Everyone knows what it's like to operate on little sleep. Your mind feels groggy and out of sorts and even the simplest tasks can present huge complications. With seemingly little on the agenda of your older loved one each day, you would think sleep would come naturally to them. However, a growing number of seniors today (up to 30%) experience sleep disorders in the form of infrequent sleep patterns, sleep apnea and waking up too early, among other disorders.
Health Tips
Blue Light Can Disrupt Your Sleep
We all know how important it is to protect our eyes from the sun's harmful UV rays; but what about the harmful effects of blue light rays?
What Are Shingles?
If you ask your physician he will explain that shingles is a disease related to chicken pox and individuals that had chicken pox at some point in their lives are more prone to developing a case of shingles. The virus that causes chicken pox is also responsible for shingles. In many individuals, the virus for shingles is dormant and resides in clusters of nerve tissue. The affliction typically affects the elderly.
Five Facts For Maintaining Strong Bones
If you are involved in the well-being of your aging parent or a loved one, it’s important to recognize that people over the age of sixty are more prone to bone related injuries and disease increases. Approximately half of all women over the age of fifty, and approximately 1 in 4 men will break a bone due to osteoporosis. Encouraging your loved one to maintain strong bones will allow them to age in place longer.
Healthy Exercise Habits
If you are a baby boomer, an age group defined by being born between 1946 and 1964, you are one of more than 74 million people across the country. Unfortunately, most of you have spent the last several decades sitting behind a desk, in your vehicle, on the phone, or other types of sedentary activities that have taken a toll on your muscles, joints and organs, often resulting in pain, poor posture, loss of mobility, and often times, added stress.
Six Simple Steps To Avoid Overheating
At any age, too much heat can be dangerous. However, as we age, your body has an even harder time dealing with extreme heat, which puts you at a higher risk of overheating and heat stroke. Learning how to avoid overheating will allow you to enjoy the benefits of the warmer days.
5 Ways To Protect Yourself From Diabetes
One of the most common and most prevalent forms of diabetes is Type 2 (formerly called adult-onset and/or non-insulin dependent diabetes). This form of diabetes impacts close to 95% of the 26 million Americans that have been diagnosed with diabetes.
Prevent Accidental Overdose
As your parents continue to age in place, sometimes more and more precautions need to be taken. Things like: trip-proofing their home, ensuring they are eating properly, installing a medical alert system, handrails, etc., are all steps that are in place. However, it’s just as important that you go through their medicine cabinet to prevent accidental overdose of anything. Going through your parents' medicine cabinet and discarding unused, unwanted and expired medication is one way to prevent an accidental drug overdose.
Five Walking Benefits For Senior Citizens
Use it or lose it. This is the word from doctors recently when talking to older Americans about their bodies. The good news is, this doesn’t mean signing up for 10K races, high-impact aerobics, or heavy weight training. Instead, walking benefits them by keeping them physically strong and agile. Adding a simple 35-minute walk a day is all it takes.
Elder Health Care Concerns
Older people have special health care needs and considerations. As people age, their bodies and minds may start to decline, and they may become less energetic and mobile and start to have health problems. They may take medications and need more medical attention. In addition, the elderly tends to have more chronic and potentially life-threatening conditions, such as diabetes, heart problems or cancer, and are more vulnerable to infection, adverse weather conditions and other stresses.