Many of today’s older adults want to age in place and maintain their independence as they grow older. All too often, the catalyst that stops someone from being able to age in place is a fall that can incapacitate them or force them into assisted living. At ‘Living at Home Ltd’. our goal is to help seniors stay safe and avoid falls, so that they can age in their own homes longer and safer.
Lighting in the home is crucial to staying safe and preventing falls. Eye diseases such as cataracts, macular degeneration and glaucoma can affect your vision as you age. Having good lighting is essential to ensure that you can see obstacles and have a clear view of where you are walking, in order to not lose your footing, fall or hurt yourself. A fall or injury can prevent you from doing your daily activities independently, which can in turn lead to older adults losing confidence and independence, which can contribute to feelings of depression or anxiety.
How and where do I improve my lighting?
It is important to look at each area of your home and find unique solutions for each area. Think about the tasks that you are going to do in each area of the house, and what kind of lighting you need to do those tasks. For example, if you are a keen reader, you want to make sure that you have reading lights/lamps near your reading chair or bedside table. If you are doing a lot of meal prep, make sure you have good lighting in the kitchen where you will be using sharp knives and peelers. If you have stairs, ensure there is good lighting for the whole run of stairs, (and a hand rail!) Remember to turn those lights on when there is low lighting in the house, as those eye conditions listed above can really affect your depth perception, which can be more evident on the stairs.
Make sure your lights are easy to turn on and off. Consider using foot operated switch extension cords so that you don’t have to reach and strain to turn on lamps near you. They can sit on the floor or a bedside table and be easily pressed on and off with your hand or by tapping it with your foot. This is particularly useful for people with arthritic fingers who struggle with small lamp mechanisms.
Consider night lights to help guide you at night. Even if we think we know our home like the back of our hand, there is still the opportunity to miss a step or catch your foot on something in the dark – consider motion sensor lights/ plug in night lights or having soft and low strip lighting to light the way to the bathroom at night time.
Lastly (and perhaps most importantly!), be sure to make regular checks to ensure that everything is functioning properly. Make sure that you, (or someone who can help you) replace bulbs quickly after they fade or burn out, ensure that all your switches are functioning properly and make sure you regularly check the batteries in your remote handheld devices and non-plug related lighting devices. If you use timers to set the lights on, be sure to adjust them as the days get longer and shorter and add the changing of the timers to your “to do” list when you change your clocks for daylight savings time.
Stay safe out there!
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