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Dance Class for Those with Parkinson’s Disease

Date: March 25, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Dance Class for Those With Parkinson’s disease

David Leventhal is teaching a dance class for those with Parkinson’s disease. The disease, which affects one in a hundred people over sixty, is a degenerative neurological disorder. The class was developed by the Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG), and doesn’t charge the students of the class. Leventhal takes special care of each of these individuals to make sure they have a good time and can participate.

Dance Class for Those With Parkinson’s disease

What the Dance Class is Like

 

To start the class, there is an exercise that requires the dancers to greet each other. A piano plays in the background, encouraging participants to get up and moving. Leventhal’s co-teacher is current MMDG dancer, Lesley Garrison. She guides the students through some moves that the MMDG will be performing later. Leventhal and Garrison like to challenge the class with difficult patterns and movements. It’s not just exercise, it’s art. By challenging the students, they can slowly improve their balance and motor skills that start to fail due to the disease.

The class gives those with Parkinson’s self-confidence and a brighter spirit. The dancers even came up with the idea of staging a performance, and the project brought them into a close-knit community focused on a single goal. Their final performance displays the strength and grace that they’ve been able to access through dance.

When This Dance Class Started

 

The dance program started in 2001 when the Director of the Brooklyn Parkinson Group, Olie Westheimer, approached the dance company with the idea. Two dancers from MMDG, John Heginbotham and David Leventhal, along with a professional musician, started leading monthly classes for a small group of people. In 2004, MMDG began to teach classes in cities where they toured. The program is now offered in over 250 communities in 24 countries. MMDG has worked with medical professionals, dance teaching artists, and therapists who work with people with Parkinson’s disease to showcase the benefits of the class.

Read more here.

7 Signs of a Possible Heart Attack in Seniors

Date: March 25, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
7 Signs of a Possible Heart Attack in Seniors

Signs of a heart attack can vary from person to person, no two are alike. Some people may not experience the symptoms all at once. Some people may have different symptoms if they have had a heart attack before. With a population as vulnerable as the elderly it’s up to those around them to keep an eye out for any of signs.

7 Signs of a Possible Heart Attack in Seniors

7 Signs of a Possible Heart Attack

 

1. Chest Pain

This may seem obvious, but it’s still worth pointing out. Chest pain may be the most well known symptom of a heart attack and should be taken very seriously

2. Heavy Pressure or Fullness in the Chest

This could also feel like a squeezing in their chest. If there is pain radiating to their neck, jaw, and arm, it’s especially serious.

3. Consistent Indigestion or Heartburn

While these two uncomfortable feelings are common, if they become too consistent or extremely painful, you should get your loved one checked out.

4. Shortness of Breath

Whenever someone is having a hard time breathing, it’s worrisome. If this is an unusual symptom for your loved one, best to try to get them to a doctor asap.

5. Nausea

While this symptom will not always connect to a heart attack, it’s good to be aware that it could be a sign.

6. Vomiting

Same with nausea, not always a heart attack but it’s good to be aware.

7. Sudden Sweating or Dizziness

Dizziness sometimes comes with getting older, but if your loved one is very dizzy and sweating a lot, then it could be a possible sign of a heart attack and they should get checked out.

Better Safe Than Sorry

 

While these signs are not always an indicator of a heart attack, it’s best to let a doctor decide. It’s better to be safe and know that it’s nothing than be caught in an emergency situation.

Read more here.

4 Lessons About Happiness

Date: March 18, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
5 Steps to Have a Good Day

Happiness is something that is difficult to study, it’s an elusive feeling that can be hard to put into words. Most see it as something emotional, but science is slowly creeping in. In fact, these 4 lessons about happiness are from the longest run scientific study ever. The study followed the lives of 724 men for 78 years. They surveyed the group every two years about their physical and mental health. They also asked about their professional lives, their friendships, and their marriages. Periodic in-person interviews, medical exams, blood tests, and brain scans were also involved.

4 Lessons About Happiness

From this study there are 4 lessons about happiness.

 

1. A Happy Childhood has Long Lasting Effects

Having a good relationship with your parents in your childhood is a sign that you will have closer relationships to those around you when you are older. Happy childhoods were able to predict better relationships between spouses well into their 80s. It also encourages better physical health throughout life.

Being close to at least one sibling predicted being less likely to be depressed by age 50.

2. This Doesn’t Mean All is Lost for Those Who had Tough Childhoods

People who had tough childhoods do grow up less happy then those with good childhoods, but by the time they reach middle age they can make up for what they missed. They do this by engaging in what is called “generativity,” or an interest in establishing and guiding the next generation.

Those that did this were happier and better adjusted than those who didn’t. This does not mean you have to be a parent either, you can mentor younger people too.

3. Learning How to Deal with Stress has a Lifelong Payoff

The study found that subjects who dealt with stress through coping mechanisms had better relationships with others. This also made others want to support the participants when they were going through a tough time.

The coping mechanisms include sublimation, where if you are being treated poorly at work, you create a group that protects worker’s rights. There’s altruism, helping others when you are feeling down yourself.

Finally, there is suppression, meaning that if you can’t fix your worries right away, you put them aside until you can.

4. Time with Others Helps Us Deal with Life’s Ups and Downs

The study found that both quantity and quality of relationships matter. When participants looked back on their lives they reported that spending time with others was the most meaningful. It made them happier on a day to day basis and especially spending time with spouses helped with the mood changes that come with age.

While the study is incredible for its length and depth, it only followed a very narrow field of people. The group was only white males. The researchers are now going to follow the participants’ 13,000 children, which half are female.

Read more here.

The Dos and Don’ts of Supporting a Friend Experiencing Loss

Date: March 18, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Caregivers Are the New Working Moms

Loss is a part of life. When a friend experiences loss it’s hard to know what to do for them. Loss and grief are a private matter to some. It can be even harder if it’s a living loss, like maybe your friend’s mother has Alzheimer’s and now no longer remembers them. But you still want to help your friend. Here are the dos and don’ts of supporting a friend experiencing loss.

The Dos and Don'ts of Supporting a Friend Experiencing Loss

Do

  • Express your condolences. A sincere “I’m sorry for your loss,” and a hug can make all the difference to someone.

 

  • Stay in touch. Your friend might try to pull away during grieving, check in with them and see how they’re doing.

 

  • Show you care through words and action.

 

  • Be a safe place for them. If they come to you expressing their emotions, let them talk without judging or analyzing them.

 

  • Listen to them. Ask them questions about what you can do to help and what they need.

 

  • Do what they need. If a friend asks for help, do what they ask instead of what you think you should do.

 

  • Give them opportunities to talk about those who passed. Share stories with one another instead of trying to ignore the person who is gone.

 

  • Help them get the support they need. This may be professional help, let them know it’s a smart move and nothing to be ashamed of.

 

  • Encourage them to take it slow when reentering the world. It can be easy for someone to jump right back into work after a loss, they may think they are done grieving. Tell them to take their time and not overwhelm themselves.

 

  • Invite them out. Without any pressure, see if you can do a small, fun activity to get them out of the house and out of their head.

Don’t

  • Don’t assume you know how they feel.

 

  • Don’t use cliches when trying to comfort them. Just be supportive.

 

  • Don’t say anything that can be taken as “hurry up.” Do not say, “You’ll get over it,” “Time heals all wounds,” “In time, you will have closure,” or any similar types of advice.

 

  • Don’t give them advice if they don’t ask for it.

 

  • Don’t compare your loss to theirs. It’s not a competition.

 

  • Don’t try to do any quick fixes to take away their pain.

 

  • Don’t take it personally if they pull away from you. They are sorting their emotions out and may want some alone time.

 

  • Don’t take over the conversation. Let them talk.

 

  • Don’t smother them with care. It can be easy to do since you want to help them, but they will need their space.

You can read more tips here.

Seniors May Be Taking Too Many Medications

Date: March 18, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
AARP is Taking on High Prescription Prices

Some are calling it America’s other prescription crisis. Many American seniors may be taking too many medications that they don’t need. Researchers estimate that 25 percent of people 65 through 69 take at least five prescription medications for chronic conditions. This number jumps to 46 percent for people 70 through 79.

Seniors May Be Taking Too Many Medications

Why So Many Medications?

 

One possibility for so many medications is called the prescribing cascade. This is when older patients, who have a hard time metabolizing medicines, suffer from the side effects. Doctors give them more drugs to treat the side effects, and it goes on and on. This happens slowly so neither the patient nor doctor are aware of how many drugs are involved until it’s too late. This has been linked to medication errors that send seniors to hospitals and that could have been prevented.

Rita Redburg, a cardiologist and professor at the University of California, says that Americans are on a lot more medications than they were 15 years ago. Studies agree with her. A 2015 report states that the share of Americans of all ages who took at least 5 drugs nearly doubled between 2000 and 2012, from 8 percent to 15 percent. Another report shows that that older americans are prescribed more psychiatric drugs, including some used for treating schizophrenia, and have no mental health diagnosis.

What Can We Do About It?

 

Redberg is part of a team of doctors that are using the “de-prescribing movement.” This is when they slowly and systematically get rid of unnecessary pills. Basically it’s the opposite of prescribing medications.

This movement originated from Canada and Australia. Redburg thinks that we as a whole country prefer the idea of taking a pill instead of other organic ways to stay healthy like diet and exercise.

This movement is gaining in popularity but does face some obstacles. Advertising is a big one, all the commercials convincing people that they need this specific drug. Some people are also concerned about what is the right process for removing these drugs. On the doctor side, some doctors will see a list of medication prescribed by another doctor and not feel like they should look into them. Instead, they just add their own medications to the list.

You can read more here.

7 Early Signs of Alzheimer’s

Date: March 11, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Can Researchers Figure Out How Your Brain Ages?

While Alzheimer’s is a slowly progressive disease, it seems like it comes out of nowhere for the loved ones. What went from simple forgetting, suddenly turns into not knowing how to get home, not recognizing faces, and other symptoms. But there are small signs that can happen before the major ones. Here are seven early signs of Alzheimer’s.

7 Early Signs of Alzheimer's

7 Signs of Alzheimer’s

 

1. Stealing or Other Law Breaking Behavior

While behavioral changes are to be expected, this specific change can be a sign of Frontotemporal dementia that strikes people between the ages of 45 to 65. People’s executive functions, like knowing right from wrong, can be affected by this disease.

2. Falling a Lot

While falling does become more of a risk as we age; if you notice a loved one consistently falling, it can be an early sign of Alzheimer’s.

3. Forgetting How Objects Work

Not remembering where you put your keys is fine, but forgetting what they are for is a problem.

4. Eating Inappropriate Things

Even though people with Alzheimer’s tend to eat more than their other aging counterparts, they still lose weight. Doctors are not sure why this is happening or why people with Alzheimer’s tend to eat inedible objects. There have been reports of paper being eaten as one of the most common.

5. Not Being Able to Recognize Sarcasm

As we have already written about before, not being able to sense sarcasm is a sign of possible Alzheimer’s.

6. Depression

Also written about previously, depression can be a factor in Alzheimer’s. Studies have shown that if you’ve been severely depressed that it may make you more susceptible to Alzheimer’s.

7. Unfocused Staring

An unfocused stare could mean an unfocused mind. This can be an early sign of the “tangles” in your brain that cause Alzheimer’s.

Read more here.

Senior Tutors Are Taking the Education Field by Storm

Date: March 11, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Senior Tutors are Taking the Education Field by Storm

A new wave of tutors has entered the teaching arena. Tutors that are 50-years-old and up are becoming more common. It’s a great way for those who have retired to use their skills to help others and to have interactions with younger generations. Wyzant, an online tutoring service, says that about a third of their tutors are over 50. Senior tutors are taking the education field by storm.

Senior Tutors are Taking the Education Field by Storm

Senior Tutors Taking the Eduction Field by Storm

 

There are many reasons that tutoring is a great gig for seniors, some people do it for money, others like that they can control their rates and times.

Most though like the ability to share their life knowledge with younger people.

It seems that K-12 is the preferred age group that seniors like to tutor; the least liked is their own peers, if you can believe it.

Many of Wyzant tutors like the younger age range because it also forces them to learn. They can communicate in a way the kids understand. It allows them to widen their own fields.

Many tutors say they want to tutor until they cannot physically do so anymore. The average age of Wyzant’s tutors is 62, and the oldest was 90. So this is definitely not something to just pass the time. Tutors also can make decent money, they can earn up to 100,000 dollars a year.

Though money is not the driving factor, many tutors love the feeling of helping kids learn and improve.

Read more here.

New Baby is Named After 108-Year-Old and They Meet!

Date: March 4, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
New Baby Named After 108-Year-Old and They Meet!

Esmond Allcock is the oldest man in Canada at 108-years old. He’s a husband to one, a father to six, a grandfather to 17, a great-grandfather to 36 and a great-great-grandfather to 12. His great-granddaughter, Jenna Lehne, got pregnant and decided to name her son after the man she admired. So, the new baby is named after 108-year-old and they meet!

Why the New Baby is Named After 108-Year-Old

 

Lehne has fond memories with her great-grandfather:

“One of the stories he always used to tell me was from when I was the same age as my own son. While I was learning to walk, I’d make him hold my hands and parade me around the room. All I had to do was crawl up to him and say, ‘Walk Walk,’ and away we’d go.”

Baby Esmond was born on January 11, 2017, nearly 107 years after his great-great grandfather. When the snow melted, Lehne and Baby Esmond when off to meet Allcock.

At first Allcock didn’t recognize her, but was already in love with baby Esmond. While playing with him, he suddenly remember her as the “Walk, Walk Girl” and told her how much this meant to him. This resulted in the sweetest video ever.

Read the whole story here.

7 Tips for a Different Kind of Grieving

Date: March 4, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
"Rational" Suicide is on the Rise Among Seniors

Grieving is a part of the circle of life. Grief can be a painful emotion. It can feel like it swallows you whole at some points. There are several different types of grieving. Here are seven tips for a different kind of grieving.

7 Tips for a Different Kind of Grieving

7 Tips for a Different Kind of Grieving

 

When a loved one has passed, the absence is obvious. But, what about when someone you love is slowly fading away? What if they are there, but not there really? How do you grieve for someone who is still here and at the same time, not let your life come to a complete stop? There are different names for these types of grief, anticipatory grief, frozen grief, and ambiguous grief.

1. Never Pressure Yourself or Others

Many people might think that you should just move on, but there is no closure for this type of grieving. It’s something that you have to learn to cope with differently than the “standard” grief.

2. Be Kind to Yourself

These feelings are normal. What’s not normal is if these feelings overwhelm you to the point of no longer functioning, or if you’re trying to escape these feelings through harmful behaviors. In these situations, you should seek the help of a professional.

3. Look for Support

Around you, you have friends and family who will love you and create a safe space for you to express yourself.

4. Boundaries

It can be tough to set boundaries, especially if those around you are well-intentioned, but when someone comes in and tells you what to do with your grief, that’s when you need to put your foot down.

5. Self Care

Loss and heartache can take their toll, so it’s important to take a few minutes for yourself. Exercise, meditation, journaling, and more can help. Schedule some time in your daily life to allow yourself to take a break.

6. Ask and Accept Help

It can be hard when you are trying to be strong to allow a helping hand, but it will ultimately be good for you. It can be small things like friends help with laundry or make you a dinner you can microwave throughout the week. Let them take some of these small tasks off your hands.

7. Allow Grief to Have Space, But Don’t Let It Take Over

It’s important that you allow your grief to breathe, but don’t let it take over your entire life.

Read more here.

A New Way to Look at Our Bones

Date: March 4, 2018
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Breaking Bones is One the Rise

A new study out by the University of Utah is discussing the ties between bone fragility and bone breakage. This study is different than most though, it’s not done by doctors, but instead an engineer. Claire Acevedo, mechanical engineering assistant, is leading the study and believes that maybe falls are not the cause of broken bones. There’s a new way to look at our bones now.

A New Way to Look at Our Bones

A New Way to Look at Our Bones

 

Acevedo believes that older people’s bones are more likely to fracture from repeated stresses. These activities can be as simple as walking, and that the accumulation is what makes the bones break so easily. This is called microdamage and it affects the quality of bone.

This goes against the common idea that an elderly person’s bones break from one hard impact, like a fall. This may mean that instead of the bone breaking because of the fall, that the weak bones are the reason for the fall in the first place.

Acevedo is calling this theory “cyclic loading” (repeated and fluctuating loads) and it might be similar to the study of structures and engineered materials. This same type of stress in machines caused tragic accidents in the early 20th century and lead to the development of “fracture mechanics.”

Acevedo says that stress fatigue is the most common type of failure in machines and can be deadly. It can cause collapses of metal bridges, failure of ships, and even the cracking of aircraft airframes and engines.

This means that bone quality could be more important than previously thought. It’s not just the mineral density, but how well collagen can provide stretchability to the bone under stress and to resist fractures.

“Bone quality is much more important than what we have been thinking,” Acevedo says. “Old bones gradually lose their mechanical properties, their ability to self-repair and to recover bone quality to prevent the formation of a fracture.”

Read more here.