Cantissimo Senior Living Blog

In our last blog, Talking to Your Aging Parents About Money – Part 1, we explored ways adult children could start the conversation about money with their parents. Once the ice is broken, an opportunity to deepen the conversation presents itself.

UNDER THE SURFACE

The "money" subject is the first of several layers of important issues aging adults need to address. The following are major ones adult children need to discuss with their parents.

Most adults with aging parents rarely look forward to raising the subject of their elders' money. It's a scary topic because it involves a role reversal. Parents are supposed to teach their young children about money, not the other way around. Years later, adult children and their parents sometimes find it challenging to break out of this family dynamic. Yet, there comes a time when children need to talk to aging parents about plans for their money and other end-of-life planning topics.

PLAN OR WAIT FOR A CRISIS

Ideally, the time to talk to parents should happen before any crisis. Injury or illness can happen fast. If plans are not in place, decisions may be made quickly without sufficient information. This risk of causing irreversible mistakes is high. Even if plans have been made, failure to share them with adult children may put an effective plan at risk. Talking when parents can physically and mentally hold their own in the conversation provides a better foundation for good planning. In other words, the sooner, the better.

What is Telehealth

Telehealth, the delivery of healthcare services virtually, is an increasingly popular practice that many people are looking at to replace typical in-person delivery. Telehealth can include video conference medical appointments, health apps, and remote patient monitoring. Throughout the last year, people have been forced to schedule telehealth medical appointments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As many have experienced, this can be a viable option for many, especially seniors, looking forward.

Telemedicine

People often confuse telehealth and telemedicine, but they are two different things. While telehealth is a virtual communication mode between doctors and patients, telemedicine uses technology to deliver care to patients virtually. Therefore, telemedicine is less broad than telehealth because it only refers to remote clinical services.

Nearly half of Americans 65 or older will eventually require some form of long-term care, according to a 2016 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Of those needing long-term care, roughly half need it for less than a year. However, women are more likely to stay longer one year or longer.

Inflammation is part of the body's defensive mechanism. When a cut swells up and turns red, that's inflammation healing you at work. However, it can contribute to various health issues, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis (including psoriatic arthritis), cancer, and even depression when it goes into overdrive. It is worth noting that these health issues are also sparked by many factors such as poor diet, smoking, lack of sleep, etc.

When the immune system is activated without an illness or injury to combat, an inflammatory response may happen. The cells of the immune system that usually defend us begin to damage healthy arteries and joints because there is little to repair. When you do not eat a proper diet, do not get enough exercise, or have too much tension, the body reacts by increasing inflammation. Over time, chronic inflammation may have detrimental effects. 

Now, let's take it a step further and look at tips to reduce unnecessary inflammation.

Arthritis is a common medical condition. Especially for older adults, pain and inflammation in the joints are common and tend to worsen over time. While constant pain in your joints can be disruptive and distracting, there are many ways that you can learn to cope with arthritis pain or even reduce the sensations of pain.

Types of Arthritis

There are two main types of arthritis: osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). While both of them lead to pain and inflammation in joints, the causes behind each type are vastly different.

According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), every 1 in 4 people above 65 falls each year. An elderly individual gets treatments in the hospital's emergency room every 11 seconds. Every 19 seconds, there is a death of an older adult due to a fall.

Falls are among the leading causes of fatal injuries and trauma-related emergency admissions in hospitals among the elderly population. Falls result in over 2.8 million injuries treated in hospitals annually, including more than 800,000 in emergency departments and over 27,000 deaths.

There are several ways to prevent falls, such as getting enough sleep, staying physically active, and taking muscle relaxant medications or strengthening supplements. Exercising helps prevent falls because it improves your balance, strengthens your muscles, and increases flexibility. Here are the ten best exercises to improve balance and prevent falls!

The breath grounds, connects, and heals the nervous system, which is why nose breathing is essential.

Did you know that right nostril breathing (RNB) has a very different and distinct effect on the nervous system compared to left nostril breathing (LNB)?

The right nostril is the energizing and heating component of the breath. It supports a sympathetic “fight or flight” nervous system response (SNS) in the body. Conversely, the left nostril is the cooling component of the breath. It supports a parasympathetic “rest and digestion” nervous system (PNS) response in the body.

When we are in a state of balance and good health, the dominant nostril that we breathe through changes every 90-120 minutes, this is known as our nasal cycle. This cycle is under the control of our Autonomic Nervous system. It regulates the balancing of the PNS and SNS in the body. When we are out of balance, this nasal rhythm becomes out of balance, which has adverse effects on our mental, physical and emotional health and well-being.

Antioxidants, also called free-radical scavengers, are substances that protect our body cells and DNA from harmful free radicals. Our body produces free radicals as a by-product of many processes and as a result of exposure to some substances (such as air pollutants, cigarette smoke, etc.).

Not all free radicals are harmful. They are required during various processes, but they become damaging when they exceed the standard amount (a condition called oxidative stress). In these cases, they may cause diseases like diabetes, cancer, hypertension, arthritis, Parkinson's disease, and other age-related conditions.

Antioxidants neutralize the harmful free radicals, protect the body from the conditions mentioned above, and boost overall health. There are hundreds of antioxidants present in our body. Vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene, manganese, and selenium are popular examples.

Aging of the brain is inevitable to a certain extent. It affects everyone, but with proper care and diet, you can delay your brain's aging.

For the effective functioning of the brain, not only intellectual training, physical activity, good sleep, and fresh air are required. A balanced diet is also essential. With a lack of vitamins and minerals, memory problems, distraction and fatigue may occur. To avoid this, you need to revise your diet accordingly.

The brain's favorite substances that improve its functions are glucose, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins B and E. In the rest of this article, discover the best foods rich in these vitamins and minerals: