Posted on

Sign Up: Free Exercise and other Classes for Seniors

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

I want you to know that on any given day it is not easy for me to “pick myself up” and take “that walk”. However, one of the things that I know for sure about exercising is: afterwards, I feel better.  I can imagine that for some of you, the same is true.  That’s why I am taking the opportunity to share with you the Senior Planet website:  https://seniorplanet.org/get-involved/online/.

Senior Planet has ‘figured it out‘.   That is for certain.  The Senior Planet program makes exercise look attractive, even tempting. I think that Senior Planet may motivate you to join with other seniors, in the comfort of your own home, and at a time and day that is convenient for you. You can choose what type of exercise suits your needs and your moods.  Oh, and did I say that it is free?

Senior Planet also has other online computer classes that you can take:  Art, Tech,  Chair Yoga, Discussion Groups.  It’s pretty impressive.

If you want to think about it first, take the opportunity to sign up for their Newsletter .
https://seniorplanet.org/get-involved/newsletters/

Enjoy!

Posted on

Hearing Aids? Do you need them? How do you know?

My Everyday Tools: Hearing Aids and Glasses

It seems odd that hearing aids are not something I focused on as a tool for assisting my “wellbeing” in a significant way.  If you think about it at all, it would seem that hearing aids are just as important as glasses for reading and driving. My favorite question these days, which I have adopted from Rachel Maddow of MSNBC –  “Why is that“?

Flash back to August of 2017, when I wrote a post about hearing loss, and at that time I called attention to the research, which determined that dementia ( I repeat, dementia) could be related to hearing loss. (https://livingsenior.me/2017/08/21/hearing-loss-dementia/)

Flash forward, after a recent hearing test (have you had one lately? ever had one?), my Audiologist doctor determined that I required hearing aids due to hearing loss in both ears.  In addition, she was concerned because difficulty hearing raises dementia risk. There it is again: dementia and hearing loss are related.

Continue reading “Hearing Aids? Do you need them? How do you know?”

Posted on

Senior Care and COVID19

senior telemedicineThe COVID19 – Pandemic has affected us all in how we will lead our lives post Coronavirus. In addition, we senior citizens are being confronted with new methods in order to manage how we live going forward. Major changes have occurred in attending to our healthcare and well-being needs physically, socially, and mentally.  To protect our health, Telehealth is a solution, which allows us to see the doctor without visiting their office.

  • Good news for seniors is that  Medicare has now expanded Telemedicine coverage and you can arrange doctor appointments until further notice, without incurring added charges. This includes chronic conditions like high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
  • FYI – The terms Telehealth and Telemedicine are being used interchangeably.  These are the descriptions I found at The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) – https://www.aafp.org/about/the-aafp/history.html
  •  iPhone users can contact telemedicine doctors using FaceTime. Android users can use Skype.  There are numerous apps, which can be utilized.

doctor-4187242_1920Medicare Descriptions of  Telehealth coverage:
https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/virtual-check-ins
https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/e-visits

https://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living/the-best-telemedicine-apps/ Continue reading “Senior Care and COVID19”

Posted on

A New Outlook with Meditation

woman-wearing-red-hat-and-sunglasses-1729931
Photo by Nashua Volquez from Pexels

COVID19 is unsettling for us all.

As senior citizens, we find ourselves during the later years of our lives with more stress than we could have imagined in our younger years. Rather than traveling, spending time with family and friends leisurely in our “golden years”,  those dreams of our lives have been replaced with anger, fear and uncertainty for ourselves and our families.  The result is that our health and well-being are in jeopardy.  At this point we are confronted with adjusting to new way of life, which is not what we had in mind.

life-2387831_1920I searched the “www” for some coping mechanisms to possibly relieve our  anxiety.  Meditation and Mindfulness were at the top of many lists for relaxing methods to relieve all sorts of issues, and to enhance our senior citizen lives.  Some things that were listed as benefits are summarized below:

♦  less stress, more happiness, longevity, younger looks.
♦  creativity, body healing,  focus and motivation.
♦  willpower, better sleep, activates the happy part of your brain.

Continue reading “A New Outlook with Meditation”

Posted on

It’s HEART Month for Love & Health

February is a great time to celebrate  Valentine’s Day, and being grateful for the  love in our lives.  It’s also Heart Awareness Month.  Yes!  As a Brave Heart survivor of open heart surgery of almost  25 years,  this is an issue close to my heart 😊 (pun intended).

Heart disease is a complicated health challenge all over the world.  However, in particular, this month I would like to call attention to the fact that  heart attack  symptoms  for women are quite different from the ones diagnosed for men.  In addition, women are often misdiagnosed in emergency rooms after the heart damage has occurred [ref: https://myheartsisters.org/2009/05/28/heart-attack-misdiagnosis-women].  Below are some of the signs women should consider when being diagnosed for heart disease.  Notice there is no suggestion of heavy chest pain.

♥ Shortness of breath, ♥ Pain in one or both arms, ♥ Nausea or vomiting,
♥ Sweating, ♥ Lightheadedness, or dizziness, ♥ Unusual fatigue, ♥ Indigestion.

Continue reading “It’s HEART Month for Love & Health”

Posted on

Is a Good Night’s Sleep for Seniors Important?

Happy New Year!

Now that the  holiday furor  has settled down for most of us, I would like to share with you that I often hear my senior friends discussing how much sleep they are NOT getting.  Or, that they don’t NEED much sleep.

It turns out that it’s not a good thing when we are sleep deprived at any age. In his book “Why We Sleep“,  neuroscientist and sleep expert, Matthew Walker, gives us a new understanding of the vital importance of sleep and dreaming.  According to his research, sleep helps our ability to learn, regulates our appetite, assists with our well being and immune system. It affects our emotions, and metabolism. Walker further suggests we can utilize sleep to improve our energy levels, regulate hormones, prevent cancer, to name a few.  He also says that sleep slows the effects of aging. The list is much longer than what I have shown here.
According to a blog post I read, the less senior citizens sleep, the faster their brains age. I also learned that seven hours of sleep daily was perfect for cognitive function. In addition, sleep for senior citizens is important to provide time to heal from other health related issues.

Continue reading “Is a Good Night’s Sleep for Seniors Important?”

Posted on

For Women: Are 10,000 Steps a Day Necessary?

Today I am celebrating 24 years since I had open heart surgery. Yes!

Walking is a really personal gift to me.  What do I mean?  After my surgery, I asked my Cardiologist,  “what type of exercise can I do?”  He recommended that I walk, which seemed easy enough to do.

However, the truth was,  after the surgery I did not have the strength to walk across a street by myself. At that point, I promised myself and the forces that guide us that if given the future opportunity to walk, I would make sure to honor that ability.
Continue reading “For Women: Are 10,000 Steps a Day Necessary?”