Recognizing Depression in Your Elderly Parent
Stress can lead to depression. While many aging Americans look forward to a happy and healthy retirement, many seniors face a disproportionate amount of stressors. Losing loved ones, feeling useless and unproductive after years on the job, loss or decline in physical...
Why Preventing a Fall Matters
The 80-year-old man was by all measures relatively fit, maintaining a three-mile-a-day treadmill regimen. So no one was more surprised than he when he began falling, finally breaking his hip. It puzzled Melissa Banta, doctor of physical therapy, too, when she began...
Tai Chi For Bone Health
Want strong bones? Beat yourself up…with these simple movements. Lewis Paleias was once introduced to a doctor in Shanghai, China as a teacher who taught Tai Chi for bone density in the United States. With a jab to Paleias’ sternum, the doctor asked, “Don’t you...
Why Seniors Don’t Wear Hearing Aids
The first hurdle is the hardest: Coming to terms with needing a hearing aid. Presbycusis is the medical term for hearing loss that is due to the aging process and is the most common cause of hearing loss in the elderly. In the vast majority of cases this type of...
Patient Care: The Healing Power of Your Environment
Your surroundings can have a positive impact on your health. Using this power can help speed healing, with steps as simple as bringing flowers and cheery colors into a room. Traditionally, people bring flowers to sick people. But this type of patient care may do more...
Healthy Garden, Healthy Gardener
A garden provides so much – a bounty of wholesome foods and herbs, a place to relax, and a natural way to get some exercise. Dig into this healthy hobby! The health benefits of gardening The love for gardening spans generations. Just about anyone can dig, plant, and...
Caring for Aging Parents
No one knows your parents as well as you do and no one cares for them as much. But caring for an aging family member can be frustrating, emotional, tiring, and scary, both for you and for the person you're caring for. Find out how you can best prepare yourself, your...
Theories and Effects of Aging on Our Bodies
The study of aging - gerontology - is a relatively new science that has made incredible progress over the last 30 years. In the past, scientists looked for a single theory that explained aging. There are two main groups of aging theories. The first group states that...
7 Easy Tips to Improve Your Memory and Recall
Strategies to Increase Your Ability to Remember Wish you had a better memory? The desire for an improved memory is a common one; fortunately, there are some simple techniques you can use to accomplish this goal. If you’re trying to learn something new or increase your...
Physical Therapy Benefits for Alzheimer’s Disease
Many studies have shown that exercise is beneficial for people with Alzheimer's disease. Along with cardiovascular fitness, increased endurance, and improved strength, people with Alzheimer’s disease get added benefits from exercising. Benefits of regular exercises in...