When many folks retire, heading to an area with a warmer climate tends to be a popular and appealing option. While there are many sunny cities in the country where you can retire, there are many aspects of Tucson, Arizona that make it a particularly great destination where retirees can relocate.
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As we age, the feasibility of safely living on our own can become challenging. However, many aging seniors may feel apprehensive about joining an assisted living community, fearing a loss of independence and becoming a financial burden.
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Aging adults often arrive at a time where they will need long-term care and assistance with their daily lives. Many will turn to assisted living communities, which allow seniors to maintain some level of independence, while also receiving some help with tasks like housekeeping, nutrition, and other household tasks.
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There are many exciting things to look forward to during retirement, like having more time to chase grandchildren or picking up some new hobbies. However, there are plenty of challenges brought by this lifestyle shift, including home-owning seniors who are thinking of joining a retirement community or village.
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Retirement is a stage of life that we all look forward to, with more time to relax and enjoy life’s pleasures. However, in the event of feeling a loss of routine and purpose during this time, there are many ways to get involved and active recreationally.
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As we age, our brains change. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to keep your brain active and entertained during those years. Here are some suggestions if you’re looking for fun apps to keep your mind sharp.
Elevate is an app that helps you train your brain to work faster and sharper. It has been used by over 10 million people, with half of them being over 40 years old. The best part about this app is that it’s so flexible, as you can use it in small chunks of time whenever you have a spare minute on the subway or while waiting for an appointment.
Wordle is an app that allows you to create word clouds. You can use it to create word clouds in your writing or to create word clouds in other people’s writing. You can also use it to create word clouds of the text in pictures (for example, an image of a book cover).
Wordle provides an easy-to-use interface for generating these wordles and lets you choose from several different fonts and styles, as well as how many words you want in each cloud (five, six, or seven).
Duolingo is a language learning app that is free and available on both iOS and Android devices. You can choose from a wide range of languages to learn: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and even Swahili (a language spoken in East Africa).
You can use this app while commuting to work or school, waiting for an appointment, or during your lunch break at the office. The app’s chat feature can also be used with friends or family. The app will teach you how to speak the language of your choice through fun lessons that make learning easy!
GrandPad is a tablet designed for seniors. It features simple navigation, large buttons, and enhanced sounds. The tablet comes with pre-downloaded apps, including ones to make video and phone calls, music players, photo galleries, radio, games, email, and more.
Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset that simulates the experience of flying and driving. You can choose from several preprogrammed adventures or use it to monitor your flight plans. Oculus Rift is also compatible with some games, so you can play on your computer while wearing the headset. Many seniors enjoy the flight simulator as they reminisce of older times, especially retired vets who once flew.
Audible is a great app for learning new languages, instruments, skills, hobbies, and even subjects. You can choose to listen to audiobooks on the go or at home. Listening while you’re working out or cleaning the house will improve your focus and concentration while also helping you relax—and who knows what else?
Audible offers more than 180,000 titles in over 100 languages. You can also download audio samples of books before buying them so that you know exactly what it contains before purchasing them.
These apps can help keep your brain active and keep you entertained. We know that there are so many more options out there, so don’t stop exploring!
We do a lot for the people we care about, especially those who spent their early life caring for us. We make sure they eat right, exercise, spend quality time with friends and family, and visit their doctor. We do what we can to handle their changing needs, but one slip or misstep can make their world come crashing down. Accidental falls, or unintentional injuries, are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. The reasons vary, but experts attribute these injuries to diminished balance brought on by medications, poor vision, and the lack of exercise, namely strength training.
There are a number of safety measures a caregiver can take to reduce the risk of injury within their loved one’s home, such as lighting and removing clutter, but older adults can also use daily exercise to improve their sense of balance to better navigate the bumpy road ahead.
Did you know that squatting is the most primitive movement pattern known to mankind? In fact, our ancestors used to perform this type of movement in daily activities such as harvesting, hunting, gathering, cooking, eating, etc.
Scott Dagenais, rehab director at Palm Terrace Healthcare and Rehab Center, advises grabbing a chair to hold onto for balance when performing this movement. The first step is to stand shoulder width apart and simply lower yourself down while engaging the core. Make sure to squeeze the glutes, keep your head up, and hold for a couple of seconds. To take the exercise up a notch, raise your toes up and then back down. Repeat this 10 times for three sets. This exercise helps with independent balance as it increases quadriceptive and glute strength.
Movement can become a bit shaky as we age and especially as we move from side to side or reach up to grab something. The single leg stance is another exercise to improve balance to prevent falling in the elderly. This movement begins in the same stance as the squat, however, instead of dipping down, you lift your leg up to the side and then bring it back. Make sure to squeeze the glute, hold it for a few seconds, repeat, and alternate legs. As you become more advanced, try to close your eyes!
The Vision Council of America reports that approximately 75 percent of adults use some form of vision correction. According to the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), “A rapidly increasing proportion of the aging population experiences eye problems that make simple daily tasks difficult or impossible, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses. Severe eye problems are not just a matter of ‘getting older.’ The risk of severe eye problems has been found to increase significantly with age, particularly in those over age 65.”
Make sure your loved one has a current prescription as directed by a doctor. Remember that tint-changing lenses can be dangerous, so be aware of the changes in the environment from a darkly-lit building to a bright, sunny day. By pausing and waiting for the lens to adjust, a bump or fall can be avoided.
By keeping your bones strong, you stay standing. The two key nutrients to defy osteoporosis are Calcium and vitamin D. Calcium is important because our bodies cycle calcium through the bones to keep them strong, while vitamin D aids your body in absorbing calcium and encourages bone growth. Health.com advises that adults up to the age of 50 should get 1,000 milligrams of calcium and 200 international units (IUs) of vitamin D a day. Adults over 50 should get 1,200 milligrams of calcium and 400-500 IUs of vitamin D.
The older we get, the more items we tend to accumulate and sometimes it can be incredibly difficult to part with items that hold sentimental value. One of the things you can do to help your loved one clean up his or her home is to remove things that could easily be tripped over. This includes a throw rug, low-sitting bench, room heater, or a raised doorway threshold. Another risky item would be an electrical cord or any other kind of clutter, such as shoes.
Sometimes it takes a good fall to really know where you stand, except when you’re 65! By encouraging a daily exercise routine, monitoring vision, eating right, and removing dangerous clutter and other hazards from the home, your loved one will be ready to tackle whatever lies on the road ahead by staying on the path to good health and avoiding accidental falls.
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