Wearable technology has boomed in recent years, and is proven that it is here to stay as part of our increasingly wifi-enabled lives. While typically thought of as the domain of millennials and young workers, wearable technology might be useful for senior care. Here are just some of the uses already proven for wearable technology:
- Location: Whether a watch or a keychain, there are lots of devices whose primary purpose is to share its location. Especially for senior adults living with dementia, this could be very useful for families who are concerned that their senior loved one may get lost.
- Activity: Counting steps and monitoring activity is good for anyone’s health, especially seniors who may need to focus on more gentle forms of exercise. There is also a suggestion that activity monitors could one day double as alert systems for a person who has had a fall.
- Heart rate: For seniors with health issues or on medication, constant heart rate monitoring could be very useful, and wearing a watch is usually more comfortable than awkward heart rate straps around the chest. Simply wear the watch or bracelet, and all heart rate data will be recorded to an app that can easily be shared with your healthcare practitioner.
- Sleep patterns: Sleep is essential to good help and cognitive function, but seniors with health issues or taking medications often have trouble getting enough sleep or maintaining regular patterns. Lots of wearable technology is primarily focused on sleep: monitoring length, quality, and setting reminders.
- Diet: Wearable tech hasn’t quite got there with diet monitoring, but it’s definitely getting better. Reminders and suggestions to eat, or, say, take medication, could also be useful.