As the body ages, we find that many of the systems that have carried us through life begin to show their age. Our skin is not as soft, our hair may thin, and our teeth become weakened from their years of use. This is a normal occurrence as they show the wear and tear that occurs over the years. Still, it can be slowed through good oral hygiene, a healthy diet, and the assistance of dental care professionals.
The latest research shows that rates of stress have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic, and it is starting to affect our health. A big part of this is isolation, working from home, and disrupting our usual social activities, leaving us feeling disconnected and tired.
An online article published in Healthline on February 5, 2021, interviewed the service chief of a psychiatric hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Michael Young. In the interview, he stated, “Social connection is a fundamental source of well-being and renewal for most people, and the ongoing social restrictions from the pandemic continue to disrupt many of the well-established social routines.”
We, as humans, are social beings. We require interaction with others. The inability to do so increases the body’s natural stress response, amping up our nervous systems, leaving us feeling more vulnerable, increasing our pain.
Sleep is a crucial part of life. We need it to survive. Therefore, falling asleep should be easy, right? You'd think that after a long day doing chores or chasing around grandkids, you'd fall asleep the moment you crawl into bed. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Many retirees and people over the age of 60 find themselves struggling with insomnia or the inability to fall asleep at night. According to Sleep Foundation, as many as 35% of adults are affected by insomnia, and older adults are even more susceptible.
Below we've listed five ways seniors can treat insomnia without medication, fall asleep faster, and stay asleep longer.
Many of the injuries that occur every day happen in the home. Of these, a large portion occurs in the bathroom, where the water and clutter add to the risk of every day. As reported by the CDC, in 2008, approximately 235,000 people in the U.S. ages 15+ sustained nonfatal, unintentional injuries in bathrooms that resulted in treatment from emergency departments.
Bone health may decline with age, but it's not too late to make conscious efforts to slow or even reverse that effect. It is important to understand that, as we age, we can take preventative measures to protect our health. Even if you have experienced significant loss in bone density, actions can still be taken to protect further damage. In detail, the questions you should be asking are:
Are you confused about the difference between geriatrics and gerontology?
Geriatrics refers to a branch of medicine focusing on the health of aging bodies. Gerontology as a field of study and practice takes a broader perspective. It includes the physical, mental and social aspects of aging. In this sense, geriatrics represents a subset of gerontology.
Posture refers to how we position our bodies when sitting, standing, or laying down. Your overall health relies on good posture. It keeps your bones aligned with the rest of your body, and the tension in your muscles, ligaments, and tendons adequately spread. It even improves your blood flow.
Maintaining a good posture means that you hold your body in the best position possible to place minimal stress on your back and spine. Since our spines begin to change as we age, good posture becomes even more critical for older adults. Have you ever heard that as we age, we get shorter? Well, this is, in fact, true. The cushions between our bones start to break down and thin over time, plus the cartilage and tissues connecting our spines lose their elasticity and are not as thick. But, having good posture can help with this.
Falling is the number one reason for broken bones and injuries among older adults. The high number of falls means that learning how to be more aware of good posture is needed to improve balance and decrease falling chances. Good posture is also an osteoporosis preventative. It lowers heart attack and stroke risk, makes you feel happier, helps sustain memory recall, and helps with digestive issues.
Below are the ten tips we highly recommend for older adults to improve their posture.
Meditation has benefits for all ages but may be especially helpful for older adults. Increasing the brain's focus makes it possible to boost activity throughout the brain and activate areas that are not always used in daily tasks. This can help improve the brain's functioning in many ways and help maintain growth and mental health.
There are many forms of meditation, and they all help to calm the thought process, ease the racing thoughts that pass through the mind, and increase the health and functions of the brain. Color meditation, guided meditations, and using a picture or decoration as the focus can help maintain healthy eyes and train the mind to focus on one thing and calm thoughts in the moment. It also increases memory by concentrating on memorizing the details of the meditations and slowing down the processes that interrupt focus. Meditation also slows the effects of aging on the brain to keep it healthy and younger for longer.
Older adults find themselves increasingly faced with a bewildering universe of new situations about health, finances, housing, legal, and many other issues. Trying to keep up with all these moving targets is a daunting task for even the healthiest and most knowledgeable among us. However, when physical or mental health (or both) start to decline, dealing with these complex concerns can become overwhelming.
Even if family or friends try to help, they often lack the knowledge to deal with these subject areas confidently. Additionally, for loved ones trying to help from distant geographies, the frustration level can build to boil for all concerned.
Believe it or not, we all have pain. It is inevitable that we will cycle into and out of pain – what matters the most is what we do about it.
Even Pain Resolution Therapists experience pain. One more time, let me stress that it is what you do about it that counts. Do you mask it with drugs for temporary relief, or are you willing to correct the imbalance and dive into the root cause?