can suffer, and you might struggle to meet your nutritional needs. Make the move and you’ll have restaurants and chefs onsite, as well as people to enjoy food with.
Moving into an assisted living complex could be a chance to live for longer, but also an opportunity to get the most out of your senior years, enjoying new hobbies, friendships, and plenty of fun times.