Self Care 3

 Practise Self-Care

We are in difficult times and although we are moving slowly into a time where we can take more steps to look after ourselves, we still need to be aware of our physical condition and how well we cope with our new reality.

The following is adapted from an article written by Charlotte Bailey, who is a Content at LifeWorks.

Here are the final ideas of how you can incorporate self-care into your daily routine.

Food

1.  Learn to cook or try to re-create your favourite takeout order or meal at a restaurant.

2.  Find healthy foods that you like. This way you can eat things that are good for you and feel like a treat.

3.  Start a tea ritual. Pick a type of tea that relaxes you and make an appointment with yourself each day to make and drink it.

4.  Bake a dessert from scratch. If you have more portions than you can stomach, bring them to a friend or neighbour as a treat!

5.  Stock your refrigerator with healthy snacks and vegetables, so you’re not tempted to eat unhealthy foods when you’re hungry.

 Friends and family

1.  Reach out to a friend you haven’t spoken with for a long time.

2.  Organize a virtual group game night. You might try a pub quiz.

3.  If you’re feeling lonely, make a list of all the people you’re grateful you have in your life.

4.  When someone says something nice about you, write it down in a notebook. You’ll be able to revisit the compliments as the page fills up.

5.  Find something nice to say about your friends and tell them.

Do something for “Future You”

1.  Do that task you’ve been dreading. Think of it as ticking off a long-standing to-do item.

2.  Consider planting an herb garden.

3.  Take care of your teeth, by brushing and flossing twice a day. Dental work later in life can be painful and expensive!

4.  Clear out the clutter, no one wants your old stuff, so toss or donate old clothes, books, or other things that are cluttering your space and mind.

5.  Start a “Fun Fund.” Every payday, put aside a small amount (ie. $5.00, $10.00 or even $25) towards an indulgent treat or a goal that you have.

Self Care 2

 Work

1.In Canada and the United States, workers do not take as many vacations as workers in other parts of the world, so if you have vacation days, it’s important to take them.

2.Many of us are working from home so try to make your workspace a nice place to be.

3.Use your lunch hour to take a walk, listen to a podcast, or engage in another activity you enjoy.

4.It used to mean that when you left work, you left work at the office, but today with electronics we seem to be always connected to work. So, turn off your work phone and email notifications when you’re done with your working day and on the weekends.

5.When I was working someone told me that you should always be looking for the next opportunity. One way to take advantage of this idea is to regularly update your CV or Resume. This reminds you how much you’ve grown in your current role, and to be proud of your professional accomplishments and it is useful to have when asking for a raise or looking at a new opportunity.

Hobbies

1.      Explore new areas, by finding podcasts or checking out library books on topics you think you would enjoy.

2.      We get busy and we put old stuff aside, so maybe it is time to revisit an old hobby that you stopped doing because life got too busy.

3.      Want to learn a new skill, go to an online YouTube tutorial.

4.      Listen to music that cheers you up and energizes you.

5.      Subscribe to positive feeds, and follow hashtags of things that interest you and will bring you comfort.

6.      Spend some time making your home look the way you want it to.

7.      Make a list of TV shows, movies, bands, etc. friends and family have recommended and make a plan for experiencing them.

8.      If you like a piece of art, do a little research. You might find a new favourite movie, book, or song!

9.      Explore your neighbourhood and try businesses you haven’t before.

10.  Find your favourite restaurant on Yelp and write them a positive review.

 

11.  Think about the activities you loved doing as a kid. See if those activities would be available to try again as an adult.

Self Care ideas 1

 Practise Self-Care

We are in difficult times and although we are moving slowly into a time where we can take more steps to look after ourselves, we still need to be aware of our physical condition and how well we cope with our new reality.

The following is adapted from an article written by Charlotte Bailey, who is a Content at LifeWorks.

Here are some ideas of how you can incorporate self-care into your daily routine.

Relaxation, mindfulness, and mental health

1.  Remember a time when your phone was just a phone and you answered it if you wanted to, not because you had to? Well, that can happen again, put your phone on “airplane mode” or “do not disturb” for an hour.

2.  Start a journal to check in with how you are feeling on a daily or weekly basis.

3.  Take time for small, simple pleasures, like playing with a pet or watching the clouds drift by and with your mind paint shapes into the clouds.

4.  Read a book, a real book, not on your electronic reader and ignore all your electronic devices like the TV, or your smartphone.

5.  Be kind to yourself. Speak to yourself as you would a friend or a loved one. Don’t say negative things about yourself or your body.

Physical health

1.    Take some time to run a bath, and enjoy it.

2.    Practice good Sleep Hygiene such as setting a bedtime and stick to it.

3.    Get regular exercise but check with your medical provider if you have not exercised for a while. Start easy by just going for a walk around your neighbourhood. Go for a walk in the mornings or evenings.

4.    There are free step counters for your phone, or if you want you could invest in a pedometer or step counter so that at the end of each day you can see how active you were. There is no need to take 10,000 steps the research I have seen suggests that between 4,000 and 5,000 steps may help you stay healthy.

5.    Make sure you stay hydrated. Do not over hydrate yourself that can be dangerous. Check with your medical provider about how much liquid you need a day. Carry a bottle of water with you wherever you go.

6.    Wear your facemask when you go out and physically distance (6 feet or 2 metres).

Cucumbers

My thanks to my cousin Terry for the following

Cucumbers... I didn't know this...& to think all these years I've only been making salads with the cucumbers...

1.Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache-free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explore for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10.Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of a cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemicals will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of a cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it removes years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm your fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

Pass this along to everybody you know who is looking for better and safer ways to solve life's everyday problems

Do you belong to a club?

I think the idea of Senior Community Centers are a great idea and every senior should join. The range of activities they have is amazing and the people you meet are friendly and welcoming. One of my friends sent me this gem, so I thought I would share.

Yesterday my daughter e-mailed me again, asking why I didn't do something useful with my time.

“Like, me sitting around the pool and drinking wine is not a good thing?” I asked.

My "doing-something-useful" seems to be her favourite topic of conversation.

She was "only thinking of me", she said and suggested that I go down to the Senior Center and join something.

I did this and when I got home last night, I decided to play a prank on her.

I e-mailed her and told her that I had joined a Parachute Club.

She replied, “Mother, are you nuts ‘? You are 78 years old and now you're going to start jumping out of airplanes?"

I told her that I even got a Membership Card and e-mailed a copy to her.

She immediately telephoned me and yelled, "Good grief, Mom, where are your glasses’?! This is a Membership to a Prostitute Club, not a Parachute Club."

I calmly replied, "Oh my, I think I'm in real trouble then, because I signed up for five jumps a week!!”

The line went quiet and her friend picked up the phone and said that my daughter had fainted.

Life as a Senior Citizen is not getting any easier, but sometimes it can be really fun.

Just because you're "Young" doesn't mean that you can outsmart an "old Geezer “

Remember: Don't make old people mad. We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to tick us off.

Seniors and Recreational Opportunities 3

After the influence of the baby boomers, the second powerful demographic shift in the seniors’ population is immigration and the resulting cultural diversity. Starting a new life in Canada is challenging for most new immigrants but for older adults and seniors whose first language is not English, this transition can be especially difficult.

Without the structure and daily interaction that school or employment may provide, older adults and seniors may struggle to form connections in their new community.

Understandably, many rely on their younger family members to provide language translation and assistance navigating the system, but over time, that dependence can increase social isolation for the older adult. The ability to access support services and affordable opportunities for learning, recreation and social engagement is vital to a positive transition to living in Canada for many new immigrant older adults and seniors.

Segments of the older adult and senior population will continue to experience challenges and constraints to meaningful recreation participation. To put it simply: a constraint intervenes between the desire to participate and actual participation. These can be summarized into five main categories and can be understood as either a personal constraint or a constraint caused by a systemic barrier:

·   Financial: There is increasing income disparity within the senior demographic. The assumption that all seniors require some form of subsidy due to a low, fixed income needs further examination. Sixteen percent of Coquitlam’s 65+ population has low income (LIM-AT) and a large proportion of seniors living in poverty are single women.

·   Limited knowledge of available recreation resources: Information about recreation resources may not be available, relevant, or provided in a timely manner.

·   Transportation: Seniors need to be able to easily and safely get to and from a recreation centre, park or an event.

·   Health and activity limitations: Approximately half of Canadian seniors have health and activity limitations that impact their full participation in recreation.

·   Isolation and loneliness: Many seniors live alone; the number of isolated or lonely seniors is unknown. Seniors who are new to Canada may encounter language and other cultural barriers. The risk of becoming socially isolated and disconnected from community life increases significantly for seniors who experience one or more of these challenges and constraints. Seniors with low social support are less likely than were those with high social support to report positive self-perceived health and are more likely to be dissatisfied with life. Having a friend to participate with can make all the difference.

Seniors and Recreational Opportunities 2

As baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) move through our system, we continue to have an ongoing and variable impact on priorities for recreation service delivery, both on government and the private sector

The baby boomers will impact all communities in ways yet to be predicted as they age, continue to work or retire, and live longer than the generation before them.

The delivery of public recreation in Canada has always been shaped by the baby boomer generation and their families by directing programs and service delivery to children, youth and adults. These baby boomer-led families have influenced everything in North American culture from television programming to the rise of fast food. In the 1970s and 80’s, many communities became focused on building schools and providing programs for youth. Some municipalities supported the creation of stand-alone recreation facilities, purpose-built for seniors.

This was likely a reaction to the focus public recreation services placed on children and parent/adult programming. Seniors were likely feeling left out of recreation service provisions and, as a result, advocated for their own spaces and facility operating models, ensuring their voices were heard and their recreation needs met. The focus of recreation in seniors’ centres was on socializing and tapping into the collective wisdom and talent of retired seniors while at the same time providing low-cost programs for seniors on fixed incomes. Examples of these stand-alone centres include Oak Bay’s Monterey Recreation Centre which opened in 1971, Delta’s Kennedy Seniors Recreation Centre in 1974, Coquitlam’s Dogwood Pavilion in 1977, and Vancouver’s Kerrisdale Community Centre, with the seniors’ wing, which opened in 1986.

Over the past few years, many municipalities have started to shift beyond this stand-alone facility model to an integrated facility model, keeping on trend with the changing patterns of recreation participation in older adults and seniors and optimizing the use of civic facilities.

Just as working with children and youth has been a dominant function of municipal recreation services to date, the focus moving forward will shift to an increased importance placed on older adults and seniors. Fortunately, due in large part to changes in social policy at the provincial and federal levels, fewer seniors are living in poverty today than 10 years ago. Advancing the value of recreation participation as an instrumental and enjoyable component of daily living to reduce health care costs has become a major driver of provincial health authorities.

Healthier seniors are more likely to participate in active pursuits

The participation rate of seniors in unpaid household work did not vary significantly by health status. Specifically, 89% of seniors who reported their health as excellent or very good engaged in unpaid household work on a given day, while the proportion decreased to 84% for seniors who reported their health as fair or poor. Among seniors who did report time spent on unpaid household work, however, those who reported their health as fair or poor spent less time in this activity than healthy seniors. The average time spent on unpaid work increased from 2.9 hours for those who reported fair or poor health to 3.4 hours for those in excellent or very good health.

In general, the participation rate for active pursuits varies significantly by health status. For example, the participation rate for civic, religious and organizational activities was significantly lower for seniors who reported their health as fair or poor compared with those in excellent or very good health (5% versus 10%). Similar results were found for socializing and communicating as well as for leisure and physical activities. Despite the gap in the participation rates for these activities, the average time spent by participants on any of these active pursuits did not vary significantly by health status. 

At the same time, the participation rate for using technology was significantly lower for seniors who reported their health in more negative terms than for those in excellent or very good health.

Participation in passive leisure activities is also affected by health status. For instance, among those who watched television, the average time spent increased by more than one hour between those who reported their health as excellent or very good and those in poorer health (3.7 hours versus 4.9 hours). According to the data, those in fair or poor health and those in good health also reported a lower participation rate for reading than seniors in excellent or very good health. However, the time spent reading on a given day did not vary by health status among seniors.

In addition, there is a relationship between sleeping and self-reported health among seniors who reported their health as fair or poor. On average, they spent more time sleeping than their healthier counterparts (9.5 hours versus 8.9 hours).

Seniors’ participation in selected activities varies by age

Interesting that the participation rate for unpaid household activities does not vary across age groups. Specifically, 85% of future seniors (aged 55 to 64) engaged in unpaid household work over the course of a given day, compared with 88% for those aged 65 to 74 and 87% for those aged 75 and over.

It is possible that although seniors have more time for household work, the demand for this type of work declines due to smaller household sizes. Furthermore, it is also possible that older adults may also experience disabilities or be in poorer health, which may make certain activities, including household work, more challenging.

For other activities, the participation rates for civic, religious and organizational activities vary slightly across the different age groups. The participation rate in such activities was 10% for seniors aged 75 and over compared with 8% for those aged 65 to 74. Although there are some differences in the participation rates, the data also show that the time spent on these activities remains fairly consistent across all age groups.

There are, however, differences in the participation rates for leisure and physical activities by age. However, the amount of time spent on these activities did not vary by age. Seniors in all three age groups who engaged in these activities spent just over two hours doing so. In addition, and consistent with existing research, seniors aged 75 and over were significantly less likely to use technology than those aged 65 to 74 (22% versus 33%). However, among those who used technology, the time they spent did not vary significantly across the different age groups.

The data also show that the participation rates and time spent on more passive activities significantly varies across age groups. Not only do the participation rates for watching television and reading increase with age, but the data also show an increase by age in time spent on these activities. For example, the average time spent watching television increased by one hour for persons between the ages of 55 and 64 as well as for those 75 and over. A similar relationship can be found between reading and ageing. This suggests that as seniors age and move away from paid work, some of that time is being replaced by more passive activities.

Finally, the amount of time seniors spends sleeping also increases with age. This is consistent with existing research that shows time spent sleeping increases with age for both men and women, although short sleep duration and poor sleep quality have also been found to be common among seniors. The research shows that persons aged 55 to 64 spend an average of 8.5 hours sleeping. Seniors aged 65 to 74 spend 8.9 hours sleeping, compared with 9.3 hours for those aged 75 and over.

Senior women and men spend their time in different ways 2

Senior men are more likely to participate in outdoor activities than senior women (30% versus 10%). When senior men do outdoor work, they spend more than one extra hour (an additional 67 minutes) on it than senior women.

In addition to taking unpaid household work into account, it is also important to examine other types of activities such as leisure and recreational pursuits and television watching. Various types of leisure activities have different implications for well-being and ageing. For example, some activities can help maintain physical and social capabilities and promote health, while others are less beneficial as they are more sedentary and can be more socially isolating. Activities such as socializing and communicating; volunteering; walking; exercising; participating in organized sports; attending cultural events; pursuing hobbies; writing letters, books and poems; and using technology such as the Internet engage seniors. Passive leisure activities, on the other hand, refer to unstructured or passive forms of activity. These include watching television, listening to music and reading.

For active pursuits, senior men were more likely to engage in leisure and physical activities (44% versus 39%) while senior women were more likely to participate in socializing and communicating (46% versus 37%). For passive leisure activities, senior women were more likely to read (41% versus 35%) while senior men were more likely to watch television (87% versus 82%).

Although senior men and senior women may participate in different activities, the amount of time they spend on these activities is not significantly different. The only exception is watching television as senior women spend less time, on average, on this activity (3.9 hours versus 4.2 hours per day).

What boundless really means

If you want to find out how much you've truly been blessed with in terms of love, time, energy, talent, joy, abundance, confidence, intelligence, wit, or any other quality, substance, or dispensation, give of them.

Then you'll know what boundless really means.

As students graduate, and look forward to a wonderful future, I would recommend reading this blog by a young lady who faced and has beaten cancer. Her name is Serena and she writes a blog on Change of Perspective,Serena is the daughter of a couple of former students and she and they have some understanding of being blessed because she has given of the above to help others. 

Memory loss in elderly linked to overeating

In the Spring many of us think about getting ready for summer by getting in shape or by dieting. Here is some interesting news for those who are thinking about cutting calories. The story was written By Nanci Hellmich, USA and posted February 12, in USA Today 

Here's another reason not to overeat: It may increase your risk of memory loss.

Older people who consumed more than 2,143 calories a day had more than double the risk of a type of memory loss called mild cognitive impairment compared to those who ate fewer than 1,500 calories a day, according to a study being released Sunday by the American Academy of Neurology on its website (aan.com).

The more calories older people consumed, the more likely they were to have mild cognitive impairment, says Yonas Geda, lead author of the study and a neuropsychiatrist at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Other investigators from Australia have shown that excessive calorie intake is associated with a greater risk of mild cognitive impairment, he says.

MCI is the condition between normal forgetfulness due to aging and early Alzheimer's disease. People with MCI have problems with memory, language or thinking severe enough to be noticeable to other people and to show up on tests, but not serious enough to interfere with daily life, according to the Alzheimer's Association. People are often aware of the forgetfulness.

Because the problems do not interfere with daily activities, the person does not meet criteria for being diagnosed with dementia. Not everyone diagnosed with MCI goes on to develop Alzheimer's, the association says.

Geda and colleagues followed 1,233 people ages 70 to 90 in Olmsted County, Minn. The participants did not have dementia, but 163 had mild cognitive impairment. Researchers calculated their daily calorie intake based on food questionnaires. The researchers then divided the participants into three equal groups. The first group consumed 600 to 1,526 calories daily; a second between 1,526 calories and 2,142 calories and a third, more than 2,143.

The researchers did not control for diet quality in this analysis, but are looking at diet and exercise for future analysis.

Bottom line: The odds of having MCI more than doubled in the highest calorie group compared to the lowest calorie group, Geda says.

This is one study so "we have to be extremely careful about generalizations," he says. "The first step is that we have to confirm this finding in a bigger study. Certainly, we are not recommending starvation or malnutrition."

Neurologist Neelum Aggarwal, a member of the American Academy of Neurology, says these findings should encourage physicians and health care providers to start the discussion about the links between common healthy living practices, including eating a healthy diet, limiting sugar, to overall cognitive function, with their patients

32 ways to keep kids active

23. Neighbourhood Walk:

Believe it or not, most kids like to actually learn about the area where they live. Take them out for a walk in your neighbourhood and let them explore the houses, parks and shops in the area. Talk about the older buildings and imagine what life might have been like in the “olden days”

A trip to the local library can be good fun and useful for researching “the way it was” in your area, and it can use up a lot of otherwise fruitless hours of kids having nothing to do.

24. Ring Toss:

You need a few plastic bottles filled with water, sand or small stones (2 litre bottles are best) and some paper plates. Buy a packet of at least 20 cheap paper plates. Glue 2 paper plates together and cut out the middles to make a ring. When you glue 2 together it will add weight to the rings.

Paint the newly created rings in bright colours and hand them out to the kids. Make a line with chalk or rope for them to stand behind and place the bottles at various intervals and distances away from the children.

Anybody who manages to get a ring over a bottle takes one step back and tries again. See how far away they can get and still manage to ring the bottles.