GPS Tracking Watch for Elderly / Seniors
What is a GPS Watch Tracking Watch for Elderly?
A GPS tracking watch for elderly wearers is a wrist-worn device that can be useful for a wide variety of purposes.
Unlike a typical watch which usually has the sole purpose of telling the time, a GPS tracker watch for seniors can offer life-saving functionality to support an older person to live safely and independently, especially those living with dementia / Alzheimer’s disease.
Click here to see the features and benefits of a GPS tracking watch for elderly
How is a GPS Tracking Watch for Seniors Useful for Caregivers?
The uses of GPS tracking watches designed for older people are extensive and varied, but many of them support those looking after an older loved one.
Peace of Mind for Family / Loved Ones of Older Person
Anyone who cares for or looks after an older family member understands the overwhelming sense of love you feel for them.
GPS Tracking Watches give you the comfort that you can see where they are at any time, regardless of how far away you live.
Locating Elderly Loved Ones from Anywhere
As many people live a long way from where they grew up and therefore elderly parents, being able to check on them remotely is very useful.
An older person wearing a GPS tracker watch means their location is being transmitted to your phone or computer. As a result, as long as you’re somewhere with an internet connection (mobile or Wi-Fi), you can see where they are on a map, from anywhere in the world.
How is a GPS Tracking Watch Useful for Elderly People?
Increased Independence for the Older Person
As the human body ages, certain aspects of life can become more difficult, often made worse by common chronic medical conditions. A watch for elderly with GPS supports them to continue important aspects of daily life including exercise, shopping at the grocery store and going to the doctor’s, with less risk if something bad were to happen.
For example, if your elderly mother liked to go on daily walks, but sprained her ankle and needed help, the tracking watch could help pinpoint her location and get the required response. Without it, she or your family may not feel comfortable with her walking each day in case something like this were to happen.
Reduced Risk for Dementia Patients (Wandering)
Wandering or ‘walking with purpose’ is a very common side effect of people living with dementia (the most common cause of which is Alzheimer’s disease).
GPS Tracking Watches enable the older person with dementia to remain independent and carry out every day tasks like going to the store. The reason for this is their carers or loved ones can locate them if they become lost or go missing.
How Does a GPS Watch for Elderly Work?
Unlike a regular wristwatch, a GPS tracking watch for seniors has to send information to someone else who’s not wearing it.
GPS or (Global Positioning System) is a technology developed by the U.S. military to pinpoint locations anywhere on earth.
Tracking watches contain sim cards, which use cell signal to transmit the location data obtained via GPS to a device where it can be tracked. Usually this is a GPS tracking app, which can be opened on a smartphone or tablet computer.
The app or map screen then shows the location of the GPS tracking watch’s wearer, for you to check whenever you wish.
How Do GPS Tracking Watches Help Dementia Patients?
With over 6m Americans currently living with dementia and that number set to double by 2050, the impact on U.S society will grow sharply.
60% of people with dementia will go missing at some point, and tragically half of them die or suffer serious injury if not located within 24 hours.
GPS Watches are especially helpful to locate dementia patients, because they’re more likely to remember to wear a watch, than, for example, take a tracking device with them. This is due to ‘procedural memory‘, when people with Alzheimer’s disease remember tasks or processes which they have done throughout their life.
Some GPS Tracking Watches even have an optional locking strap, mean the wearer cannot tamper with or remove the GPS watch whilst wearing it.
What Features & Benefits to GPS Watches for Elderly Have?
GPS Tracking App
Locate loved ones from your phone
With tracking the wearer of a tracking watch being one of the main features, how you view their location is really important. Some tracking watches for seniors have a mobile app, from which you can access a map that shows the wearer’s most up-to-date position.
Be warned however, that many GPS watches only update the wearer’s location a few times a day or worse still, only when the SOS button is pressed. This would create increased stress if looking for a lost or missing loved one.
Fortunately, the Tranquil Watch updates the wearer’s location as often as every 60 seconds.
Safe Zones / Geofences
Sometimes known as ‘Geofences’, safe zones are predefined areas that you can be alerted about if the GPS watch’s wearer leaves, or sometimes enters. Safe zones are especially useful for tracking dementia patients who go wandering, as you can be notified if they for example leave their neighborhood.
The problem with geofences is they often have to be a minimum of around 1000 feet to work properly, meaning they can mean a long wait between a loved one leaving home and you being notified.
The Tranquil watch not only has geofences, but the ability to be notified as soon as they leave home.
Alerts when they leave an area
SOS Button
Emergency alert trigger
SOS was originally derived from the distress Morse code signal for ‘save our souls’.
GPS tracking watches often have an SOS button for emergency situations like the wearer having a fall, a heart attack or an intruder in their house.
They usually trigger a 2-way phone call to either a monitoring (medical alert) center or designated numbers, usually family members.
SOS buttons can sometimes also trigger smartphone app alerts, as well as or instead of a phone call.
Emergency Calls
2-way SOS phone calling
Watches for elderly people that have an SOS button, nearly always have 2-way calling alongside.
This means not only can the wearer trigger a phone call from their wrist to a designated number, but others can call in to the watch from their phone.
Many GPS watches deploy a feature called ‘whitelists’ to prevent spammers or scam callers ringing in, meaning that only pre-designated numbers can make inbound calls.
This is especially useful for dementia patients who are at increased risk of not being able to identify the intentions of a scam caller or someone with bad intentions.
Location History
See where they went and when they were there.
Knowing where your loved one is right now is useful, but have you thought about the benefits of seeing where they were?
A location history feature on an elderly tracker watch is particularly useful for dementia patients to see where they have been. This is because you can build up a pattern of their behavior.
For example, if you knew from the tracking history your mom often goes to your old high school around 3PM, and she went missing at that time without her tracker, that would be a good place to start looking.
Extended Battery Life
Battery life is an extremely important, but often overlooked, aspect of GPS watches for elderly people.
With most elderly tracking watches lasting just 12-24 hours before needing a recharge, this heavily limits how useful they are for locating a loved one who is missing or in distress. This is due to the burden of constantly having to charge them, meaning they often run out of power before they’re actually needed.
The Tranquil watch uses clever power-saving techniques to be the longest-lasting GPS tracking watch for seniors in the world.
Using power-saving techniques
Waterproofness
To be worn in the bath, shower or pool
There’s nothing more annoying that damaging your precious gadgets with water. Whether you drop your phone in the bath or spill coffee on your laptop, waterproof technologies have saved us thousands of dollars in recent years!
Waterproof GPS watches for seniors mean they can wear them in the shower, bath or even swimming pool, without the worry of water damage. Beware that many companies advertise their watches as ‘waterproof’, but in reality they’re only ‘water-resistant’ meaning they can only withstand light splashed and not full submersion.
Look for a minimum of an IP67 rating when seeking a waterproof tracking watch for seniors
Locking Wrist Strap
Tamper-proof, ideal for dementia
If you’ve just spent lots of cash on a new GPS watch for your elderly mom or dad, you want to make sure they wear it and don’t lose it!
Unfortunately, those with dementia (most commonly caused by Alzheimer’s disease) can easily forget why they’re wearing the tracking watch due to being unfamiliar with it, causing them to discard or misplace it.
A tamper-proof locking strap is a dignified but effective way to prevent the wearer from easily removing the watch without use of a special unlocking key.
Don’t worry if you lose the key, you can buy a spare or cut the strap off if you really need to remove it in an emergency.
The Tranquil Watch has ALL the features listed above, and more!
Why do GPS Trackers for Elderly Have a Subscription?
It seems that everything has a monthly fee these days, but GPS trackers for seniors need a subscription in order to function how you’d expect.
Just like a car needs gas or your cell needs a coverage plan, GPS trackers for elderly people require a monthly fee to cover the data used by the device.
This is because the tracker watch needs to transmit it’s location from the device to a tracking app, using a sim card.
Most GPS trackers subscriptions include other benefits in the subscription, for example…
- Unlimited Tech Support
- Unlimited Calls from the Watch
- Access to GPS Tracking Mobile App
- 24/7 Monitoring Center / Medical Alert Protection
+ More
