Staying Active to Stay Well – No Sweat! (well, sort of …)
Staying active as a senior offers a number of health benefits including greater mobility, decreased joint pain and fewer illnesses. Regular fitness activity reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and types of cancer.
Too Much Television Is Bad for You
A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association finds that Americans who watch at least three hours of television a day double their risk of dying prematurely compared to people who watch TV an hour or less a day.
Finding the Right Pill Organizer
While pill organizers can help avoid medication errors, there must be a good fit between the user and the pill organizer, otherwise, the benefits of using a pill organizer will be lost, and may actually impair one’s health.
3 Tips to Successful Travel With Grandchildren
Spending time with grandkids isn’t just about making sure they have a good time. It’s an opportunity to teach them how to treat other people. If we act like a doormat, we teach them that it is OK to be rude and inconsiderate.
Pill Organizers Could Lead to Overdoses
According to a new report, pill organizers may actually be responsible for causing dangerous overdoses. Individuals who started to use a pill organizer suffered impaired mobility, episodes of dangerously low blood sugar, and falls.
Home Remedies for Aches and Pains of Aging
A 2012 National Health Interview Study found that 11.2 percent of adults report having daily pain.
Senior Women and Arthritic Thumb
Arthritis is a condition that wears down and destroys a joint in the body. Degenerative wear-and-tear arthritis known as osteoarthritis is the type of arthritis that most commonly affects the thumb.
Legal Issues for Family Caregivers; Is Yoga Safe for Seniors With Joint Pain?
These and other stories are in the August edition of the Caring Right at Home e-newsletter, providing information, advice and support for adult caregiving.
Retirees Pursuing Second Careers
Retirement is taking on a new meaning for the baby boomer generation. Many of them see retirement as an opportunity to launch a second career, as opposed to engaging in leisure activities. Many boomers, more than any other generation, seek a second career in retirement out of curiosity or financial necessity...
How a Cancer Diagnosis Inspired New Dreams
Donn Kramer recently retired after spending over four decades as a Goodyear executive. Kramer realized that improving his golf game is yet to become his sole purpose in life, so he spoke with his financial planner about the possibility of transitioning into a new career.
Boredom Leads to Successful Business
Patricia Barron, or “Big Mama” to those who know her well, finally achieved her lifelong dream of opening her own restaurant at the age of 67. While it may have taken her over 40 years to see that dream realized, everything she learned along the way has contributed to her success.
The Sandwich Generation Feels the Squeeze; Stress-Reducing Tips for Alzheimer’s Caregivers
These and other stories are in the July edition of the Caring Right at Home e-newsletter, providing information, advice and support for adult caregiving.
Bathroom Safety: The Toilet
The bathroom can be a dangerous place for people of all ages, but older Americans are more vulnerable to falls and injuries.
Safety Tips for Summer Family Fun
Summer is a wonderful opportunity for children, parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents to stack up fun memories while staying injury-free and healthy.
Overcoming Caregiver Fear
As a caregiver, you will be confronted daily with people, situations and events over which you have little or no control, and if you allow yourself to dwell on what might happen, you could easily become overwhelmed by fear.
Trust Grows With Age
Trust increases as people age, and the stronger the trust, the more seniors experience greater happiness over time.
Helping Seniors With Seasonal Allergies
Seasonal nasal allergies strain the body: runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, itchy eyes and fatigue are some of the resulting symptoms. Extreme weather swings, particularly in spring and fall, kick up the production of pollen, the fine powder released by flowering plants. Spread by the wind, pollen settles in a person’s skin, nose and lungs and can cause an allergic reaction. Other common nasal allergens include animal dander and dust mites.
Bathroom Safety: A Shower Chair or Bath Bench?
Shower chairs, shower stools and bath benches are a good option to help with bathing safety and fall avoidance.
National Nurses Day Celebrates the Contribution of Nurses
National Nurses Week (May 6-12) each year celebrates the contributions nurses make to our lives and communities.
What would you do to honor nurses in America?
Counseling Assistance for Every Need
How do you gain a better balance and not discount your mental and emotional health as you care for another?
Donating Time, Money to Charity Is Win-Win
Reaching out with time, money and personal caring rejuvenates both the giver and receiver, unlike high-tech gadgets, a bigger house or extensive vacation travel. In addition to gaining a sense of purpose, countless seniors who engage with charities find they boost their health and contentment.
Coconut Fat May Slow Aging
Nutrition experts praise coconut fat as a super food that improves brain function, boosts energy and burns the body’s excess fat. Plus, research is finding that a diet high in coconut fat also may delay brain cells from aging.
3 Steps to Developing an Attitude of Creative Indifference Toward Caregiving
Maintaining emotional equilibrium while caring for a loved one who is aged, chronically ill or disabled is not easy. It takes constant effort, and some days you will do better than others so you must be gentle with yourself.
Bathroom Safety: Grab Bars
Would it surprise you to learn that nearly 200,000 older Americans are treated in emergency rooms for bathroom-related falls and injuries every year?
Coping With Caregiver Stress
Most caregivers frequently struggle with anger, fear, frustration, guilt, depression and grief. Coping with caregiver stress is something many people struggle with, although it’s hard sometimes to remember that you are not alone.
Boomers Returning to the Movies
America’s seniors are filling movie theaters in record numbers to watch Hollywood’s mature actors reinvent themselves on the big screen. The resurgence of 60-plus cinema stars is attracting box office dollars, and America’s seniors are settling in with their buckets of popcorn.
National Nutrition Month®
The 2016 theme of the March healthy eating campaign is “Savor the Flavor of Eating Right.” One of the main goals of the March healthy diet focus is to help children through older adults make informed food choices and develop sound eating and regular physical activity habits.
Medical Skepticism Over Brain Games
The influx of computer-based brain games has promised people even more command of their mental acuity—improved memory skills, faster recall of childhood stories and even prevention of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive decline. But are these brain games really working?
Seniors Unprepared for Hospital Discharge; Consider Dental Costs When Planning Retirement
These and other stories are in the March edition of the Caring Right at Home e-newsletter, providing information, advice and support for adult caregiving.
Smart Features for Older Drivers
AAA estimates that by 2020, 40 million U.S. drivers will be 65 years and older. Through the Smart Features for Older Drivers tool, the auto association helps elderly drivers shop for new vehicles with eight smart car features.
RightCare … The Right Choice for You.
Securing at-home care for your loved one is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. Right at Home is committed to helping you choose senior care wisely. Rest assured that with Right at Home, your loved one will be getting the Right Care.
Vitamin D and Fall Risk
Many health providers recommend vitamin D supplements as a way to build muscle strength and prevent falls in elders. Does high doses of vitamin D improve mobility for seniors?
A Valentine’s Message About Elder Love
Why two people are attracted to one another is a mystery, but one thing is certain: We never age out of the desire for love, intimacy and companionship.
Biomarkers Help Predict Illness
Biomarkers help predict illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Through the decade of measurements and a final round of tests and a physical exam in 2009, researchers discovered biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid that can help predict Alzheimer’s cognitive impairment years before the onset of disease symptoms.
Heart Disease and Women
Two types of heart disease, coronary microvascular disease (MVD) and broken heart syndrome, are lesser known but pose a specific risk for women. The American Heart Association reports that 64 percent of women who die suddenly from coronary heart disease, the most common type of heart disease, showed no previous signs of heart trouble.
Dementia Caregivers Worry About Own Risk; Home Care Supports Seniors With Heart Failure
These and other stories are in the February edition of the Caring Right at Home e-newsletter, providing information, advice and support for adult caregiving.
Sleep Deprivation and Alzheimer’s Disease
As Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are expected to rise with the upsurge in America’s baby boomers, the good news is that guarding your rest may just keep your memory sharp. And that’s something you can sleep on.
Resolutions for Healthier Aging; Health Benefits Can Be Gained Even From Light Exercise
These and other stories are in the January edition of the Caring Right at Home e-newsletter, providing information, advice and support for adult caregiving.
3 New Year’s Resolutions I Will NOT Make for 2016
I will find the strength, faith and courage to go on, and that even in our darkest hours, it is possible to experience love, forgiveness and joy.
How the Montessori Method Can Help Dementia Patients
Similar to strengthening cognitive ability in children, Montessori techniques for seniors living with dementia involve direct engagement of one’s senses of hearing, seeing, touching, smelling and tasting.
What Are Driver Rehab Specialists and How Do They Help Seniors?
Because of his fused spine, 83-year-old Jim is unable to rotate his neck fully. His family frets about him driving. Another family worries, too. Is Marilyn's arthritic knee slowing her from reaching the brake pedal?
4 Online Safety Tips for Older Adults
Every year, thousands of seniors join the ranks of those exploring the Internet to chat with grandchildren, view family reunion photos and handle personal finances. But with every online interaction comes a risk: savvy Internet thieves are eager to steal from unsuspecting senior citizens.
Walking to Prevent Falls
There’s little doubt that regular walking helps elders avoid falling. By strengthening bones and increasing muscle strength, flexibility and sense of balance, walking is an important fall prevention strategy.
When You Can’t Be Home for the Holidays; National Influenza Vaccination Week is December 6-12, 2015
These and other stories are in the December edition of the Caring Right at Home e-newsletter, providing information, advice and support for adult caregiving.
Gift Ideas for the Elderly
In an effort to reduce your stress when shopping for your parents or grandparents, Right at Home has put together a brief guide to gift ideas for the elderly. We’ve taken into account budget, lifestyle and interests. After all, the holidays shouldn’t be about the stress of finding the perfect gift; they should be about the joy you feel when watching someone you love open it.
Thanksgiving Safety Tips
The house is full of bustling conversations and the rich aroma of your favorite Thanksgiving entrees. The grandkids are scurrying from room to room, while the adults mingle and munch in the kitchen, grandkids
RightConversations
Mom is showing signs of mental slowing. Dad’s arthritis leaves him barely able to walk. Their need for at-home care is becoming more evident, but you dread “the conversation.”
Sarcopenia: An Unfamiliar Cause of Falling
Sarcopenia begins around age 45 and increases thereafter. By age 65, people, especially those who are sedentary, have lost almost half of their muscle mass and strength. The muscles become so weak that everyday mobility becomes difficult.
Can Home-Monitoring Technology Prevent Falls in Elders?
Up to 50% of elders fall each year in their home. Many of these falls result in broken bones, hospital admissions and relocation to nursing homes for ongoing care. Can an elder, who is growing frailer with age, remain at home safely?