Category 'Paying for Eldercare'

What is Flower Therapy and How Can it Aid Alzheimer’s Patients?

by Jenn Denfield on May 23, 2012 0 Comments

Flower therapy is a new idea that is becoming as important as physical therapy due to the energy flowers give and the vitamin D the sun provides.

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Vibrant Seniors Find Therapy of a Different Sort

by Jenn Denfield on May 16, 2012 0 Comments

The six women who gathered in Wendy Wilson’s living room in Massapequa, on Long Island, on a Saturday morning — five in person, one on speakerphone from Florida — were talking about dependence and independence, big issues for people ages 75 to 88.

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How to make the most on Mother's Day for those with Alzheimer's disease

by Jenn Denfield on May 09, 2012 0 Comments

Making Mother’s Day meaningful for a mother suffering Alzheimer’s disease can be a challenge for a daughter, son or other family member. How much will be remembered depends on the stage of the disease, be it early, mid or late. Kristrun Grondal, program director for the Oregon chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, offers these suggestions:

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The Faces of Alzheimer’s

by Jenn Denfield on April 25, 2012 0 Comments

The prevailing view of people with Alzheimer’s is often a depressing one: the patient slumped in a chair or parked in front of a television set. But a new book and photo exhibition this month in New York show another side of the disease, one in which people with dementia can still be engaged, lead active lives and experience love and joy.

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Houseplants Can Make You Happy

by Jenn Denfield on April 18, 2012 0 Comments

Learning about houseplants and then caring for them improved self-rated health and quality of life for a group of seniors living at a low-income assisted-living facility, according to a study appearing this month in the journal HortTechnology. This study suggests that sprouting a green thumb is a not only a gratifying and affordable way to feel good, it can foster successful aging.

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Caregiving as a ‘Roller-Coaster Ride From Hell’

by Jenn Denfield on April 11, 2012 0 Comments

More than 40 million women are the primary caregivers for a sick person, very often the man they are married to. Caregiving, after all, is a wife’s expected role, and most accept it perforce as a duty that offers precious time to express love and wishes, settle financial and legal matters, and right past wrongs.

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Memory Problems May Worsen After Hospital Stay

by Jenn Denfield on April 05, 2012 0 Comments

Older people who are hospitalized may experience a worsening of their memory problems and thinking abilities after they are discharged, a new study suggests. Exactly why this occurs is not fully understood. “Hospitalization is very common in older age and many older Americans are struggling with their [mental] function,” says researcher Robert S. Wilson, PhD.

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Weighing too much or two little may increase risk of dementia

by Jenn Denfield on March 28, 2012 0 Comments

What's new: Obesity appears to increase a person's chances of cognitive decline in old age -- but so, paradoxically, does weighing too little for one's height.

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Low Cholesterol Foods

by Jenn Denfield on March 14, 2012 0 Comments

Making small diet modifications can help you significantly lower your cholesterol and improve your overall health.

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New Clues to Low-Calorie Diets and Longer Life

by Jenn Denfield on March 08, 2012 0 Comments

Research has suggested that very low-calorie diets may increase life expectancy in animals, and now a new study in humans provides some important clues as to why this may occur. In the new study, individuals who had higher metabolic rates -- the amount of energy the body uses for normal body functions -- were more likely to die early from natural causes than those who had lower metabolic rates.

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