Senior Independent Living
Midnight Snack for Midnight Wandering Dementia Patients
March 31st, 2010
Filed under category: Alzheimer's, Fall Prevention
It seems that when elderly dementia and Alzheimer’s sufferers go wandering, they may be looking for something to eat.
Or maybe just something to do. But this seems like a fair idea … or at least a good try. NPR’s health blog, Shots, reports on a nursing home in New Hyde Park, New York, that began offering midnight snacks to their patients who wandered around at night.
…continue reading Midnight Snack for Midnight Wandering Dementia Patients
Cure for “Boomeritis”
March 29th, 2010
Filed under category: Exercise, Fall Prevention
Senior magazine springs a new term on us: “boomeritis.” Well, the boomers might as well have an ailment named after them.
The ailment is the normal consequences of aging … loss of muscle, bone density, weight gain, etc., compounded with the sedentary lifestyle of America, mixed with a bit of strenuous activity that we like to engage in to recapture our youth.
Changing Nutrition Needs for Seniors
March 27th, 2010
Filed under category: Fall Prevention
As we get older our bodies change. This everybody knows. We also know that our diet significantly impacts our health.
And though the dietary needs of seniors does change as we get older (as our bodies change) it appears that the ideal diet isn’t much different from the diet we ought to have been eating all our lives!
Teaching an Exercise Class — At 92!
March 14th, 2010
Filed under category: Exercise, Fall Prevention, Independent Living, Senior Housing
Exercise is so important for all of us. It is especially important for those in their golden years. Even a little bit of strength training, for example, can significantly improve your overall health (including brain function) and reduce injuries and ailments.
One good resource is to find a senior center that has an exercise program. We reported about a senior center in Pelham, Alabama, that has a regular line dancing class. Great idea!
Twenty-one Ways to Make Your Home Senior-Friendly
March 14th, 2010
Filed under category: Fall Prevention, Independent Living, Senior Housing
We have seen lots of lists of ways to remodel your home for senior independent living or otherwise make your home more senior friendly. This list is the best we’ve seen so far — 21 items.
The list includes some old stand-byes: rocker switches, an emergency button, etc. But there are some good practical tips that we haven’t seen before, such as having putting your washer/dryer near the bedroom.
…continue reading Twenty-one Ways to Make Your Home Senior-Friendly
Drinking Beer Good for Building Your Bones
March 12th, 2010
Filed under category: Fall Prevention, Food Safety, Medical Research, News
We wouldn’t want to be seen as advocating drinking to excess — far from it.
But it appears that a moderate amount of beer might be good for your bones.
…continue reading Drinking Beer Good for Building Your Bones
Trampoline Exercise for Seniors
March 8th, 2010
Filed under category: Exercise, Fall Prevention, Health and Wellness
Can you imagine yourself bouncing on a trampoline? Somebody has the idea that this would be a good thing for seniors to do. Could this really be true?
I’ve always imagined the trampoline as something for children and relatively young … and very healthy … people to do. And I’ve also imagined it as slightly dangerous.
Health Gadgets for the Future — But What About NOW??
March 7th, 2010
Filed under category: Fall Prevention, Personal Emergency Response Systems
Here’s a plea from what is quickly becoming my go-to authority on issues related to seniors and technology. Laurie Orlov asks that those who care for and about seniors need to think about protecting seniors in the present, not in some rosy-colored future.
The problem, she says, is that while we seem to be waiting for some miracle drug, pill, device, program to make the future better for seniors, most of those things have been invented, delivered, funded already. “Our senior population needs help now,” according to Laurie. Using the technologies already present, seniors could be protected by an inexpensive, simple, useful, wearable mobile health device. (At the base of this would be a variation on the PERS technology already readily available.)
She focuses especially on mHealth — medical diagnosis and treatment taken on the road. And while we see this as a positive development, it certainly is no panacea.
…continue reading Health Gadgets for the Future — But What About NOW??
Speaking of Falling … What to Do When You Fall
February 7th, 2010
Filed under category: Fall Prevention, Health and Wellness
In our previous blog post, we mentioned preventing falling and injury through a program of exercise. But falls do happen to everyone from time to time.
One of the things that you can do to give yourself communication options if you do fall is to keep your cell phone with you, or consider a personal emergency response system.
The good people at YSF Magazine wrote a series of articles on Falls and Older Adults (see link after the jump), and those are a couple of their suggestions.
…continue reading Speaking of Falling … What to Do When You Fall
Exercise Critical to Maintaining Independent Lifestyle – And Preventing Falls
February 6th, 2010
Filed under category: Fall Prevention, Health and Wellness
Perhaps the greatest risk to independent living for seniors is the risk of taking a fall. Apart from making sure that your living area is free from trip hazards and making sure that you have a communications line established to family and friends (and having a personal emergency response system in case you do take a tumble), one of the best ways to protect yourself and your independence is to participate in an exercise program to increase your strength and fitness.
Today we feature Spectrum Community Services, Inc. in Hayward, California. (see link at the end of the article). According to the Spectrum home page, their mission “is to support low-income, disadvantaged families, individuals, and elderly residents of Alameda County in their efforts to improve self-sufficienty and the overall quality of their lives.”
…continue reading Exercise Critical to Maintaining Independent Lifestyle – And Preventing Falls
