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MonthJanuary 2016
Decisions about providing care for an aging loved one are seldom easy. Various options exist in terms of elder care, including assisted living facilities and nursing homes. Seniors who are self-sufficient may be able to stay in a retirement community or active living building. In other instances, the best course of action is to have an elderly relative move in with other family members.
According to Dr. Nancy Snyderman, who recently took on the role of caregiver to her own senior parents, 44 million American adults are caring for an older friend or family member. MetLife estimates that nearly 10 million adult children over the age of 50 are now caring for an aging parent. Care is defined as helping with feeding, bathing, dressing, and other personal care needs, going beyond driving a parent to appointments or helping them with financial matters.
Taking care of a senior requires a profound commitment and can completely disrupt a person’s life, both at home and at work. Men and women faced with caring for an aging parent at home may want to employ several strategies to make that transition go as smoothly as possible.
- Talk to the senior about your options. Making decisions together will be best for everyone involved. It can be challenging to discuss mortality and whether or not elderly parents or relatives can properly care for themselves. Broach the subject well in advance of making any plans so you will have some understanding of how the senior feels about the situation and what would make him or her most comfortable. Your parents may already have a plan in place.
- Establish a caregiving budget. Caring for the elderly is expensive. MetLife says working Americans lose an estimated $3 trillion in lifetime wages, with average losses of more than $300 thousand for women and more than $250 thousand for men, taking time to provide care. Before a senior can be welcomed into your home, you must first determine which financial changes must be made to accommodate this person. Will a parent be contributing a portion of the expenses or paying rent? Is it feasible for you to reduce your working hours in order to provide care for this individual? Once you have the numbers in black and white, you can better assess your situation.
- Make physical modifications. Your home may not be equipped properly, or safe enough for an elderly resident. You may need to add a private space for your parent or relative, and install features such as night lights, secured railings, grab bars, ramps, a shower chair, and anti-slip surfaces. You may need to build an extension on the home or completely renovate what you have to make the space safe.
- Aim for stability. Moving an changing routines can be especially stressful for seniors who are used to their own schedules and habits. Transfer furniture and momentos from their homeino yours. Encourage seniors to maintain a social schedule and invite friends over. Try to help your loved one keep his or her doctors and if possible, take them to shop where they have shopped in the past. These opportunities will make the transition to a new home easier.
- Discuss finances. It’s essential to understand your loved one’s financial situation. Make a list of his or her assets, benefits, and insurance policies in his or her name. Understand which health procedures are covered and discuss ways to finance any procedures or medications that are not covered by those policies/benefits. Ask if your loved one wants you to manage the finances, or wait until it necessary. Professional help, such as an attorney, financial planner, or geriatric care manager, can make it easier to understand the legalities and subtleties of these arrangements.
- Make time for yourself. Caring for the elderly can seem like a full-time job, and it’s easy to forget yourself in the process. Making time for yourself so your own health is not sacrificed while you tend to your loved one.
Adapted slightly from original article by: as seen in the Daily Press HomeFinder insert, Oct, 2014. Original Source: Metro Creative Content
In the West, the practice of yoga wasn’t popular when today’s men and women over 50 were in their 20s, and 30s. However, since that time, the increasing popularity of yoga has led to more availability to a convenient class. Yoga is big business, attracting more and more people each year. Designed to promote physical and mental health, yoga has helped millions of people across the globe to control their stress and improve flexibility.
According to a study conducted by the Harris Interactive Service Bureau, roughly 20 million Americans practiced yoga in 2012, marking a 29 percent increase from just four years earlier. While some men and women over 50 may feel the opportunity to take up yoga has passed them by, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, yoga can pay numerous dividends for the over-50 crowd. Consider taking advantage of the numerous physical and mental benefits yoga has to offer.
Yoga can help alleviate hypertensionAlso known as high blood pressure, hypertension is a potentially dangerous condition that makes the heart work harder to pump blood to the body. Hypertension contributes to a hardening of the arteries known as atherosclerosis, and can even contribute to the development of heart failure. A person’s risk of developing hypertension increases as he or she ages, so it’s important that men and women over 50 take steps to reduce their risk of hypertension, and yoga can help them do just that. A normal blood pressure reading is 120/80, but people with hypertension often have blood pressure readings of 140/90 and higher. Studies have shown that yoga can reduce the top number, which is referred to as systolic blood pressure. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension, researchers found that men and women who practiced yoga for six hours per week for 11 weeks reduced their systolic blood pressure by 33 points. The study’s authors feel that the slow, controlled breathing that’s essential to practicing yoga decreases nervous system activity, helping the body manage its blood pressure levels.
Yoga helps practitioners maintain healthy weights.
While yoga may not help men and women shed weight as effectively as more vigorous activities, it can help them maintain healthy weights. Many men and women over 50 find vigorous or strenuous physical activity too demanding, and might not be able to perform such activities with the frequency necessary to prevent weight gain. But while yoga is physically demanding, those who practice yoga often find it takes a smaller toll on their bodies than more traditional strength training. Another way yoga can help to prevent a healthy weight it through its relation to stress. Yoga can help to relieve stress, and lower stress levels reduce the likelihood that men and women will overeat – a common response to elevated stress levels.
Yoga promotes strong bones.
Osteoporosis is a medical condition in which tissue loss leads to brittle and fragile bones. Aging is a significant risk factor for osteoporosis, and women are at even greater risk than men. The National Osteoporosis Foundation notes that women can lose up to 20 percent of their bone mass in the five to seven years after menopause, so it’s important that women (and men) take steps to strengthen their bones. The nature of yoga makes it an ideal activity to promote healthy bones. Because it is a weight-bearing exercise, yoga forces practitioners to hold the weight of their bodies up against gravity. This resistance to gravity puts mild stress on the bones, which respond by laying down new bone growth. But unlike other weight-bearing activities, such as jogging or walking, yoga does not damage cartilage or put stress on the joints. The AARP notes that studies have indicated the weight-bearing activity of yoga can be especially effective at reducing the risk of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women.
Adapted slightly from original article printed in “PrimeTime” (an advertising supplement to the Daily Press and The Virginia Gazette) dated October, 2014.
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