Are you dreading the holidays because you’ve left your longtime home? Do you feel as if all your holiday traditions have become upended? 

It makes a big difference in your life. Part of our identities are tied up in those holiday traditions, often those that include family and friends. 

But you don’t have to give that all up when you move to a continuum-of-care community. Home is where the heart is, so get the people you love around you, wherever you are. Here are X tips to making that happen. 

1. Play Host Again 

Was your home the center of holiday activity for your family? Make your new place the center of activity again by inviting family to enjoy holiday meals and events hosted by the community onsite. Or, host your own gathering in your house, apartment, room or communal space. With family photos and holiday decorations, it will feel just like old times only in a new place. 

2. Create a New Tradition with New Friends 

Most senior living communities organize their own holiday parties and invite everyone on campus to attend. Often they organize daily holiday-themed events from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. These might include baking parties, nostalgic movie nights, gift-wrapping sessions, etc. If you don’t have family around to share in the holidays, what a great way to meet new friends and feel included in holiday traditions. Even better, when the facility throws the party, you don’t have to cook, host or clean. That is a welcome relief during stressful times. There is also a health and safety advantage to joining your neighbors at a facility party. You may not be physically equipped to host a party or travel to family, and your family may not be able to provide the level of care you need. 

3. Take Advantage of Provided Transportation to Family 

Your senior living community likely has an arrangement that will bring transportation off campus to your door. Taking advantage of that convenience can deliver you to your family to enjoy the holidays in their homes safely and quickly. Adult children with young children of their own sometimes stress about traveling to grandparents during the busy holiday season. Having grandparents travel to where the whole family is celebrating could be more convenient for everyone involved. 

4. Create an ‘Orphans’ Holiday’ 

Many seniors feel alone on the holidays, but in fact, this feeling of isolation is widespread among those who live by themselves. While you may not be prepared to travel or host, you can connect with other people who are feeling the same way you are and have your own Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s Eve.   

The holidays are always a festive time at the seven communities in Eastern Nebraska and one in Wyoming affiliated with Nye Health Services, offering independent living to skilled nursing care. A family-owned company with a rich history of connecting with the people they serve, Nye Health Services is open for visits anytime. Call 402-753-1400 to make an appointment at a location in Fremont, Lincoln, South Sioux City, Norfolk, or Jackson Hole, or visit NyeHealthServices.com for more information. Happy holidays!

Are the punishing winters turning you into a shut-in? Do the short days and long nights make you feel lonely and sad? What about shoveling your driveway or salting the sidewalk? Do you dread having to do it? If you go out less because you’re afraid of falling on snow and ice, we may have the solution.  

It doesn’t have to be this way. A continuum of care community can give you all the independence you want without the hassles and dangers of living in harsh weather.  

Consider the six reasons moving now will improve your winter: 

1. Assistance at Your Fingertips 

A continuum of care community allows you to continue to live your active lifestyle while someone else takes care of the chores like snow removal. And if you’re not so active, a continuum of care community provides whatever assistance you need and plenty of opportunities for socializing with people in the same stage of life. 

2. Services Are Right There 

You don’t need a car to go out to dinner, hit the gym, take a dip in the indoor pool or join in activities at the community center. They’re all right there for you. And if you need transportation off campus, they’ll arrange that too. 

3. Your Safety Matters 

Older people are at risk for illness and injury during the cold, dark, slippery season. Just walking is often treacherous. Frostbite and hypothermia disproportionately affect older people, too: seniors account for more than half the deaths from hypothermia in the U.S. And living alone can be deadly for seniors who catch the flu, which already takes three-quarters of its victims from among those age 65 and older. Being around others, where the grounds are clear, indoor activities are convenient and medical care is present can be lifesaving. Which means you should move now before winter hits. 

4. Happy is Healthy 

Seasonal Affective Disorder is tough to endure but easier around active, like-minded people your own age, and a caring staff that looks out for your health. Isolation and sadness can exacerbate medical conditions that seniors endure, so being around others is important for your physical and your mental health. 

5. Give Yourself Time to Make Friends 

Moving to a continuum of care community in the winter allows you to make friends during the season when you won’t be leaving campus much. Then, when the robins sing, flowers bloom and you’re ready to be more active outdoors, you will already have a gaggle of friends to take with you. From a friend-making standpoint, winter is the absolute best time to start life at a continuum of care community. 

6. No Time Like the Present 

Arranging visits to continuum of care communities now allows you to see what life is like around the campus before everything moves indoors. Deciding now means you avoid the hassle of moving in the cold and snow. Once winter hits and the sun sets before dinner, you might not want to take the life-altering step, and you’ll endure another four months alone.  

 Nye Health Services offers six communities in Eastern Nebraska and one in Wyoming, structured to meet the needs of their residents from independent living to skilled nursing care. A family-owned company with a rich history of connecting with the people they serve, Nye Health Services is open for visits anytime. Call 402.753.1400 to schedule an appointment at locations in Fremont, Lincoln, South Sioux City, Norfolk, or Jackson Hole, or visit NyeHealthServices.com for more information.

Falls can be dangerous for people of any age. But they can be especially hazardous for seniors, leading to broken bones and worse. But just because you’re eligible for a senior discount at the local movie theater doesn’t mean you’re too old to protect yourself from a potentially dangerous situation. 

“As we age, we start to lose some of the strength and mobility we used to have. Trying to do some of the things we could do in the past becomes difficult and challenging,” says John Brackle, director of rehabilitation at Nye Health Services. “So, then it becomes a matter of understanding our limitations and knowing when we’re putting ourselves in a difficult situation. And more importantly, how do we adapt to situations at a certain point in life?” 

Improving strength and balance can be as simple as exercises designed to mimic movements seniors would use in every day. “If we stop using our joints, if we stop using our muscles, they become stiff and tight and weak,” Brackle says. “Those everyday tasks become difficult to do — such as getting out of a chair or walking to the dining room. Simply moving the joints allows them to move more freely, helps the muscles turn on, helps with blood flow. It helps you perform those everyday activities with less strain, and less fear of falling.” 

Strength and balance can be improved at any age. Here are seven easy exercises seniors can start with: 

1. With your feet hip-width apart and a chair to one side to hold onto for balance, step forward with one foot and bend your front knee until your back knee nearly touches the ground. Then push your front foot to return to the standing position. Repeat the same motion with your other leg. Start with 10 reps for each leg, and eventually, you’ll be able to do this exercise without the chair. 

2. Sit in a chair, hold its bottom with both hands. Extend one of your legs straight out, then bring your knee toward your chest. Don’t move your upper body. Extend your leg, then lower your foot to the ground. Repeat with the other leg. Eventually, you should be able to do 10 reps with each leg and then possibly both legs at the same time. 

3. Stand with your feet together, then slowly roll your upper body down toward your toes. You may not be able to touch your toes at first, but eventually, you might build the flexibility to do so. 

4. Stand behind a chair, grasping its back with both hands. Lift up on your toes, hold that position for a moment, then lower your heels back to the floor. Repeat this exercise 10 times. 

5. Stand behind a chair, holding it with both hands. Slowly lift your right leg to the side, about 6 inches off the floor. Hold that position for a moment, then return your leg to its starting position. Repeat this exercise 10 times with each leg. 

6. To strengthen your lower back, stand behind a chair and slowly lift your right leg straight back, without bending your knees or pointing your toes. Hold that position for a second, then return your foot to the ground. Repeat this exercise between 10 and 15 times with each leg. 

7. Increase your strength with wall pushups. Stand an arm’s length from a wall, lean forward, and place your palms on the wall at the height and width of your shoulders. Slowly bring your body toward the wall, with your feet remaining planted on the ground, then push yourself back to the starting position. Twenty repetitions should do the trick. 

While no one can prevent the march of time, with proper exercise everyone can maintain strength and balance. “There’s not a magical exercise out there,” Brackle says. “Think about the everyday things you do. That can be exercise. It’s a matter of getting yourself to do it, and being consistent with it.” 

Want to learn more about the advantages of therapy services? Nye Health Services offers inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient therapy services to get you stronger and back home sooner. To learn more about these services contact us at (402) 753-1400, or by visiting  NyeHealthServices.com.