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The Mountain Climber with Alzheimer’s

Date: April 15, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
The Mountain Climber with Alzheimer's

Sion Jair is no ordinary mountain climber. The 68-year-old is a symbol of resilience. Not only had he recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but he also suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Pernicious Anaemia. Despite all this, he still climbs Old Man of Coniston every single day.

The Mountain Climber with Alzheimer's

Why He Climbs

 

Jair started to climb as a way to cope with his illnesses. Even though, short walks would exhaust him, slowly his tolerance increased. When he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and told that it was too far gone to help him, he looked to walking again. He says:

I just kept going and my body had two choices: I could either sit down and die, or the body had to get up and use what it had.”

He was told this four years ago. Yet he continues to climb his mountain. He often goes up twice a day, and he even rescued walkers who underestimated the terrain.

Why Exercise Matters

 

While there is no reliable cure for Alzheimer’s, what Jair is doing is the next best thing. Both Jair and his doctors believe that regular exercise is beneficial. While a lot of studies focus on preventing the disease, a 2017 paper from the University of Kanas looked at 68 men and women who had already been diagnosed. At the end of the study, all of the participants who exercised had improvement for everyday physical skills. Some even had higher scores on cognitive tests.

Jair is not surprised by these findings. He likes the exercise and the consistently, which he says he really needs. He does better exercising his body than his mind, he finds it hard to focus on doing crosswords or sudoku.

Read more here.

7 Risk Factors of Heart Attacks in Seniors

Date: April 15, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
7 Risk Factors of Heart Attacks in Seniors

Heart attacks are a common health problem among all ages, but it is especially risky with seniors. There can be many different causes of heart attacks, and it can depend on a person’s lifestyle or diet. Some seniors may not be able to take care of themselves, so it’s up to the people around them to do so. You should know some risk factors that can cause a heart attack.

7 Risk Factors of Heart Attacks in Seniors

7 Risk Factors of a Heart Attack in Seniors

 

1. Diabetes

Diabetes can cause damage to blood vessels throughout the body, causing blood flow to slow. Plus, Diabetes can come with a whole set of complications on its own that could interact with the heart.

2. High Blood Pressure

Hypertension is connected to heart attacks and other diseases. This happens because it causes a thickening of the heart’s muscles making it harder for it to relax between beats. Which, in turn, makes it hard for blood to flow.

3. High Cholesterol

High cholesterol cause arteries to be blocked, restricting blood flow to your heart and other organs.

4. Smoking

Smoking damages the lining of your arteries, leading to a buildup of fat, restricting blood flow.

5. Alcohol Consumption

Drinking too much can lead to increased amounts of certain fats in your blood, can also lead to high blood pressure, and too much eating.

6. Being Overweight

Being overweight is generally not good for your health, but it also puts a strain on your body and heart. It can also cause high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

7. Inactive Lifestyle

Your body needs activity to maintain its health. Being active can help keep away high blood pressure, burn off fat, and keep your weight in check.

If you or your loved one have any of these factors, it’s best to get a start correcting it to have a longer, happier life.

Read more here.

Grandparents Who Babysit are Less Likely to Have Dementia

Date: April 15, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Grandparents Who Babysit are Less Likely to Have Dementia

Time to call the grandchildren! Research published in the journal of the North American Menopause Society found that grandparents who babysit are less likely to have dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Grandparents Who Babysit are Less Likely to Have Dementia

Grandparents Who Babysit are Less Likely to Have Dementia

 

The study found that grandparents who babysat once a week scored higher on cognitive tests verses those who didn’t. But don’t go offering to babysit everyday. It also found that grandparents who babysat five or more days a week scored lower on the tests.

Being Social is Key

 

This is one of many tests showing that being social is key for seniors to have a healthy lifestyle. Grandchildren are a great resource because not only do they provide social interaction, but they also encourage cognitive and physical activities, making grandparents alert and active.

Read more here.

High Blood Sugar Levels Could be Tied to Memory Decline

Date: April 8, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
High Blood Sugar Levels Could be Tied to Memory Decline

A new study suggests that consistent high blood sugar levels could be tied to memory decline. The long term study spent ten years following 5,189 people, average age of 66. They tested their blood sugar using HbA1c, a test that accurately measures blood glucose levels over a period of weeks or months.

High Blood Sugar Levels Could be Tied to Memory Decline

Discovering that High Blood Sugar Levels Could be Tied to Memory Decline

 

Originally, the study wasn’t focused on memory loss, but over time researchers noticed scores on memory tests declined as the HbA1c levels increased. Even in people without diabetes.

The study controlled for many other variables, among them age, sex, cholesterol, B.M.I., education, marital status, depression, smoking, alcohol consumption, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The authors of the study are quick to say this is not necessarily cause and effect, but it could be a factor in cognitive decline.

Hopefully they will do more studies to learn more.

Read more here.

Meet an Artist Who Draws End of Life Visions

Date: April 8, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Meet an Artist Who Draws End of Life Visions

Lynn Randolph is an artist with a mission. At the Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, she draws the end of life visions of the dying. She creates brief, but intimate, relationships with these dying patients and their caregivers.

Meet an Artist Who Draws End of Life Visions

“Heaven,” a colored pencil sketch of the scene a patient described. Lynn Randolph

The Art

 

Her work is sponsored by a nonprofit organization called Collage: The Art for Cancer Network, which was inspired by a Georgia O’Keeffe quote, “I found I could say things with colors and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way, things I had no words for.”

Randolph talks to people from all walks of life. There was a man in his 60s who grew up near beaches. She asked him her standard question of if he had an image in his mind that had meaning for him. He told her a raindrop he saw before he was admitted, he talked about how far it traveled and it endured a storm to be there at that moment.

So she pondered the image, she writes:

I thought about the image. The drop would dissolve and be absorbed into the earth, like all of us. I drew what he was describing: a window looking out on subtle shapes of trees and bushes, a narrow path obscured by slanting lines of rain, and in the center of the pane, a raindrop. He took the drawing and held it closely. There was his raindrop, a small oval shape on a piece of white paper. He looked at me as if we had discovered the universe.

She asks the patients what they love, what has meaning to them. Because of this she has drawn everything from a beach to Mickey Mouse with angel wings.

Why She Does This

 

Randolph’s husband was a patient at MD Anderson and died in 2000. She was heartbroken. It took time and many paintings to process her grief. Which gave her the idea that art could help others. While at first doctors were skeptical, they now embrace what Randolph can do. They even refer her to patients.

See Randolph’s beautiful artwork here.

8 Perks of the New CHRONIC Care Act

Date: April 8, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Ways to Keep Long Term Care From Bankrupting You

Older adults who have to deal with a lot of medical issues will be getting some extra assistance through a new law passed by Congress. The Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic Care Act, a.k.a CHRONIC Care Act of 2018 won bipartisan support.

8 Perks of the New CHRONIC Care Act

Why the CHRONIC Care Act is Helpful

 

People who deal with chronic illness face many limitations that the average healthy person might not think of. There’s the stress of making sure their care is coordinated and that they can keep as much dignity as possible. This bill provides different ways that every American, especially older Americans, can get better care.

8 Perks of the CHRONIC Care Act

 

1. Gives Medicare Advantage plans more flexibility so they can now cover “non-medical” benefits like bathroom grab bars and wheelchair ramps.

2. Makes more Telehealth services available for Medicare Advantage Members. This means they can get help electronically more than they could before.

3. Expands Telehealth services for people having stroke symptoms, regardless of their geographic area.

4. Provides kidney disease patients with more access to home dialysis through Telehealth.

5. Establishes a new program in which certain Accountable Care Organizations, groups of health care providers or hospitals who provide care for Medicare patients, can pay for patients to come in for primary care appointments.

6. Promotes better coordination of services for people in Special Needs Plans who also receive Medicaid. These plans are Medicare Advantage plans for people with certain diseases or characteristics.

7. People don’t have to physically go into doctor’s offices like they used to. This is great during flu season or for anyone with mobility issues.

8. Because of this act, the Independence at Home program is testing whether having doctors and nurses provide house calls might improve care and cut costs.

Read more here.

Daytime Sleepiness Can Be Linked to Alzheimer’s

Date: April 1, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
8 Foods Not to Eat If You're Trying to Sleep

We’ve talked about how sleep can be connected to Alzheimer’s, but more studies need to be done to explore this topic thoroughly. A study published in JAMA Neurology has shown that excessive daytime sleepiness can be linked to Alzheimer’s.

Daytime Sleepiness Can Be Linked to Alzheimer's

Daytime Sleepiness Can Be Linked to Alzheimer’s

 

The sleepiness in cognitively healthy people can be a sign that amyloid, plaque, is building up in the brain. This is because sleep is needed to get rid of toxins and plaque, and an overall reset of your body.

The researchers reached out to people who were 70 and older. They had a baseline scan and scan of their brains on file. They also completed a sleep quality questionnaire and had to be deemed dementia-free by a team of specialists. The process reduced participants from 2,172 to 283 people.

The researchers then measured the amount of amyloid buildup in their brains over time and compared those results with the amount of daytime sleepiness each person reported. Participants who were sleepy during the day were found to have more of the amyloids that cause Alzheimer’s. They were especially abundant in areas of the brain that deal with emotion, memory retrieval, and behavior.

America is Sleep Deprived

 

These findings are worrying because as a whole, America has some bad sleeping habits. According to the World Sleep Society, sleep deprivation is threatening the health of around 45% of the world’s population. According to the US CDC, one in three Americans doesn’t get enough sleep. Plus 50 million to 70 million Americans struggle with sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, insomnia, and restless leg syndrome. Poor sleep is connected to a higher risk of diabetes, stroke, and cardiovascular disease.
Read more about the study here.

Woman Created and Delivered Babies to Those with Alzheimer’s

Date: April 1, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Woman Created and Delivered Babies to Those with Alzheimer's

A woman named Sandy Cambron made the most magical Valentine’s day for a lucky group. This woman created and delivered babies to those with Alzheimer’s. What started as a good deed for a coworker, became a mission for this woman.

Woman Created and Delivered Babies to Those with Alzheimer's

Woman Created and Delivered Babies to Those with Alzheimer’s

 

Cambron created a doll for a coworker’s mother who had to be in a memory care unit as her Alzheimer’s increased in severity. The coworker asked if Combron could create a doll for her mother and her roommate to ease the transition.

Cambron’s own mother died of Alzheimer’s and she had buried her with the doll that she was fond of. This is when Cambron realized the power of dolls. When she delivered the first couple of babies she was shocked by the reaction from the ladies.

She then decided to make babies and puppies for everyone in her coworker’s memory unit. There are 28 people in the unit. When she delivered the babies to these people, they completely transformed. There were smiles and tenderness in their eyes. Immediately they wrapped their arms around the babies and started petting the pups.

You can see some touching photos here.

6 Ways to Spice Up Your 60s and Beyond

Date: April 1, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Your Attitude Affects Your Health as You Age

As we get older, we tend to let our worlds grow smaller. If retired, it can be hard to fill the time that you have, or maybe your friends are far away and you aren’t sure how to make new ones. Life can become boring before we know it. Sadly, no one will swoop in and make your life interesting, you will have to do that yourself. Here are 6 ways to spice up your 60s and beyond.

6 Ways to Spice Up your 60s and Beyond

6 Ways to Spice Up Your 60s and Beyond

 

1. Learn something new.

Learning something new will engage different parts of your brain and keep you sharp. Whether it’s music, art, or a new skill, it can fill your time and make you smarter.

2. Travel alone.

It doesn’t have to be far, it could be the next state over. You can make all the arrangements ahead of time to make you feel more secure. Traveling alone allows you to explore something that is of interest to you and not to those around you. Plus, you may make friends with your fellow solo travelers.

3. Do something that scares you.

Fear is a spectrum, what might be scary to one is not to the other, but you should do something that challenges you, even if scares you. This could be anything from joining that church choir you have been eyeing to sky diving.

This will make you realize that you are a lot stronger than you think.

4. Allow this part of your life to be a brand new chapter.

It’s easy to stay in our ruts, to use the same story to excuse our behaviors. Instead, try leaving those stories and the feelings associated with it behind and start brand new. You will be surprised at how free you feel.

5. Do what you want to do.

If you don’t like going to the movies because you find it overwhelming, tell that to those around you. Instead you can have an at home movie night, have fun, and feel confident because you spoke up for yourself. You can do this with anything, and your life will be richer for it.

6. Have deep conversations.

It can be uncomfortable but having these talks can allow yourself to express your feelings more. This will probably make you feel more at peace because you aren’t holding all your emotions in, both positive and negative.

Read more here.

10 Ways to Save Money

Date: March 25, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
8 Things to Be on Your Retirement Checklist

Money. It’s one of our biggest stressors. For many, we have difficulty saving up for emergencies. Some people are even living paycheck to paycheck. About half of Americans would struggle to come up with 400 dollars in an emergency. They would need to use credit cards, retirement accounts, or borrow from friends and family. There are many ways we can save money. You would be surprised at what 5 dollars a week can amount to. So, here are our ten ways to save money.

10 Ways to Save Money

10 Ways to Save Money

 

1. Start Small

Creating a nest egg can seem nearly impossible to do when you have bills, loans, and debt to pay off, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. You could take 10 dollars out of your paycheck every week, or even 3 or 4 dollars a day.

2. Create a Separate Account

It will be easier for you, in the long run, to create a separate account for savings instead of trying to remember the amount of savings mixed with your other dollars. It’s just an excellent way to stay organized.

3. Look at the Small Details

Check out your everyday spending, write everything down in a notebook. Then you will be able to see what could be cut. You may even realize that you were spending money where it wasn’t needed.

4. Be a Smart Shopper

Grocery shopping is probably one of the most significant discretionary expenses that you have week to week, so it would be a good move to look and see what can be cut there. Maybe you are buying too much food, and it goes bad, but by cutting back portions, you will save money. Maybe you can even use this as an opportunity to cut out foods that are bad for you.

5. Cut Trips to the Coffee Shop

While you might think your daily coffee run doesn’t affect your finances, you’d be surprised at how quickly it adds up. By skipping the shop, you save 5 dollars a day, which turns into 35 dollars a week, which can turn into 2,000 dollars a year.

6. Eat Home Made Lunches

Similar to the coffee shop, making your lunch can save you big money.

7. If You Smoke, Give Up Cigarettes

An average pack of cigarettes costs $6.28, and the average smokers use a pack or more a day. You can create a lot of savings and kick a bad habit.

8. Get Rid of Cable if You Don’t Use It

If you are paying for premium channels that you aren’t watching, cut them from your bill. If you aren’t really a TV watcher, you can even get rid of cable altogether.

9. Find Ways to Lower Your Phone Bill

Look at your cell phone bill and see what can be trimmed from it. For example, if you are paying for a lot of data and using very little of it, that’s something that can be cut.

10. Reduce Subscriptions

If you have a lot of magazine subscriptions or gym memberships, this can be a way to get a few more dollars in your pocket every month. You can try exercising at home to stop the membership. Maybe you don’t read as many magazines as you used to, and cut out a couple.

You can find more info about saving here.