When to be Worried About Memory Loss in Seniors

Just because you sometimes forget small things, like your neighbor's name or where you left the remote, it does not mean that you have a senior memory problem. It is common to forget things from time to time. To make sure that the problem isn’t big, you need to be aware of some warning signs.There are various signs that may indicate a more serious problem, such as Alzheimer's. If you notice any of these signs, seek professional soon.

Sign #1: Your memory issues frighten you. For many people with early dementia, the nature of memory problems frightens them. For example: You are driving and suddenly have no idea where you are or where you were driving to, then few minutes later, you remember and realize you are on correct road you always drive to get where there. Such type of things will frighten you and may also cause you to feel irritated.

Sign #2: You have lost interest in your favorite activities because of memory problems. Activities, like solving crossword puzzles or interacting with people at social functions, becomes very difficult for a person who suffers memory loss. This may be the sign of dementia. If this happens regularly, do not ignore it and bring your concerns to your doctor.

Sign #3: Your family members or loved ones point out mistakes or express concern. If your loved ones arecomplaining about your memory, they may be onto something. They may have observed something you have not seen. Do not ignore them.

Sign #4: Making choices becomes tough. If you are not being able to make quick decisions and get confused aboutsmall things, you need to worry about your memory and concern the doctor as soon as possible.

How to Improve Memory

Instead of making notes to remember certain things or setting reminders, follow some of the memory care tips to improve your memory:

• Play strategic games, such as: puzzles, Sudoku, or chess.
• Learn new things, such as a new language, a new recipe or different type of crafts.
• Make time for reading.
• Stay socially active.
• Avoid stress.

If you are facing memory issues and finding it difficult to manageeveryday life, contact Always Best Care. They provide the best in home senior care in Birmingham. Call them at (205) 874-9730.

Ways to Help Your Aging Loved One Stay Active

Exercise is important for people of all ages. For seniors, regular aerobic exercise and strength training can help maintain muscle mass, balance, bone density, flexibility and more. If you have a senior family member at home, encourage them to stay active, both physically and socially.

Here are some ways to help your aging loved one stay active and engaged.

• Create a proper exercise routine – First, create an exercise routine and that your loved one will be more likely to follow. Low-Impact exercises such as walking, jogging, swimming, yoga, and more are best for the older adults. However, you should always consult their doctor to find out whether your senior family member is fit and healthy enough to exercise daily. Their doctors will also be able to suggest the best suitable exercises according to their health.

• Join a senior fitness club or an exercise program – You can also encourage your senior family member to join a senior fitness club or an exercise program. Apart from staying physically fit and active, your aging parent will get an opportunity to meet new people of a similar age and possibly common interests.

• Stay socially active – In addition to regular exercise, staying socially active and engaged is also important for seniors for improved physical, mental, and emotional health. Encourage your loved one to participate in different social and cultural activities around the area to maintain an active social life. 

 However, if your aging parent lives alone and there is no one to look after their safety and needs, consider hiring professional help in the form of caregivers. An experienced care provider will look after your senior family member’s safety, their needs, and help them stay active, both physically and socially. In addition, they are able to accompany seniors during their regular exercise routine to ensure their safety.

So, if you are looking for an experienced In-Home Senior Care provider for your loved one in Birmingham, contact Always Best Care. They are a noted senior care organization that has a team of highly trained, bonded, and insured caregivers who provide the best senior care services.

For more information, call (205) 874-9730.

Why Your Aging Parent Should Not Live Alone

As people grow older, they often prefer to age in place independently and comfortably. Sadly, there comes a time when staying alone is simply not safe for older adults and recognizing that time is often a challenging task both for the caregivers and family members.

To determine the right time when your aging loved one may need help, here are some of the signs you need to look for.  

• They suffer from frequent falls 

It is common for seniors to suffer from slips, trips or falls due to declining health or poor body balance. Sadly, falls are the most common reasons for fatal and non-fatal injuries in seniors. However, if your senior family member suffers from frequent falls and while doing daily living tasks, then it can serve as warning sign. If you notice a lot of injuries or bruises on your loved one’s body, living alone is likely no longer safe for your aging loved one.

• Their home is always messy

Have you recently visited your aging parent? Do you find their home messy and uncared for? As seniors age, they find it difficult to manage their daily living activities, including the cleaning, sweeping, and basic household errands. Home maintenance and cleanliness often becomes a challenging task for them. Unhygienic and unpleasant environments can put your aging parent at risk of several different health problems.

•  They are losing weight

Sudden weight loss can be a warning sign for seniors. If your aging loved one is experiencing weight loss, it is a sign that they need help. Consider hiring an in-home caregiver for your aging loved one or move them to an Assisted Living facility to ensure their safety.

However, older adults may not prefer to leave their home for an entirely new place. If this is the case, hiring an in-home care provider can be the ideal option. A professional caregiver will not only look after your aging loved one’s safety, but also ensure that all their needs are met on time.

If you are looking for an In-Home Care Provider In Birmingham, Alabama, contact senior care organizations like Always Best Care.

For more information, call (205) 874-9730.

Benefits of Music for Seniors

It’s no surprise that music has many benefits for seniors, especially those who are suffering from debilitating health conditions. The power of music can help make life more pleasing and meaningful for anyone.    

   

 Take a look at some of the incredible health benefits that music offers to the elderly.

Memory Benefits:
Music has been found to stimulate the brain and enhance the memory of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. When a person listens to music which corresponds with a significant time, event, place, or emotion, their brain’s memory maker, also known as medial prefrontal cortex, becomes stimulated.

Stress Reduction:
Music helps calm down seniors when they are stressed. Fast music can make them more alert and improve their concentration. It can also encourage happy thoughts and lift their mood when they are depressed.

Health Benefits:
Music promotes health and well-being. It also ensures a sound sleep, reduces pain, and improves recovery time after an injury. Music has also shown to improve coordination and cognitive abilities.

Psychological Benefits:
Seniors who listen to music have a happier outlook on life as compared to those who don’t. Music has shown to enhance moods, improve interest levels, and increase positive emotions.

If you have a senior member in your family, encourage them to listen to music – any music. Everyone’s tastes are different and everyone reacts differently to different genres. Consider taking them to concerts or introducing them to different sites on the internet where they can watch performances from their favorite artists.

For Elderly Assistance in Birmingham, contact Always Best Care. They are one of the most trusted senior care organizations. Their teams of experienced Care Coordinators have worked with thousands of seniors across the country. To learn more about their services, feel free to call them at (205) 874-9730.

Sleep Deprivation a Real Issue for Seniors

Sleep is such an important element to our day that when we sleep poorly or not at all the rest of our lives are profoundly impacted. For seniors, sleep is of even greater importance because it helps boost an already weakening immune system, it fights off cognitive decline, and can even improve longevity. What are the other issues associated with sleep deprivation in seniors?

• Alzheimer’s patients need regular sleep. But, they rarely get it. Many Alzheimer’s patients tend to sleep during the day and lie awake at night. This can be caused by the impairment itself and/or with the natural disruption of the body’s natural circadian rhythm that accompanies aging. Sleep impairments can cause sundowning, daytime wandering, nighttime wandering, etc.
  
• Caregivers need as much sleep as their charges. While it falls on the caregivers shoulders to get up in the middle of the night with their senior clients as many times as necessary, this can easily cause depression, fatigue, anxiety and other problems in the senior’s caregiver. It’s important to – as much as possible – take on healthy habits and attitudes to try and achieve proper night time sleep routines for everyone’s mental and physical well-being.
  
• Insomnia can cause an increase in risk of dementia. Since seniors already run a higher risk of having insomnia, it also means that this insomnia can lead to dementia and other memory impairments and cognitive dysfunction. Memory is impaired with lack of sleep, and stress levels increase dramatically which puts the individual at a higher risk for developing a host of other diseases.

If you are a senior with frequent insomnia or a caregiver with a senior client with sleep deprivation problems, talk to your doctor about how you can try to remedy the problem or at least improve it. Sleep issues are a natural part of aging, but they don’t have to overwhelm the individuals – or their caretakers – life.

Seniors who live in the Birmingham area who are interested in learning about home care assistance in Birmingham can contact the Always Best Care Birmingham office at 205-874-9730 to schedule a free consultation. During this consultation a professional care coordinator will discuss in home care in Birmingham to help you decide which level of care is right for you.

Issues that Impact Senior Men

There are more senior women than there are senior men, but that doesn’t mean that the issues that impact their lives are any less important. As people in general live to be longer these days, there are more and more men living longer and the gap between male and female longevity is slowly closing. Here are some issues that impact senior men today.

1. Men don’t live as long as women do. On average, women live five years longer than men. There are several possible reasons for this including the fact that men tend to engage in riskier behavior, have a propensity toward cardiovascular disease, and a new finding that men’s immune systems may not be as effective as a woman’s.
2. Senior men tend to be happier than senior women. New research shows that senior men tend to be happier than their female counterparts.
   
3. What is the age of “old?” For men, it’s much higher than for women. Consider the fact that society might view a 65 year old woman as being old, while a 65 year old man they might not. This is likely due to a more rapid decline of attractiveness for women than men as they age.
4. Men are more tolerant of aging. Women are more apprehensive about aging for many reasons, and men still have their anxieties which include having to depend on other people, their own physical weakness, developing dementia, impotence, and a loss of purpose that often comes with retirement.
5. Only 15% of seniors in senior living environments are men. While the percentage is not terribly significant, it can make the transition into a senior living environment difficult for men, due to overwhelming female influences. This makes it important for the men in a community to form groups to play cards, watch sports, play billiards, etc.
6. More male caregivers now than ever before. Nearly one out of two caregivers is male and they are often thrown into the role due to an ill wife, making them feel unprepared.

Always Best Care is a home health care company in Birmingham Alabama and other locations throughout the United States and Canada. If you are a senior interested in learning about senior care in Birmingham Alabama, you are invited to call the Always Best Care Birmingham location at 205-874-9730 today to set up a free care consultation.

Keeping Your Mind Sharp as You Age

Most seniors experience some level of cognitive decline as they age. In fact, researchers say the brain actually shrinks in size by about 10%. Fortunately, there are ways to combat this cognitive decline and keep the mind sharp as you age.

1. Don’t slouch! When you slouch, you are impairing both the respiratory and circulatory systems in your body from working optimally. Maintaining good posture helps you get blood and air into your brain to help it function more efficiently.
   
2. Turn on the music. Most people don’t realize how profoundly music impacts the brain. Classical music, jazz music, instrumental music, opera, etc. all help the brain create new pathways and is linked to improved memory as well as improved cognitive functioning.
   
3. Move your body. When you exercise, you’re not only doing all of your muscles and bones good, you’re also providing key health benefits to your brain! Endorphins are released, there is an increase in air and blood flow to the brain and mood is enhanced.
   
4. Keep the puzzles handy. Whether they are word puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, Sudoku, etc. when you participate in these types of games you improve your brain functioning and improve memory and mental capacity.
   
5. Pick up a book and read it! Reading is one of the most fundamental benefits you can give your brain. Not only does your brain create more neural pathways when you read it also absorbs the information in the book such as language, culture, history, etc.
   
6. Eat a healthy diet. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, water, etc. will help you keep your body working at optimal levels.
   
7. Write something. Have you ever wanted to write the great American novel? Or maybe short stories or memoirs? Writing will also improve brain health. Keep in mind that even emails and journaling will have the same result.
   
8. Pick up a paintbrush. We all doodle while waiting on the phone – why not create a “work of art” or even just a bunch of little doodles. Either way, your brain will have a great workout!

Do you live in the Birmingham area? Are you interested in learning about senior care in Birmingham? If you would like a free care consultation from an Always Best Care professional care coordinator, please call the Always Best Care Birmingham location at 205-874-9730. They will be happy to talk with you about home care in Birmingham and also free referrals to senior living environments.