A person grows older; their bodies undergo some significant changes. Our behaviors, body and mind undergo some major changes as we age and it shows in the basic activities we do. We may lose the ability to work efficiently and fast as we did when we were young and we are also faced with diminished cognitive functions. However, as technology evolves, senior citizens are more likely to live their lives with more convenience as technological gadgets like alexa home device work to make their lives easier.
Over the past few years, the world has seen tremendous change. Alexa home device serves as evidence of this. With the help of Alexa, a voice-activated virtual assistant, the elderly can get their independence back and they can take care of things on their daily activities routine tasks much more than before more conveniently. Read ahead about how Alexa has influenced in helping the elderly around the house.
What is the Device Named Alexa?
Alexa is a voice assistant that can detect your voice and respond to your voice commands. A gadget or voice assistant by Amazon that allows us to get our everyday tasks done with our voice commands. When you pass any order to Alexa, it will browse the with connection to the internet, complete the task and provides the relevant output to you. This is possible with the help of the internet and mesh networks at home that can run multiple smart devices on it.
For such instituted use of the internet, you need a reliable connection to the internet and the best possible plans, such as what you get with Optimum Internet. The internet has thus made it easy for us to keep connected with people but also with smart devices for ease and flexibility.
Likewise, Alexa home device has been making the lives of people very convenient in many ways. It does so by:
- Making phone calls for you,
- Checking the weather forecast,
- Controlling smart home gadgets,
- Getting tips and steps while you are cooking or doing any chore.
How is Alexa Helping the Elderly?
1. Reminders to take Medicine:
The elder people have proper medication routines that must be followed religiously at times. However, due to weak memory, they tend to forget to take their medicines on time. Missing the medications according to the prescribed time can put the health of older people at risk. To avoid such risk, Alexa helps them and remind them to take their medicines on time. Alexa allows senior citizens to set reminders for any time, be it day or night. Alexa can keep track of the medicines and call the pharmacies, in case the elder people run out of medicines.
2. Schedule their Appointments:
It can be quite a task for elder people and their caretakers to keep track of the scheduled appointments and take them as well. With the help of Alexa, you can get information about the doctors, as well as their work hours and schedule an appointment. You can set up a built-in calendar to manage the appointments and add the upcoming ones to the list so you may also get reminders in advance when they are getting close.
3. Maintaining Privacy and Security:
Considering the growing age, it can be a hassle for them to take care of security and privacy. With the help of Alexa, elder people can do security checks with the voice command. For example, they can lock the door with their voice, and call anyone in case of an emergency if they live alone. Alexa offers peace of mind. Your security can be turned to “at home,” “away,” or entirely disarmed with a single voice command.
4. Take care of basic everyday tasks:
Alexa can take care of daily tasks for elder people so they do not have to bother getting up from their places. As one ages, we tend to get more tired and lose a lot of our energy. Elder people can take care of basic tasks and activities like playing music and asking Alexa about the weather. They can save their energy and stay in a comfortable environment while getting tasks done.
5. Medical Alerts and Queries:
Living with elders means you should know about the initial and general medical-related things. Alexa can help you right away in case you have any queries related to the medical field or you want to know some things about a certain subject. We can also take advantage of Alexa to quickly find out information on their medications, symptoms, or problems without having to call their doctor’s office or schedule an appointment.
Steps to Set Up Alexa for Older People:
Now that we have mentioned the benefits of getting an Amazon Alexa for the elderly, there might be concerns about how to set it up. Here is how you can set up an Alexa at your loved one’s place for their convenience.
- Buy an Amazon Alexa device from Amazon’s site.
- Get Smart devices that are compatible with Alexa.
- Activate the device and log in to your Amazon account.
- Find and set it in a spot that is easily accessible for the elderly where they can get in touch with it easily.
- Set the device in a safe place that is away from hazards.
- Adjust Alexa’s settings as needed and customize them accordingly. You can add special features and set it up however you want.
Some ideas and Inspirations for Alexa’s Future:
- It will be useful if Alexa could somehow connect all the like-minded elderly so they can interact, socialize and not lose their social skills with passing age. They can connect with people with similar interests and have a good time with voice assistance.
- Older people hold many great memories as they have lived a long period of their lives. Losing memory can make it harder for them to hold onto those memories and cherish them. It would be great if Alexa could find a way to facilitate memory retrieval and organize them so they can recall old experiences.
- Use the expanding body of knowledge regarding the use of voice to identify early indicators of degenerative disorders. It may help them in their lives so they can cure those diseases in the early stages.
Conclusive Note:
Alexa has not only made the lives of working people easier, but it has also greatly contributed to the lives of elderly people by making their lives more convenient. We should consider this guide and get Alexa installed in our loved ones’ places so they can live a comfortable life.
References:
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/alexa-elderly-how-voice-user-interfaces-can-improve-max-amordeluso/
- https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/7/22822026/amazon-alexa-together-elder-care-price-features-release-date
- https://www.snugsafe.com/all-posts/alexa-for-seniors
- https://www.aplaceformom.com/caregiver-resources/articles/alexa-for-seniors
- https://www.benefits.com/retirement/alexa-for-seniors
Maria Khatun Mona is a Founder and Editor of Nursing Exercise Blog. She is a Nursing and Midwifery Expert. Currently she is working as a Registered Nurse at Evercare Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. She has great passion in writing different articles on Nursing and Midwifery. Mail her at “[email protected]”
Really nice post.