Do you know a tech-phobic senior that’s insisting on retaining their independence by living alone? It’s time to break down the technological barriers and introduce them to the smart devices that can help them navigate their home more easily and maintain their independence for longer.

Smart home assistant

The first step is to buy a smart home hub or smart assistant, like the Amazon Echo. This can help you with a number of tasks when you call its name – Alexa. Home assistants can also connect to other smart devices so that you control everything you need from one central hub.

It’s easy to use since its entirely voice-activated. On its own, here are a few handy things Alexa can help you with:

• Play music from the device – pause it and adjust the volume using your voice
• Tell you the weather forecast
• Read the latest news to you
• Answer your questions – connected to the internet, Alexa is a bank of knowledge

The capabilities of a smart home assistant expand massively when connected to other smart devices. Here are some that can be especially useful for seniors…

Smart lights

With smart lights, you can use voice commands to turn lights on and off, and dim them if they have that function. Being able to perform basic tasks like this without getting up is useful for seniors with low mobility. It can also be a great safety feature. There’ll be no more fumbling around in the dark to find the light switch. You can turn lights on before getting out of bed in the night, for example.

Motion sensors

Smart sensors can detect movement so that they can alert someone if a senior suffers a fall, for example. It can be calibrated to call a specific family member, neighbor, or friend, or to call the emergency services straight away. Using a smart sensor, you can also keep track of movements in and out of rooms to monitor that person’s daily routine. This can be useful for patients in the early stages of dementia so you can see whether their behavior starts to change negatively.

Medication dispensers

Some seniors have a lot of different medications to take at different times of day. Taking the wrong pill or forgetting to take a dose can have serious consequences. A smart medication dispenser will help to remind them what to take and when. You can even set them up so that you are notified when your loved one doesn’t take their medication.

These are just a few of the things a smart home can do to help with senior living. If you need more information about caring for seniors in-home or the option of assisted living, then contact Brookstone of Clemmons today.