Smart Senior

Balance Training For Seniors

Balance is a major issue in the senior world.  Loss of balance is the single most common reason why people fall down and hurt themselves.  Physical trainers and therapists are incorporating balance training into all of their training programs now.

Improving your balance can greatly reduce the chance of a fall or a fracture. If your feet are painful from arthritis or various other maladies, you will be prone to balance problems.  If your feet hurt you will instinctively alter your regular walking stride in order to relieve the pressure.  Pain may cause you to walk on the edges of your feet or on the front of your foot in order to protect a painful heel.

Personally, I recommend yoga for a good balance training workout, but that is because balancing on balls at the gym always makes me slightly nervous.  If you have a personal trainer or physical therapist by all means explore some of the other tools that are designed to help you work on your balancing ability.

Arthritis Today magazine (March/April 2006 by Sean Kenny) described three balance exercise tools that you can use as a guide when you comparison shop. 

The Aeromat Balance Disc is a soft, pliable cushion with two textured surfaces (spiked on the bottom and pebble textures on the top) .  The amount of air can be adjusted and you can do a series of conditioning exercises on it. (www.ironcompany.com) .

BOSU Balance Trainer is a ball that provides a half ball for a soft supportive exercise surface.  It is like an exercise ball that has been cut in half with a stable side and an unstable side.  This exercise ball can be used for everything from cardio yoga. (www.power-systems.com).

Everlast Wobble Board is another tool for enhancing balance, coordination, and range of motion.  It is a disc of hard, durable plastic that rests on a spherical base. (www.everythingfitness).

Remember, if you are a senior, to consult your doctor or physical therapist before trying workouts on a balance apparatus.

Memory Boosters For Seniors

Every time we misplace our keys we worry about memory loss, dementia or just plain getting older.

The human brain, like the rest of our bodies, slows down a little bit as we get older.  Most people experience some memory loss starting in their 30s or 40s but memory loss is not inevitable.

Research shows that you can stimulate blood flow to areas of the brain responsible for memory, learning, and language by exercising your mind.  Challenging your mind, improving your diet, and being wise about supplements can improve your mental functioning.

We have a lot of factors working against as we age and all of them can affect memory.  Your metabolism is slowing down, you may be experiencing social isolation from living alone, retirement, high blood pressure, inactivity, and just not needing to multi-task any more puts us at a disadvantage.  Chronic lack of sleep is pretty common among seniors and that alone can make it hard to pay attention. 

If we were younger they would label it attention deficit disorder, but now they want to throw the  word dementia word into the mix.    We can't control our genetic make-up but studies show that there are a number of things that we can do to stay mentally sharp.

Get plenty of rest.  It is a myth that you don't need as much sleep when you get older.  Establish a regular night time sleeping pattern.  Stop dozing in your chair, get plenty of exercise, sunshine and fresh air.  For optimal brain function you still need seven to nine hours of sleep each night.

You might as well admit it.  Your body requires exercise.  Daily exercise is probably the best thing that you can do for yourself.

See your doctor to make sure that you are medically sound.  Discuss nutritional concerns and ask your doctor about vitamin supplements.

Okay, you are sleeping well, eating well, getting plenty of exercise and are focusing on taking care of yourself.  That part sounds pretty easy, but is there anything else?

Reading is a great way to improve your language skills and help your memory.  Turn off your television, do math the old fashioned way instead of with a calculator, write longhand (keep a journal or write your own history), read the newspaper and talk about what you read. Keep in contact with friends (loneliness kills), enjoy tongue twisters, do puzzles, and try computer games (a new lines has been developed for seniors featuring mentally challenging exercises) . Learn how to play an instrument, sign up for a class, learn a foreign language, a new hobby, adopt a pet or a plant.  Learn how to meditate, join a club, volunteer, and try doing one new thing every month.  Boredom and inactivity should not be an option.   Be in charge of your life!

Meditation Walking For Seniors

Close your eyes and picture yourself walking along a wooded trail or through a mountain meadow.  Do you want to walk but don't enjoy circling the high school track or having your thoughts drowned out by traffic sounds?  Are you tired of inhaling exhaust fumes because the sidewalks or city trails are next to the the freeway?  You might want to consider a new technique called Walking Meditation.  Walking is a great exercise and you can do it anywhere but if it leaves you feel less than serene, try something new.  Consider ditching your Walkman and participating in something called walking meditation where you can feel free to engage your mind as well as your body.

Look for a park or an open area where you can walk for twenty minutes without encountering the noise of traffic or other distractions, and let yourself flow.  Walking Meditation combines basic principles of meditation (except that you have your eyes open) such as breathing, concentrating, and relaxing. 

Walk slowly and focus on your breathing (take four steps on the inhale and four steps on the exhale), think about being still and at peace and let yourself experience how your body feels.  Focus on feeling the sunshine on your shoulders or the mist of a spring rain.  Pay attention to the scent of newly mowed grass or the budding shrubbery and trees. Take in the the sights and the sounds that surround you.  Doesn't that sound lovely?  This isn't all about burning calories you know (although this will happen too).

Look at the book Life Moves: Exercise for the Love of the Lifestyle by Karen S. Danner.  Check with local fitness centers or yoga schools to learn more about this discipline.  Walking Meditation is fairly new to the United States but the movement is growing and there are more classes and workshops becoming available all of the time.  Check the website of www.wildmind.org/meditation/walking/overview.html for further information.

Cosmetics for Seniors

Chances are, if you are a woman over the age of 60, you have been using make up to some degree for a very long time.  What are the chances that you are still using the same products that you did when you were sweet sixteen? We are creatures of habit but in a few respects this isn't necessarily a good thing. 

I don't have to get graphic to describe how skin changes as you get older.  Looking into the mirror isn't as much fun as it used to be.  It's tough.  Mentally we are still the same person that we were twenty years ago but physically it is a different story.

Cosmetic companies are starting to figure out that grown-ups are people too.  It is all well and good to make products designed for teens and young adult (who really don't need cosmetics at all) but we want products designed for us.  No cosmetics in the world are going to be able to recapture the fresh dewy skin of your youth but you can look nice and you can look bravely into the mirror again.

Cosmetic companies have come a long way in the last twenty years.  There are new lines of products geared specifically for your older and more delicate skin.

Concentrate on the basics instead of on the cover-up.  No matter how much money you spend or what make up you use, it won't look good on dry, flaky skin.  Exfoliating, moisturizers, sunscreens and primers are words to become familiar with because these words are the key to healthier more wholesome looking skin.

Even if you don't wear much make up you are probably familiar with foundation products.  You want a foundation that matches your skin and actually fades and blends into it.  The older you get the less you should have on your skin.  When you get older everything seems to fade so a touch of color becomes essential (Mother Nature seems to have left us looking rather gray or beige, which seems like a dirty trick).  So, perk up fading brows and cheeks.  Gently add a little color because we are striving toward a natural  healthy look (although maybe natural is the wrong word considering Mother Natures mentality) so that when we look into our mirrors we can actually see ourselves.

Look at the new products on the market.  All of the major cosmetic companies are feeding into the Baby Boomer Market so you will be surprised at what is out there. Now just might  be the time to actually treat yourself to a make-up consultation and let a professional point you in the right direction.

Hypnosis For Pain

We all know that seniors have pain.  We don't even talk about it after awhile because after 50 the realization hits you that waking up with pain is pretty common.

Every article that you read will tell you that pain always has a purpose.  Supposedly it is telling us that something is wrong with our bodies.  I am not sure that I always believe that.  How could I possibly have so many things wrong? My back hurts, my knee catches, and my foot is still tender after battling Plantar Fasciitis.  It isn't that I mind the pain so much but I do mind the fact that it never completely goes away.

Still, it is a good idea to check with your medical professional before opting to try any techniques for pain control.  You should not be taking measures to control pain without knowing why you are in pain.

People with arthritis and other serious pain issues know that making a million medications for pain control is expensive as well as disruptive to other bodily functions.  So, what are you going to do?

Hypnosis is a universally accepted technique in pain management.  Hypnosis has been show to be relatively effective, safe, and inexpensive way to help people deal with pain.

What is hypnosis?  It is a way to focus ones imagination and attention on your physical and emotional problems.  I don't really understand the explanations offered by experts when they talk about reducing activity in brain areas associated with the emotional or physical responses to pain  but, I have read enough to understand imagery and focus and suggestibility when it comes to blocking out pain.

Therapists say that typically pain relief can be seen in 4-10 sessions and they typically teach methods for patients to continue therapy at home.  For further information check out the websites at www.sceh.us and www.asch.net . Most health insurance companies cover hypnosis for pain control if done by a medical or psychological professional.

Depression In The Elderly

All right, we aren't ready for the word elderly to be used in our personal vocabularies but we are pretty much aware of the term depression.  Depression and aging go pretty much hand in hand so you may have to give some serious thought into ways to enhance your own personal mental health.

There are two major classes of stress: biological and psychological.  Biological stressors are those things that direct our bodies such as seasonal affective disorder, increased physical demands in our everyday lives, or unwelcome physical changes.  Psychological stressors cause emotional conflict.  Feelings of grief or sadness or unrealistic expectations, which could very well go hand in hand with the above.

What can you do about feelings of depression?  Depression is not productive so it is pretty much up to you to make sure this doesn't become a permanent state.

Be good to yourselves.  Do positive things with your life and remain socially active. Doing something productive and helping other people gives people a sense of purpose in their lives. Depression is a waste of your precious time. If depression starts to take over your life don't be ashamed to seek professional help. 

There are ways to ward off depression.  I've nagged enough already that you know that exercise is going to be number one on your list of things to do.  Studies show that exercise releases endorphins and they have both "pain relieving" and "feel good" effects.

I think we all know that loneliness is pretty devastating and  it is a major issue when we are feeling blue.  It should not come as much of a surprise when I mention social support as number two on the list.  Friends, family and/or support groups are good ways to to find help if you are being faced with life changing circumstances.  Most issues are easier to face if you know that you are not alone.  

Sunlight and listening to music have also been studied as effective ways to relieve depression.  Sunlight stimulates the production of serotonin ( a feel good neurotransmitter).  For most people exercising outdoors (and you can listen to music at the same time) is sufficient but if you live in the northwest you might need to think outside of the box and look into some specific types of artificial sunlight.

Singing For The Senior Snorer In Your Life

Snoring is very common among senior citizens.   Alise Ojay conducted a series of exercises designed to reduce snoring based on strengthening the muscles of the throat.   She postulates that the act of singing can strengthen the throat muscles  which keeps them from collapsing into the throat during sleep.   It is a well known fact that aging muscles sag and become weaker.  The muscles inside of your throat are no different.  If the tone becomes poor, the loose tissue at the back of the throat vibrates during inspiration which causes a snoring sound.

A solution?  Perhaps.  Not for all types of snoring as that depends on what is causing the snoring.  It is most suitable for people who start snoring when they are older simply because of the decreased tone in their throats.  She has developed a series of exercises on a CD called Singing for Snorers www.singingforsnorers.com  The program consists of three CDs of specific sounds and tunes designed to work the tissues in the soft palate, the tongue and the throat. 

Can't sing?  Doesn't matter as singing in tune is not a requirement.  She does say that the sounds are not always melodic so you will need some private time and a good sense of humor.  She recommends finding a secret place, the shower, or your car to practice your warbling.  www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Features/2-12-12SingSnore.htm

MP3 Players For Seniors

I can't begin to understand the technology involved or even the vocabulary that revolves around terms like MP3 Players and Podcast (sounds like something out of the movie Cocoon doesn't it?).   I do know that my portable CD player doesn't track very well when I am in motion and I frequently drop my Audio Cassette player so a little improvement doesn't sound like a bad idea to me.  So, what is the new toy on the market?   Actually MP3 Players, of which the well known IPod is one, has been on the market for some time but the advent of services other than musical selections are something new.  Why should kids have all the fun?  There are toys on the market for every member of the family and there is no reason why we should be left out.  Look in at www.hotstuffworks.com/mp3-player.htm if you would like more details about how these gadgets work and for information on different types of players available.

Music and all sorts of information can be stored on tiny MP3 Players and they are smaller than the size of a deck of cards.  Music is great, but now you can have access to materials that can motivate you while you are doing your exercise programs.  This is what this is all about isn't it?  I do much better if I am listening to a personal trainer while I am doing an exercise routine.

Podcasting is a free service that allows Internet users to download audio files from a podcasting Web site.  These files can be listened to on your computer or your personal MP3 Player.  The number and the variety of programs (walking, Pilates, weight training and more) available are growing.  Some programs are free and some involve a fee but they are all convenient and portable.

Sara Altshul (Arthritis Today March/April 2006) suggests checking into www.cardiocoach.com, www.iamplify.com and www.marinaspodcast.com

Super Slow Weight Workout For Seniors

Problems with my hands and wrists plus additional aches and pains that come with growing older have forced me to scale down my weight lifting routines considerably.  Today, in Arthritis Today (March/April 2006), I read about The Super Slow Workout and  I think it bears further looking into.

Studies have shown that the slow training approach can help older folks become very strong.  Originally a modified approach for people with medical and physical conditions that make weight training difficult.  Rehabilitation therapist have also come up with adaptive technique that can protect your joints if pushing or grasping weights or machine handles is difficult.  What you are seeing with the slow method is more control of motion through the entire movement, which causes less pressure on the joint and prevents pain.

With this technique you do your reps very slowly and deliberately.  Take about 12 seconds for the positive and 6 for the negative.  You will need to reduce the amount of weight your normally use by 30-50% and you will rest 2 to 5 days in between workouts.

Talk to your trainer and your physician(who will direct you to a physical therapist) and start looking for information on this new technique for working out.    A starting point might be looking at www.superslow.com or www.musclenet.com for further information.

Exercise and Dehydration Among Senior

Exercising or not, dehydration is a real problem with seniors.   I work with senior citizens in an assisted living setting and we often have to send folks off to the hospital because of complications due to dehydration.

I generally think about hydration in association with exercise because I always carry a sports bottle with me.  Not drinking before, during and after exercising can lead to dehydration, which can cause fatigue, weakness and headaches (in severe cases it can cause harm to your kidneys, brain and heart).

How much water you need depends on how warm it is, the humidity outside, and of course the length of your walk or exercise session.  Seniors complain that they "don't feel thirsty" and often shun drinking because they take diuretics as part of their medication regime. You still need to drink.  Don't wait until you feel thirsty to drink. By the  time  that you actually feel thirsty you have already lost a significant amount of your bodies fluid composition.  People have been telling you for years that you need to drink eight 8-ounce servings of water every day (this is in addition to coffee, tea and breakfast juices) and this is one adage that hasn't changed over time. 

Drink plenty of water throughout the your day (not just when you are exercising).  Keep a water bottle with you at all times.  Sara Baxter (Arthritis Today March/April 2006) recommends the "gulp" rule.  Every gulp of water is about an ounce.  Before you start exercising drink eight gulps of water, sip off and on during your workou, and take another eight gulps when you finish.

Drink plenty of fluids even when you aren't engaging in active exercise.   Remember that colds, the flu and other maladies frequently lead to dehydration and don't forget that you need to push fluids even when you are sick. 

Taking a drink probably isn't the first thing that you think about when you get up but it should be.  Carry a water bottle with you to your prayer meetings, to your book clubs, to your exercise class, to your quilting class, or keep it beside you when you are resting in your easy chair.

A water bottle can be your best friend.  You can find bottles in vivid colors that have features that make gripping, sipping and toting easier.  Start a trend.  Be the first one in your crowd to sport a snazzy bottle that makes it look like you mean business.  Speedo has a 22 oz Grip Bottle (www.djsports.com) that has a slender neck covered in rubber.  This bottle also has a sports nozzle that keeps it from leaking when locked and drains with ease when you squeeze it.  Platypus has 17 and 34 ounce Platy Bottles (www.platypushydration.com) that are squishy and lighter than hard plastic bottles.  There are others of course but this will give you an idea of what to look for so that you can look good and do something good for your body at the same time.