Top Smart Tech For The Elderly Living Alone

If you have an elderly person in your life who is losing on their own, it can be very difficult for them. It’s easy to feel alone and isolated. This is especially true for those that are living alone after losing a lifetime partner.

Combined with this, they may be dealing with mobility issues and other things that are now allowing them to go out as they once did, learn more here. This can make day-to-day living much more challenging without the help of others. It can also mean they likely don’t spend as much time being social and being around people.

Luckily, modern-day technology has made it much easier for those with limited mobility to stay in touch with friends and family. There are all kinds of technology that can help the elderly ward off loneliness, stay much healthier, and even be safer while living alone. However, it can be a struggle to effectively teach your loved ones how to get used to using these new devices.

In this article, you will learn about some of the best technology that can help in a multitude of ways. This technology can help improve their quality of life with minimal setup or maintenance required. The majority of the devices on this list are known for being very accessible which is a major benefit to someone that isn’t fully in tune with how technology works.

1. Smart Heating Controls

With home energy costs continuing to rise, it’s become a major problem for everyone. You want to do things that can ensure that your elderly loved one is not only comfortable at all times but that they aren’t paying too much to heat the home when they don’t need it. This can be a major issue for elderly people with traditional thermostats. These things need to be controlled manually. Not only will they forget, but they can’t continually get up to adjust the thermostat as needed.

Luckily, smart thermostats have entered the market and these devices couldn’t be more simple to use. The majority of them can be retrofitted to an existing heating system too. Best of all, they can be linked to a smartphone app which gives users the ability to manipulate their thermostat no matter where they are. They could be inside the house or even outside of it. Best of all, it can learn behaviors and preferences. That way the home gets heated to the perfect temperature and it automatically adjusts if they leave.

2. Smart Lighting

Smart lighting is another major benefit for the elderly who are living alone. Very similar to smart thermostats, smart lighting puts any compatible lights within arm’s reach at all times. These lights sync up with an app that allows you to turn on or off the lights with your mobile phone or tablet. That’s not all though. They can even be synced up with voice assistant devices that will allow you to manipulate the lights using nothing but your voice.

Turning lights on and off may not seem like a difficult task for most. However, for elderly people with limited mobility, as it is, these devices can offer the major quality of life improvements they are seeking. This can keep them from having to get out of bed or even off the couch just to turn on the light. It can also help them see where they are going better which can prevent accidental tripping and falling. It also helps to save on electricity because they can be shut off remotely using the app if you forget to do it while at home.

3. Voice Assistant Devices

These were briefly touched on in the previous section. To further expand, voice devices can bring a lot to the table when it comes to helping the elderly with limited mobility. You will see almost everyone relying on voice assistance nowadays. They are beneficial as they can be synced up with a lot of other smart-compatible devices ranging from lights to smart thermostats and even televisions.

The good thing about a voice assistant is that you generally don’t need to do anything after it’s all set up. Once it’s fully set up, you can communicate with different smart devices scattered throughout the home using nothing but your voice. The voice assistant responds to the trigger word. For instance, if you have an Amazon Alexa, it would respond to “Alexa.” If you have a Google Assistant, it would respond, “Hey Google.” 

These assistants can be used for asking questions, making phone calls, and more. The phone call portion can be a major benefit to the elderly living alone because they can even call emergency services if they fall and cannot reach a phone. They can also do things like asking the time, setting timers, setting reminders, and more.

4. Smart Doorbells

It can be difficult to leave your elderly loved ones living by themselves. They are susceptible to getting ripped off or taken advantage of. However, a camera doorbell can alleviate your worries and that of your loved ones. It can be frightening for an elderly person to not know who is knocking at the door. With a doorbell camera, they can check their app or smart device and see who is standing outside. Not only that, but they can answer through the speaker on the smart doorbell. This allows them to communicate with the person waiting outside so they can figure out what they want. This puts them in control over a situation they would normally be vulnerable in.

5. Fitness Tracker

For a lot of older adults, it can be difficult to move as much as you should. Whether it’s aches or pains keeping you from going outside for a walk, it’s easy to live a sedentary life. However, when you have a fitness tracker with you, it’s going to help motivate you to get out and get moving.

There is plenty of research that shows how beneficial gentle exercise is for the elderly. It can help prevent a lot of serious medical conditions. A simple device like a smartwatch or a fitness tracker can do wonders for helping motivate your elderly loved ones. It can give them workout guidance and even peace of mind being able to track their biometrics and vitals. 

Getting sufficient exercise is important. It’s necessary for maintaining optimal strength, flexibility, and balance. All of these things are majorly important as you age because you become at an increased risk for osteoporosis and falling. These fitness tracking devices can help users know when they are reaching their target goals and some of them can even send out emergency help messages if something happens while they are wearing them.