By Abby Fike LPN
Stepping into fall, the anticipation of cooler weather, orange and yellow leaves, and pumpkin flavored everything starts to arise. Another season comes and goes just like any other year. Our mood can vary based on the different seasons and times of the years. Melatonin levels increase in the cooler months which can make you feel more sluggish in the winter months. This can lead to less energy and feeling less motivated overall. UV levels also drop in the winter months, meaning your body is getting less vitamin D, which provides energy your body needs. The importance of exercising and getting out in the sun, when possible, is crucial to feeling your very best in the winter. Food plays a role in the seasons of our life and how weather effects our eating habits as well. Your body uses food and calorie intake to regulate its internal thermostat and burns the calories based off of what is needed in the body. Having a consistent sleep pattern is also beneficial for energy levels during all times of the year. The adult body needs an average of 8 hours of sleep a night to be able to function and think properly.
All these aspects affect our mood. Depending on the season of the year, not only your mental health but physical health can be affected. It is important to understand what your body desires in order to efficiently take care of it. Balanced meals, exercise, and proper sleep all play an important role in ones mood.
Here at Keepsake Kottage, we value everyone’s preference and feelings towards their routine, as it relates to the seasons. We encourage our residents to do activities and socialize outside when the weather is nice. We have found that this improves moods, as being outside can improve everyone’s quality of life. We also offer three balanced meals a day along with snacks to provide adequate energy and nutrition. We also make sure that everyone’s body is moving to the best of its ability. We do exercise videos together and can bring in physical therapy when needed to improve motion, strength, and overall quality of life.
Sleeping patterns are also something that we value. Each house only has eight resident’s, that allows us to cater our time towards everyone’s individualized needs. This includes the need to rest. If a resident prefers to sleep in, get up early, stay up later, go to bed early, or nap, we are able to allow them to do so. Some people prefer mornings and other nights, having everyone sleep during their preferred schedule allows for adequate rest and sufficient quality sleep catered to their body’s natural cycle.
Our ultimate desire at Keepsake Kottage is to provide the highest quality of care to each one of our residents and that means allowing everyone’s specific needs to be met, however necessary. Being a home-plus, we have the ability to be more flexible with our residents schedules, allowing them to still have the independence to decide how they sleep, as well as if they’d like to join activities, and what they’d like for supper. This makes autonomy important as they have as much independence as they can while still having access to 24 hour care.
If you or a loved one is interested in learning more about Keepsake Kottage or would like a tour, contact us today.
You can give us a call at 316-650-4526 or click here to send us a message.