10 Health Benefits of Owning a Fish

If your parent has been wanting to get a pet but isn’t able (or doesn’t desire) to get a dog or a cat for a myriad of reasons, you might want to consider helping him purchase a fish tank. While fish are much lower maintenance than many other pets, the health benefits of raising fish are really quite extraordinary.

With regular care and upkeep of the fish and their tank (which your senior care provider can help with), your parent should begin to enjoy many of these health benefits of raising fish.

  • Better Sleep. Looking at fish swimming calmly around in their water may help the brain disconnect from the stresses of the day and be better prepared to go to sleep at night. Have your senior care provider arrange for your parent to be able to turn on some calming music while watching his fish to add to the nighttime ritual.
  • Lower Blood Pressure. Watching fish in larger stocked aquariums has been shown to lower blood pressure.
  • Reduced Heart Rate. As the blood pressure drops from watching the fish swim serenely around their tank, studies have shown that a person’s heart rate will also drop 5-6 beats per minute.
  • Reduced Stress. When stressful events occur, the steady movement of a fish tank can calm your parent down and help him manage his stress better.
  • Reduced Anxiety. Much like stress, it can be reduced by a fish tank. This is why you often see fish tanks in dentist’s offices. Simply focusing on the fish swimming through the clear water with brightly colored coral will help your parent’s brain turn away from the anxiety that is overwhelming it. Place your parent’s aquarium somewhere that is quiet and calm already with a comfortable chair by it so he can relax while focusing on his fish and other aquatic animals. Have your senior care provider reduce lighting to create an ambient affect that calms the area.
  • Reduced Alzheimer’s Symptoms. Since many patients with Alzheimer’s struggle with anxiety and strong emotions, a fish tank can help them be more alert and relaxed. Studies have even shown that Alzheimer’s patients with an aquarium to view eat more and have less disruptive behavior.
  • Improved Mood. It’ll be easier for your parent to find contentment and joy when his stress and anxiety levels are reduced by having an aquarium in the home.
  • Increased Feelings of Worth. Anytime a person is responsible for care of another living being, it reminds him that he is needed and appreciated (even if a fish can’t say “thank you”). There is something about taking the focus off of oneself and focusing on the care of another that reminds us how we all need each other.
  • Brain Stimulation. Having a fish to take care of may motivate your parent to learn more about the fish or even different species that can live compatibly with his current fish. Picking up a book at the library or doing some research online with his home care provider will give his mind a good workout.
  • Better Mental Health. With all of the benefits listed above, your parent may find his mental health is in a much better place when he has his fish to entertain, calm and dare we say, even love him.

Source: https://www.vivofish.com/fishkeeping-benefits/

If you are considering senior care in Oakwood, OH, for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Touching Hearts At Home of Dayton today at 937-558-9394.

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