Alcohol and Female Boomer Health
If you are female and in your 50s and early 60s, you may want to raise a glass of wine to a study in the journal Menopause: moderate alcohol consumption may lower your risk of osteoporosis.
Challenges of Retiring on Social Security
If the thought of retiring and living solely on your Social Security benefits scares you, you may have reason to breathe a sigh of relief, or at least exhale enough to realize that it is possible to live a happy life in America on a senior’s fixed income.
Can Table Tennis Help Prevent Falls?
Table tennis is an activity that many elders participate in, regardless of physical ability. Aside from being enjoyable, playing table tennis can also help elders avoid falling. As a physical exercise, table tennis helps reduce the risk of falls.
Better Digestion After the Thanksgiving Feast
You swirl another ladle of gravy on the mashed potatoes and gulp down another helping of turkey. But before the pumpkin pie is cut, you start to feel that internal restlessness. What happens to your body’s digestion when you overeat?
Favorite Inventions of Your Generation
The airplane, phonograph, automobile and motion picture were just a few of the most notable inventions of years gone by. What would you list as your most-appreciated scientific invention of your generation? Here’s a few decades’ worth to get you started.
Socialization –– How It Benefits Caregivers and Care Receivers
Caregivers are frequently told how important it is for them to stay engaged socially, but I think we sometimes forget how beneficial it can also be for the care receiver.
5 Exercises That Are Vital To Your Independence
The key to preserving mobility in old age? You have got to move! Here are 5 core and glutes exercises that are vital to your independence.
5 Things We Learned From Reagan’s Alzheimer’s and Thatcher’s Dementia
In what is considered his farewell address to the American people, former President Ronald Reagan penned a November 5, 1994, letter announcing his recently diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease, the irreversible neurological condition that is the most frequent form of dementia.
Moving Keeps You Mobile
Decreased mobility due to aging is not irreversible, even though studies show that people typically lose 8 percent or more muscle mass every decade after age 40. Muscle mass gives you strength and is associated with mobility. For some older adults, it is also vital to their independence.
Special Exercise for Life and Fitness (SELF)
As a trained exercise physiologist, Dr. Berg used to give lectures on diabetes around Omaha, Nebraska. Eventually, he decided to bring people in and show them what to do to meet their needs, instead of just talking about it. The "SELF" program was born as a result.
3 Indicators That It Might Be Time to Bring In Outside Help
You don’t always have to wait until an emergency happens to get help, though. Here are three indicators that it might be time to bring in some help.
4 “Sugar Strategies” for People With Diabetes to Enjoy Desserts
Every year, Americans celebrate National Dessert Day (October 14) by sampling a full menu of sweets. Do you know which American age group is most likely to pick up their dessert fork or to dip a spoon in some dessert decadence?
Centenarian Devoted Career to Civil Service
“People waste their later years because they feel defeated by age, or by health,” says Ladimer. “But there are still ways they can create change. It’s never too late for change.”
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.
How Family Mediation Can Help You Manage the Aging Process
As our parents age, it is time for the family to unite to create a working plan that considers the needs and concerns of the entire family. Family members need to have these difficult conversations in a real way to ensure that their aging parents are safe and that family relationships survive. Elder/family mediation is a successful tool that gives families a way to effectively manage the aging process that confronts us all.
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.
Home Care Can Help Reduce Fall Risk in Seniors
These and other stories are in the September edition of the Caring Right at Home e-newsletter, providing information, advice and support for adult caregiving.
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.
Are Men’s Brains Smaller Than Women’s?
A Mayo Clinic study of 1,246 men and women between ages 30 and 95—with normal cognitive function—shows that the brain’s memory region, the hippocampus, shrinks more for men than women, especially past age 60.
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 Opioid Crisis and Fall Risk
Seniors using opioids are at a seven-fold greater risk for falls (and increased hip fractures) than those who use other pain relievers, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
Play 1960s Movie Trivia – Do You Know the Answers?
What are three of your favorite 1960s movies and why?
Suicidal Signs in Older Adults
Older men are at higher risk for committing suicide compared to older women in part because men in American culture are conditioned to not acknowledge their feelings and may feel more hopeless about the future.
Sounds You’ll Never Hear Again
Time rolls on and takes with it certain sounds of each generation. For today’s baby boomers and older seniors, time has faded a number of everyday noises and tones.
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.
Is the Rate of Alzheimer’s Declining? How to Relieve Back Pain
These and other stories are in the June edition of the Caring Right at Home e-newsletter, providing information, advice and support for adult caregiving.
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.
When Aging Parents Remarry
Suzanne cared for her ailing husband for five years before his death. Now, the 75-year-old widow is falling in love again. But her grown children strongly object.
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.
Humor: A Radical Solution for Caregiver Fatigue?
Many caregivers have sacrificed sleep; however, when we don’t get adequate sleep, it affects our ability to think and reason. It can lead to poor decision making, erratic behavior, and increased falls and accidents.
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?
Rise in Senior Remarriages
For many divorced or widowed older adults, choosing remarriage in the golden years makes life together even more golden.
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.
Getting Around When You No Longer Drive
It’s time for your elderly loved one to give up the car keys, but how will he or she get around to doctor appointments, errands and social activities?
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?
National Social Work Month
Commemorated every March, National Social Work Month highlights the significant contributions that social workers make on behalf of all citizens, serving as champions for disadvantaged and vulnerable people in every U.S. community.
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.