Are Seniors a Threat on the Road?

Alzheimer’s Care, Senior Care for Seniors & Elders living in the South Bay Area, Long Beach, Seal Beach, Orange County, CA. Better Living Home Care. Call 714-827-7855.

We’ve all seen the stereotype — a tiny 80-year-old woman peeping over a steering wheel as she goes along a highway at 8 miles per hour, oblivious to the danger she’s creating all around her.

Like most stereotypes, this one is wrong — at least according to a poll of drivers of all ages.

When asked if they had been in a collision within the last five years, 28% of seniors reported that they had — the smallest percentage of any age group.

Drivers in general say the greatest threats to highway safety are aggressive drivers (37%), distracted drivers (37%), teen drivers (14%) and, last, seniors (11%).

Some of the categories overlap: teen drivers are also more likely to be distracted drivers, as 32% say they have read or sent text messages while driving.

The public does think that persons over 75 should be retested for driving skills every two years.

Mason-Dixon Polling and Research conducted the poll, which was sponsored by Volvo.

Brain Fitness – Seniors Must Exercise the Mind

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It’s long been assumed that memory loss, slower thinking and eventual dementia are the natural results of aging.

Dr. Michael Merzenich, a neuroscientist from the University of California at San Francisco, disagrees. The human brain, he says, doesn’t need to decline with age. It, like the body, responds to exercise and stimuli.

Merzenich founded Posit Science, which is developing brain fitness programs designed to improve the thinking abilities of seniors. These self-paced computer programs are like video games, only these are designed to stimulate certain brain functions such as listening and memory. One hour a day, five days a week may increase cognitive functioning by as much as 10 years.

While the Posit Science Brain Fitness Program offers exciting possibilities for enabling an aging population’s minds to keep pace with ever increasing longevity, we’re not dependent upon a computer program to stretch and strengthen our brains.

Engaging in a range of activities that spur new learning as well as participating in physical activities that require an ongoing mastery of motor control will strengthen the brain.

Examples of such activities include:

• learning to play a musical instrument or a new language
• juggling
• dancing
• solving jigsaw puzzles
• playing ping pong

In the not-so-distant future, senior centers, nursing homes and assisted living facilities may include “brain gymnasiums” along with recreation and exercise areas.

Exercise Could Slow Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s Care, Senior Care for Seniors & Elders living in the South Bay Area, Long Beach, Seal Beach, Orange County, CA. Better Living Home Care. Call 714-827-7855.

Exercising the body helps the brain. That’s the conclusion of a new study that reviewed the effects of exercise on brain functioning in humans and animals.

Based on a wide-ranging review of existing studies, researchers found a significant relationship between physical activity and later cognitive function and decreased occurrence of dementia. Better yet, the evidence suggests that the benefits may last several decades.

Studies of persons over age 65 found that those who exercised for at least 15-30 minutes at a time three times a week were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease, even if they were genetically predisposed to the disease.

The exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous. One study of 62- to 70-year-olds who continued to work and retirees who moderately exercised, showed they had higher sustained levels of cerebral blood flow and superior performance on general measures of cognition as compared to the group of inactive retirees.

The review covered 40 years of research.

Long Beach Successful Aging

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Successful aging is an absence of (or minimum of) disease and disability. A new study of more than 500 persons from age 60 to 98 shows that people who think they are “aging successfully” aren’t necessarily the healthiest individuals. Optimism and effective coping tools, or attitude, were found be essential to successful aging more than traditional measures of health and wellness, according to a study funded by the Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the University of California-San Diego.

The study showed that persons who regularly read, write and socialize gave themselves higher scores than those who did not. Surprisingly, volunteer activities, which have long been thought to help persons age successfully, were not found to have the same positive influence. The bottom line is that those things leading to successful aging are well within an individual’s control. The key is adopting personal coping mechanisms and remaining as physically, socially and mentally active as possible.

Caregiving in an Emergency

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At times of emergency, there are so many things to process, one has trouble prioritizing and putting things in perspective. If you are caring for a loved one with dementia, you might find your attention distracted and your emotions conflicted. Sometimes it is hard to concentrate on the daily things in life, sometimes it is reassuring to do mundane tasks. Often people feel out of control and insecure at times of crisis.

People with dementia might not understand what is going on around them. However, they do pick up emotions, might have a partial understanding which has led to greater confusion, and their needs might be overlooked. Although this is understandable, it can increase the problems of the caregiver. Your loved one might be more anxious, less willing to do things, more difficult to distract and have sleep disturbance. Depending on the severity of the dementia, he/she might make irrelevant comments or laugh inappropriately. Since long term memory is generally more intact, he/she might fixate on an earlier time with some similar aspects to the current situation.

There are a number of ways you might be successful in reducing agitation. First of all, do not watch TV incessantly. If at all possible and depending on the level of the dementia, it would be good to avoid having the person with dementia see the TV coverage of the event all together, including radio and newspaper coverage. Everyone should, in fact, limit the number of hours spent watching a disaster. It has been shown that endless watching can in and of itself lead to post traumatic stress disorder. You can talk about the incident with the person in general terms. One caregiver I talked with this week was asked by her husband, “How are things going with the accident?” Although she wanted to scream, “It wasn’t an accident,” she could say to him that the government was doing everything possible to help the situation. This form of reassurance is important. Second, it is helpful to maintain routines as much as possible. Routines are reassuring to people with dementia, and they will be calmer if their daily schedule is kept. You might also find that keeping a routine is also reassuring for yourself as well, allowing you to focus on tasks without too much thinking.

Finally, it is important to take care of yourself. Do not watch too much TV. Gather whatever friends and family you have around you, allow yourself to feel nurtured and connected with others as much as possible. Reach out to someone, attend religious services or log on to a chat room.  When feeling stressed, our nerves often feel raw and we might find ourselves being snappy or cranky. Forgive yourself for not being perfect; it is understandable under the circumstances.

Hearing Tips for the Elderly

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Hearing loss is an epidemic that plagues aging individuals globally. The issue is so widespread that one third of people 60 and over have problems, while half of people over the age of 85 experience varying levels of hearing loss. Fortunately, technology has come along way in today’s world and offers some salvation to seniors who may otherwise suffer from depression, loneliness, embarrassment and withdrawal from social scenarios.

There are a number of reasons why people suffer from hearing problems; it is a part of the regular aging process; can be hereditary; may result from an injury or blockage; may occur after a stroke or heart attack has occurred; or can be caused by prolonged exposure to extremely loud noises.

There is not just one type of hearing loss either, each variation has different causes and may show itself through a variety of symptoms. Presbycusis hearing loss occurs primarily due to aging, but its onset can also occur following any of the causes listed above. It progresses at different rates, and each individual may have a very different experience with Presbycusis. Sensorineural hearing loss results from an injury to key listening devices in the body, such as the inner ear, auditory nerve or hearing pathways to the brain. Conductive hearing loss is due to a blockage in the inner ear, which could include ear wax, fluid, abnormal bone growth or puncture of the ear drum. Tinnutis is a ringing or roaring noise that appears in the ear and can accompany any other variety.

Caregivers can help seniors with communication by speaking clearly, using low tones, talking slowly, not yelling, eliminating background noise, restating information, facing the senior when speaking, and maintaining distance (3 to 6 feet) while talking.

Seniors who believe they may be suffering from hearing loss should consult their doctors for further investigation and diagnosis. A medical professional can then offer treatment which will increase a senior’s ease of communication.

For further information on hearing loss and aging, visit www.MedicineNet.com

Long Beach Care for Aging Parents

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The Importance of Sibling Cooperation in the Care of Aging Parents

In the United States, it is becoming increasingly more common for households to care for and protect aging parents. For many children, caring for their aging parents is met with mixed reviews. When faced, as a family, with the dynamic of caring for the aging population, it is important to establish family boundaries especially among siblings.

Siblings, when involved in the care of aging parents, commonly disagree as to what is best for the parent. As a result, even the closest of siblings can often find they are at great odds as to how to care for an aging parent, ultimately breaking down the sibling relationships to a significant degree; a significant disadvantage when examining the need for sibling support due the latter years of a parent’s life.

Research on the aging population shows that, for those who rely upon their children for care, there is generally one child that will assume 99 percent of the role in the care of that particular parent. Unfortunately, it is this one child who carries the greatest burden and compromise in their personal life and may suffer the greatest strain when faced with issues and care of the aging parent.

For the non-active siblings, or those who are not directly involved in the care of the aging parent, there is often confusion as to how best to approach a parent and sibling who, in most cases, now reside together. For most of the aging population, one approach tends to work best; continue to allow one child to make all of the medical and financials decisions for the aging parent while the other siblings work as a support network, assisting with care and transportation to and from events such as doctor’s appointments.

Research has shown the more children are involved, the better off the parent will be both physically and emotionally. However, it is important the adult children elect one person to assume the care and that all siblings respect and support the decisions of that sibling, even when they do not feel certain decisions are in the best interest of the parent.

Alcohol and Orange County Seniors

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It shouldn’t come as a surprise to seniors or senior care experts that drinking too much alcohol is bad for older adults, but studies also show that moderate amounts can have its benefits. It’s crucial to a senior’s health and well-being that home care experts and family caregivers understand both the positive and negatives for alcohol consumption to ensure that the senior receives only the highest level of elder care. Medical professionals cannot always readily detect alcohol abuse in a senior, but those providing home care are in a position to understand a senior’s routines and help encourage positive actions.

Positives

• Health benefits may exist for older adults who consume one alcoholic beverage per day if they are female, or up to two drinks as males
• Heart disease – those 50 and older who drink alcohol in moderation are less likely to have heart attacks or face premature death than those who drink heavily or abstain completely
• Diabetes – alcohol helps improves insulin sensitivity
• Dementia – moderate consumption of wine (not beer) reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia
• Psychosocial Effects – moderate alcohol consumption increases social interactions, health related quality of life and survival
• Nutrition – alcohol with meals can help increase a senior’s appetite and helps them consume the calories and nutrients needed

Negatives

• Blood alcohol levels increase more quickly in older adults
• Excessive consumption of alcohol can cause issues with balance, a decline in short-term memory, worsening of existing health problems and cause negative interactions with medications
• Not easily detected – the medical profession has not yet grown substantially concerned about the effects of alcohol upon senior care.

Long Beach Caregiving for Aging Parents

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Just a few years ago, workers were likely to need time away from work for parent-teacher conferences, running kids to medical appointments, and staying home to nurse sick children.

Today, workers are more likely to miss work because of the needs of their parents. “Elder care has begun to rival child care as a workplace issue, and companies have started to realize that such support props up not just workers but also the bottom line,” according to the Dallas Morning News.

The National Alliance for Caregiving estimates that one in six American workers cares for an older relative. Caregiving usually adds 18 hours to the 40 hours most workers clock at the office. That means that those workers are working a job-and-a-half. Some companies are now hiring geriatric care managers as resources for employees bewildered by the demands of parents who are no longer capable of living independently. Estimates are that one in five caregivers quits or looks for a less demanding job. And that makes businesses’ responsiveness to employees’ caregiving needs more than a nice thing to do; it makes it an essential thing to do.

Loneliness Raises Blood Pressure in Elderly

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University of Chicago researchers have concluded that loneliness is a major risk factor in increasing blood pressure in older people, and because of this could increase the risk of death by stroke and heart disease.

In a paper titled, “Loneliness is a Unique Predictor of Age-Related Differences in Systolic Blood Pressure,” published in the March issue of the journal Psychology and Aging, researchers Louise Hawkley and John Cacioppo found lonely people between the ages of 50 and 68 had blood pressure readings that were as much as 30 points higher than non-lonely people, even when other contributing factors were taken into consideration.

“Loneliness is a complex physiological phenomenon that incorporates feelings of dysphoria (opposite of euphoria) and stress, dissatisfaction with social support and hostility toward others,” according to the paper. It already has been associated with higher incidences of other health issues, including alcoholism, depression and insomnia, and even impaired immune functions.

The findings of the researchers are consistent with Society of Certified Senior Advisors’ approach to training professionals to think more broadly of seniors, not just in terms of health, financial or social factors, but in terms of all of them combined so that Certified Senior Advisors can provide the most benefit to their senior clients.