Our Friday Song of the Week – Best Day of My Life
Our Friday Song of the Week – Best Day of My Life
Failure to Anticipate Distances Leads to Falls – Smilecast 97
Injuries from falls traced to decline in ability to mentally estimate and anticipate stepping and reaching distances.
Professor Carl Gabbard, director of the Texas A&M Motor Development Laboratory, focused on “estimation of reachability” — whether an object is within or out of reach.
Gabbard explains that before actions are performed the mind simulates the action ahead of time and gives an estimate of the possible outcomes or consequences. You can easily relate that to visualizing a golf shot for example.
In older people, the ability to estimate their capabilities declines. Mostly they overestimate. That leads to falls.
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There Are Many Benefits of Gardening for Seniors – Find Out More
The Benefits of Gardening for Seniors
Do you want to remain active as a senior? Get into gardening! There are many benefits of gardening for seniors.
Gardening is one of those activities that is proven to be low impact, reduce stress, and improve your overall health and wellbeing. It is possible to overdo it, however, and strain muscles, joints and even end up with lightheadedness. Let’s look at the benefits of gardening for seniors.
There are some quick and simple ways to enjoy your gardening tasks without taxing your body too much, giving you all the benefits of this healthful activity.
Pick the right time
In the middle of a hot July day, with the full sun beating down on your head, is not the ideal time to start weeding! Early mornings or the early evenings are much better times to get down to the harder tasks in gardening. Leave the middle of the day to enjoy your space from the comfort of a swinging hammock or a patio set, complete with an umbrella and a cool drink.
Pick easy plants
Just like people, some plants are high maintenance. Roses, for example, require a lot of tending, protection from the elements, disease, and insects, pruning, and so on, to remain beautiful year over year. Skip those at the garden centre and instead, focus in on a few plants and shrubs that will be easy to maintain.
First off, go for perennials. They come back every year, saving you the effort of replanting. Depending on where you are in the country and what hardiness zone your area is in, you can look at some of the following for beautiful color and ease of care:
- Yucca plants—This is lovely green foliage that grows to up to five feet in width, taking up a good chunk of space, leaving you with needing fewer plants to manage. In particular, the red flowered yucca has been known to double in size in a season and is very hardy in a range of planting conditions, in addition to having beautiful red blooms.
- Yarrow—The blooms on this plant are gorgeous and can last all the way until first frost, returning the following spring.
- Ornamental grasses—While not a bloom, these are excellent to have in raised garden beds or even containers, creating a flowy, textured backdrop to whatever other plants are in with them.
- Campsis climbing vines—This is the kind of no fuss plant that anyone with the least green of green thumbs can grow. Set it up near a trellis and point it in the right direction. It will do the rest.
If you’re worried about plants seeding and spreading, choose sterile cultivars (unable to provide / spread viable seeds) such as ‘blue chip’ buddleias; these are easy to plant and will take care of themselves.
If you’re set on having roses, you’re in luck: in hardiness zones 5-10, you can grow Flower Carpet Groundcover roses, which are resistant to disease and easy to prune. All you need to get started is a good quality soil and some mulch, like Rubber Mulch, that requires little effort on your part but provides significant benefits to your garden.
Pick manageable growing areas
If you’re not up to raised beds and widespread planting, consider alternatives like container gardening. Multiple large pots and urns can be filled with herbs, flowers, grasses and even placed in front of a trellis or next to an arbor, to allow the climbers to flourish. You can access the container more easily than ground level growing, using a stool if you prefer, rather than getting on your knees.
Another great option is called a vertical garden. This is a popular option in smaller gardens where growing beds and other planting areas are more difficult to manage. All you need is a series of rods, creating a hanging area, on which you can attach planters. You can have multiple rows, from the ground upwards. Fill your planters with veggie plants, herbs and flowers and you’ve got an instant privacy wall if you need it and more space for your hammock!
Pick the right tools
A few tools that will make getting the gardening done easier and more pleasant:
- Long handled tools that will allow you to manage your weeding and hoeing without kneeling. Look also for ergonomic handles, which are kinder to the joints, in all your tools but particularly in a shovel, which should also be lightweight, to avoid strains. The only tool where you want to avoid lightweight materials is your garden spade: this should be a solid tool that can handle the harder soils.
- Add a water wand to your hose to create a long handle when you need to reach higher levels, like hanging plants. An easy-to-squeeze trigger handle is a must!
- A garden cart will make it easier to transport your soil from the car, or your plants around the garden. Some even come with a seat, so it can double as a gardening stool!
- Knee pads for those times when you absolutely must get down to ground level.
- Power tools for the bigger tasks. A manual mower is a nice idea but can be very tiresome after a while. There is nothing wrong in deciding that a power mower is more your style!
- For any tool that cuts, make sure that it is sharp! Dull pruning shears or garden scissors will make it that much more difficult to get the job done.
The benefits of gardening for seniors is many. Small adjustments to your choices and purchases will make your gardening activities that much more enjoyable for the long term. Don’t forget your hat, water and sunscreen. Even if it’s overcast out, dehydration and sun stroke are real causes for concern at any age. Above all, enjoy your time in the garden!
Moderate Alcohol Consumption Helps You Live Longer Without Dementia – Video
Moderate alcohol consumption helps people live longer without cognitive impairments.
This is according to a University of California San Diego School of Medicine-led study in findings published in the August issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Previous studies have found a correlation between moderate alcohol intake and longevity. “This study is unique because we considered men and women’s cognitive health at late age and found that alcohol consumption is not only associated with reduced mortality, but with greater chances of remaining cognitively healthy into older age,” said senior author Linda McEvoy, an associate professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine.
In particular, the researchers found that among men and women 85 and older, individuals who consumed “moderate to heavy” amounts of alcohol five to seven days a week were twice as likely to be cognitively healthy than non-drinkers. Cognitive health was assessed every four years over the course of the 29-year study, using a standard dementia screening test known as the Mini Mental State Examination.
Living with Early Onset Dementia – Lessons from My Friend
Living with Early Onset Dementia – Lessons from My Friend
I had the pleasure of serving on the board of the Dementia Action Alliance with Robert Bowles. Robert is a retired pharmacist. After being diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia in 2012, he founded United Against Dementia where he has been an active advocate, educator and supporter. As part of our Caregiver Smile Summit, I interviewed Robert about his time pre-and post diagnosis. I learned a lot.
Lewy Body is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s Disease. Whereas Alzheimer’s (the most prevalent dementia) is often accompanied by a slow and steady decline, Robert says that Lewy Body is like a roller coaster. You bounce all over the place. For example, during one day alone, Robert experienced several different brain stages. He woke up where he could barely move due to Parkinson’s (a byproduct of his disease). Then he started laughing for no particular reason. He went into his office to work and because of the over-stimulation, his brain slowed down over time. He calls it “tired brain syndrome.” By the time the day was over, his brain was fried (his term) and he had to stop.
His diagnosis is etched in his brain – June 26, 2012. At the time, he had seen 8 physicians in 18 months. Because the diagnosis had been so long in coming and because he had an idea of what it might be, he tried to rationalize to his wife that it is what it is and we will get through it. He realizes now that that was naïve thinking and somewhat based on his faith. The first year was very tough. He felt like a convicted murderer. The physician entered the charges. The jury found him guilty. And the judge entered the death sentence without appeal.
Turning a Diagnosis into An Advocacy
One of the most depressing days of his life was when Robert had to close his pharmacy, 18 months prior to diagnosis. Yet, in looking back, he realized how he had educated, given hope, provided support and cared deeply about his patients. And that’s when he realized he could do the same thing for others diagnosed with dementia and their caregivers.
Robert’s advocacy work takes him to federal and state level, both private and corporate, in for-profit and non-profit arenas. He serves on several boards as an advisor and council. As Executive Advisor at Dementia Spotlight Foundation, he is able to identify the needs of a person living with dementia. H became a certified Rosalynn Carter Institute Trainer. He most recently became the first person living with dementia to complete the coursework required to become a Certified Eden at Home Associate via The Eden Alternative. And he is active with Dementia Mentors, serving as a mentor to persons diagnosed with dementia and serves on the Georgia Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias (GARD) State Plan Group.
A.S.A.P.
In the genesis of his advocacy, Robert had a light bulb go off. He knew he could help others. Here is one example. He put a new spin on a phrase we use every day.
A – accept your diagnosis unconditionally. When he decided to accept it in his heart, that was a turning point for him.
S – be social. Robert had been outgoing by nature and a result of his profession. And he knew he would “drown” if he stayed in bed all day. He knew he had to get out and interact with people. It was essential and part of his lifeblood.
A – attitude is everything. This is a classic example of a blessed human being. When Robert is having a bad day, he thinks of others, like wounded veterans and their families, who are having worse. He uses that to help himself maintain a positive attitude.
P – purpose. Something I talk about all the time, Robert too believes that it is a driving force behind his life.
These four things brought him out of the doldrums and opened new doors for him and those he impacts.
Care Partners Must Take Care of Themselves
Robert believes that care partners must accept the diagnosis just as the person with it did. It is essential to be able to move on.
He believes strongly that care partners must take care of themselves. Get out of the house. See friends. Exercise. We know well the statistics of care partners pre-deceasing those for whom they are caring.
Having other family members and friends to reach out to is encouraged. But Robert believes that care partners first have to ASK for help. They tend to want to do everything themselves. They can’t. When Robert’s wife reached out, a whole support network enveloped her. Robert has a dozen people he can call on to drive him places, his own personal Uber service!
While there is no cure for dementia, there is a way to live a quality life, focusing on what is left and not what is lost. Robert is a true inspiration for others diagnosed with early onset dementia.
Editor’s Note: Read Robert’s impressive bio here.
