_ Sleep Health 4 Simple Steps to Get You Back to Sleep Fast By Sondra Forsyth article WeΓÇÖve all been there. You are wide awake at 3 a.m., your mind racing with a rising sense of panic about the difficult day ahead if you donΓÇÖt fall back to sleep. What youΓÇÖre experiencing is a type of insomnia, says sleep disorders specialist Harneet Walia, MD, DABSM, of Cleveland ClinicΓÇÖs Sleep Disorders Center. Many underlying health problems such as chronic pain, sleep apnea or acid reflex can cause insomnia. But if your difficulty in sleeping is not due to health problems, here are some tips that can help you get back to sleep.
_ Mental & Emotional Health 7 Tips to Maintain Class and Control Through Any Life Challenge By Sondra Forsyth article By Sherrie Campbell PhD We all have moments when we don't love how we responded to a situation or how we acted. When you are grounded in who you are, you have a certain essence where people can feel that not much can shake you. To be elegant essentially means that you know who you are and are grounded and comfortable in that person. Many of us are emotionally out of control, lacking presence of mind, allowing life to take us on an emotional roller coaster where we feel crazy and at the mercy of our life situations, people, and emotions.
When It's Time to Change By blog At the age of 97, she sat by her window watching the moving men place, onto one truck, the few pieces of life she was able to take with her. The cleaning company filled the second, much larger one with possessions she had to discard. ΓÇ£Fifty years in this house, and all the things I accumulated,ΓÇ¥ she said to the workers. ΓÇ£Are you sure no one can use an electric can opener?ΓÇ¥ The moving-van driver, with tears in his eyes, said, ΓÇ£I can use it.ΓÇ¥
How Competent Are You? By blog Competent is a word that describes people who know what they are doing. When everyone raves about your apple pie compared to other apple pies theyΓÇÖve eaten, you become known as an authority on the subject of apple pies. But what about the baker who thinks her apple pie is just as good as yours, maybe even better, in spite of evidence to the contrary? This is a sign of incompetence, according to a study done by researchers at Cornell University.
Schmoozing with S'mores By blog Camp Deer Run on Lake Winnipesaukee, NH was abuzz with friends meeting friends for the 50th Camp Reunion. People (I might add much younger appearing than I am), folks I didn't even know, came up to me and congratulated me on being there. Um, in contrast to what, being dead? But their intent was good so I let my sarcastic self lay low. Eventually I figured out how so many people recognized me. I had been in a video shot five years prior. They knew me from the video. Okay, with that mystery solved I was a wee bit sad that people didn't actually remember me by how I looked 50 years ago.
_ 10 Natural Ways to Control Blood Pressure By Jane Farrell article If you've been diagnosed with high blood pressure (a systolic pressure ΓÇö the top number ΓÇö of 140 or above or a diastolic pressure ΓÇö the bottom number ΓÇö of 90 or above), you might be worried about taking medication to bring your numbers down. Lifestyle plays an important role in treating your high blood pressure. If you successfully control your blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, you may avoid, delay or reduce the need for medication. Here are 10 lifestyle changes you can make to lower your blood pressure and keep it down.
_ Coming Next Week! September 1st to September 5th 2014 By Sondra Forsyth article HereΓÇÖs a sneak preview of the articles, slideshows, and blogs weΓÇÖll be posting during the coming week on ThirdAge, the biggest and best site for ΓÇ£boomer and beyondΓÇ¥ women since 1997. As always, weΓÇÖll bring you the latest information from top experts about maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit as you navigate both the challenges and the joys of being a ThirdAger.
_ Skin Skin Health Discovery Could Cure Skin Infections By Sondra Forsyth article Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and partners have tested the use of ionic liquids to break bacterial biofilm layer on skin. A release from the laboratory explains that biofilms, which are like a protective tent over a colony of harmful bacteria, make the treatment of skin infections especially difficult. Microorganisms protected in a biofilm pose a significant health risk due to their antibiotic resistance and recalcitrance to treatment.
_ Wii Balance Board Helps MS patients By Sondra Forsyth article The Nintendo Wii Balance Board video game console can help people with multiple sclerosis (MS) reduce their risk of accidental falls, according to research done at Sapienza University in Rome and published online August 26th 2014 in the journal Radiology. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed that use of the balance board system appears to induce favorable changes in brain connections associated with balance and movement.
_ Osteoporosis Surgery to Repair Hip Fracture Saves Billions of $ By Sondra Forsyth article Each year, more than 300,000 Americans -- primarily adults over age 65 -- sustain a hip fracture, a debilitating injury that can diminish life quality and expectancy and result in lost work days and substantial, long-term financial costs to patients, families, insurers and government agencies. Surgery, which is the primary treatment for hip fractures, successfully reduces mortality risk and improves physical function. However, little has been known about the procedure's value and return on investment.
_ The Bug Battle Isn't Over Yet By Jane Farrell article EditorΓÇÖs note: Although most of us think of ticks and mosquitoes as primarily summer pests, sadly, theyΓÇÖre not. According to the University of Rhode Island Tick Encounter Center, some species of ticks, such as deer ticks, remain active as long as the temperature is above freezing. Still other kinds of ticks, such as the American dog tick and the Lone Star tick, just arenΓÇÖt active in the cold weather, the Encounter Center experts say.
_ Preventing Organic Food Fraud By Sondra Forsyth article A growing number of consumers are willing to pay a premium for fruits, vegetables and other foods labeled "organic", but whether they're getting what the label claims is another matter. Now scientists at the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority and the Wuerzburg University in Germany are studying conventional and organic tomatoes are devising a new way to make sure farms are labeling their produce appropriately. Their report, which appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in August 2014, could help prevent organic food fraud.
_ Caregiving Mindfulness Training for Caregivers & Loved Ones By Sondra Forsyth article Mindfulness training for people with early-stage dementia and their caregivers together in the same class turned out to be beneficial … Read More→
_ Digestive Health Hope for New Crohn's Disease Tx By Sondra Forsyth article Genetic changes that occur in patients with a type of inflammatory bowel disease called Crohn's disease could hold clues to fighting the illness, according to research led by the University of Edinburgh in the UK and published August 26th 2014 in the journal Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Currently, there is no way to prevent Crohn's disease and therapy is focused on treating the symptoms, which may include abdominal pain, diarrhea and severe weight loss.
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Medical Care Change in Tube Feeding Boosts Nutrition By Sondra Forsyth article While the importance of enteral nutrition (EN), or feeding patients through a tube, in an intensive care unit is well understood, underfeeding is still common. A practice of a certain amount of feeding per hour can be interrupted by tests, procedures, or emergencies. Changing to a volume-based system, which calls for a certain nutrition volume per day, could reduce underfeeding, according to a quality improvement audit published in the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition's (A.S.P.E.N.) Nutrition in Clinical Practice journal on August 26th 2014.
_ Pain Management Chronic Pain & Painkillers: Why You ΓÇ¿Should Consider AlternativesΓÇ¿ By Sondra Forsyth article By Dr. Frank King Roughly 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain lasting more than six months, according to a report from the Institute of Medicine. Throughout the past decade, the use of painkillers such as Vicodin, Percocet and OxyContin has soared by 300 percent. For many ΓÇô 17,000 people per year, or 46 each day ΓÇô the treatment is worse than the pain. ThatΓÇÖs the number of users who die from the medicine, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Five Lessons I Learned From My Years as an Alzheimer's Caregiver By Jane Farrell blog Why is life so much clearer in retrospect? With the passage of time, it is easy to look back, see the big picture and think: ΓÇ£If IΓÇÖd only known then, what I know now.ΓÇ¥ I often hear caregivers voice this sentiment. And, as a long-time AlzheimerΓÇÖs caregiver myself (for my mother, father and other relatives ΓÇö now all deceased), I feel the same way. In the rear view mirror, the decisions and choices that I agonized over at the time now either seem so obvious or so trivial. I wish IΓÇÖd not been so caught up in details that were unimportant.
_ Exercise Finding the Right Fitness Trainer for You By Jane Farrell article As summer turns to fall, you might be thinking about moving your exercise routine indoors. Once the weather gets snowy and frigid, itΓÇÖs harder to get out and hit the walking or bike trails. Or you may be thinking that you want to move beyond your current 30-minute treadmill routine at the gym. A fitness trainer may be the way to go. A trainer can help you do everything from helping you use the gym equipment correctly to taking your workout to the next level. Here, from the National Institute on Aging, are some tips on how to find the best trainer for you.