Health ITThe Advantages of Teaching Seniors to Use Technology

The world has been changing at a rapid pace over the past two decades with endless tech innovations all designed to make life easier, or so they promise. The younger generation, who have grown up in this time of rapid change, take all this new technology in their stride. But what about seniors and elderly people?

There can be a major learning curve for older people when it comes to any technology because there was little tech around in their formative years. What that can mean is that some older people simply avoid learning new technology because the learning curve is too steep.

However, this means they could be missing out on products and gadgets that could make their lives easier and safer. Some can even be beneficial to their health so it makes sense to encourage eldlery people to use these types of gadget. Here are some to consider…

Digital Health Gadgets

Smartphones have long had apps available to track how many steps you have taken in a day to encourage a healthier lifestyle but Apple’s latest iphones and watches now have an ECG monitoring feature that can assess a person’s risk of having heart failure.

A new device from Lumen that analyses your breathing can provide a daily nutrition plan which takes account of your metabolism. And for those having trouble sleeping companies like Dreem offer a headband to help you fall asleep but also measures the quality of your sleep.

Smart Home Management

According to non-profit organisation The Live in Care Hub (www.liveincarehub.co.uk) 97% of older people would prefer to stay in their own home than move into a care home. Fortunately, with some smart home management technology this is becoming easier to do more safely.

Smart doorbells and home security systems allow your elderly loved ones to see who’s knocking at their door without opening it. Some system’s can even allow family members living elsewhere to see who is at their relative’s door and to check everything is OK inside their home, providing much needed peace of mind.

Monitored smart Alarm systems UK will contact your loved one when the burglar, smoke, or personal alarm is triggered to ensure that they are safe and to call the right emergency service to assist as soon as possible. A smart security system can also give alerts to your phone which you could act on if that is your preference.

As well as being useful for safety and security some smart home systems can also adjust the heating so an older person living alone can be sure to keep warm in winter or cool in summer.

Not surprisingly, much of this smart technology is only available via a smartphone. But teaching an older person to use just the basic features on a smartphone could be well worthwhile if it provides just a few of the benefits available to them. It simply requires some patience to show them how to use the phone.

Benefits of a smartphone

Once older people have mastered the use of the simple functions on a smartphone they can also take advantage of other features such as voice-activated technology, which they might find easier to get used to.

And, of course, a smartphone helps them to stay in touch with their own friends and younger family members. This is so important because loneliness can actually affect the physical and mental health of a person.

Google, Alexa or Siri can all be used to set reminders to do certain things at a certain time each day – such as take medication. And also to remind them about birthdays and anniversaries.

These benefits of teaching seniors to use new technology are surely worth it.

This post has been sponsored by Ditto Digital