Loneliness increases with age, and it is connected with a surprising number of health effects such as high blood pressure, heart disease, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, and even mortality. When it comes to loneliness, we all feel it in different ways. Some people feel lonely when they are by […]
Some patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s can live in the community with some help from family or home care providers. Below are tips to help people live with safety and confidence. These steps are great building blocks to help persons with Alzheimer’s disease, but being flexible and capable of adapting to individuals will help deal […]
Each November the home care and hospice community honors the millions of nurses, home care aides, therapists, and social workers who make a remarkable difference for the patients and families they serve. These heroic caregivers play a central role in our healthcare system and in homes across the nation. To recognize their efforts, we call […]
The scariest room in horror movies is often the basement. There should be more fear of the bathroom. Although the smallest room in the house, a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study found that nonfatal injuries among older adults were likely to occur in the bathroom. [1] The two most common spots for injuries were […]
Your mother probably told you it is not healthy to sit and watch TV so much, but you thought she was just making it up. Actually, over the past 40 years, a number of studies have shown negative health effects related to watching TV for hours each day. A recent addition to this collection of […]
It is a popular belief that the wear and tear of running causes osteoarthritis of the knees and other joints. Doctors now know this is not true. According to exercise scientist Paul Williams, studies show quite the opposite. [1] Williams heads up the National Runner’s Health Study as well as the National Walkers’ Health Study. […]
Insufficient or low-quality sleep may be more than an annoyance. It can be a major health concern meriting a visit to your general practitioner or a sleep specialist. Difficulty sleeping that impairs activities of daily living and lasts greater than three months meets the clinical definition of insomnia. Insomnia can be a disorder or a […]
According to research at UCLA, changes in a section of the brain that is critical for memory are associated with sitting too much.[1] The study involved people ages 45 to 75. An MRI of each person provided a look at the region of the brain involved with the formation of new memories. The study did […]
Dr. Cheryl Bushnell, a neurologist and director of the Comprehensive Stroke Center at Wake Forest Baptist Health, states preventions are “not just for preventing stroke, but for preventing dementia as well. You can do the same things to prevent both.” These are five ways to start on prevention: If you smoke, quit. Smoking is one […]
From long haul truckers to teachers, there are many instances when adults find themselves needing to resist the urge to urinate from time to time. While delaying nature’s call for an hour or two won’t pose any health threats, it’s possible to harm our bodies by holding urine for too long or by making a […]
