Communities like Vista Springs offer the care that’s needed while still providing a safe environment that fosters flexibility, comfort, and fun. Because so many older adults are making this move to assisted living, studies are showing that the world of aging adults is shifting significantly. Some examples of this include:
1. Assisted living is a more cost-effective option
A 2015 Genworth Financial survey revealed that the median cost for a single person to live in a private room in assisted living in the U.S. was $23,200 whereas the cost for a private room at a nursing home was $91,250.
2. Fewer older Americans live alone
The Pew Research Center reports that since 1990, the number of older Americans who are living alone dropped from 29% to 26%. This is partially due to the attractive option of living with a spouse in assisted living communities.
3. Nursing homes aren’t always the best option
When loved ones begin researching options for an aging family member, often times they assume a nursing home will be the end result. However, many times that isn’t what ends up taking place. In one study, 59 out of 100 people who were investigating nursing homes ended up determining that assisted living was a better option. (An assessment by a care professional can help you to identify what level of care is needed and if assisted living is the best choice.)
4. Memory care is possible with assisted living
A diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer’s can be difficult, and many might assume that finding quality care outside of a treatment center or nursing home might be challenging. But in reality, many assisted living communities offer advanced memory care programs that help to decrease agitation, wandering and other unfortunate side effects. As conditions advance, exclusive memory care areas help provide safe and comfortable accommodations.
5. Assisted living is the future of senior care
Assisted living communities first became available in the 1980s, and since then they have grown substantially. The National Investment Center reports there are now over 6,300 assisted living communities in the United States with about 500,000 occupied apartments.
The topic of savings and expenses becomes heavily-discussed as more and more adults reach retirement age and no longer can rely on a steady income. There are many areas that seniors need to have plans in place for post-retirement, including living expenses, daily costs, gifts, vacations, and—most importantly—healthcare.
While Medicare will help out with covering some healthcare costs, there are still a lot of important healthcare expenses that come directly out-of-pocket. It’s important to seriously consider the care costs you will likely encounter as you age, and make plans for how you will pay for these needs. Here are four tips for how you can approach financial planning for post-retirement healthcare expenses.
1. Learn what Medicare doesn’t cover
Medicare, or federal health insurance for those 65 and over, is the main way that seniors plan to take care of medical expenses after retirement. Medicare covers many things including hospital visits, general medical insurance, and some prescription drugs, but it doesn’t cover everything. In fact, some major medical expenses that most—if not all—seniors need aren’t even partially covered under basic Medicare plans, which can lead to problems for seniors who don’t have another plan in place.
Dental
Having good dental health and receiving dental care is incredibly important to ensure that your retirement years aren’t spent in pain. However, Medicare doesn’t cover routine or complex dental procedures—causing many seniors to make the mistake of skipping out on dental care altogether.
Vision
While Medicare does cover the cost of eye disease and injury treatments, it doesn’t cover routine vision care like annual appointments and eyeglasses, all of which can lead to major out-of-pocket expenses.
Hearing
Common hearing treatments that seniors often need as they age, like hearing aids, are not covered through Medicare. A good pair of hearing aids can help you stay communicative and social as you age, as well as significantly reduce your chances of developing memory diseases, but paying for them yourself can be expensive.
Long-term care
Medicare will only pay for long-term care housing like a nursing home if it is directly related to the recovery of a specific medical procedure. It won’t cover activities of daily living or instrumental activities of daily living, which many seniors need as they age. Examples of necessary care services not covered under Medicare include:
Eating
Bathing and personal care
Toileting
Money and financial management
Medication distribution and management
House maintenance and cleaning
Moving to a wheelchair or in and out of bed
2. Know your family history
You can try and predict what medical expenses you might need to plan for by taking a close look at your family’s medical history. If you see patterns or know that certain diseases and medical problems have affected your family in the past, you can take the necessary steps to address paying for those concerns should you have them as well.
It’s also a good idea to examine your own life choices and see if there are any habits or behaviors—such as smoking—that might contribute to a significant medical care expense after you hit retirement age.
3. Explore Medicare Advantage plans
While Original Medicare, or Medicare Parts A & B, don’t cover any of the areas mentioned above, there is a chance that a Medicare Advantage Plan might pick up some of the slack for important vision, dental, and hearing medical expenses.
There are lots of different types of Medicare Advantage plans, such as:
Health Maintenance Organizations
Preferred Provider Organizations
Private Fee-for-Service Plans
Special Needs Plans
Medicare Medical Savings Account Plans
Each type of Advantage plan has different associated costs and coverages, so it’s important to explore the different options and find a plan that meets your care needs while being affordable within your healthcare budget.
4. Start planning & budgeting now
Every day that you wait to make a plan for unexpected healthcare costs is a day where you might might not have enough savings. It’s important to take action today to plan for your important medical expenses and start creating a budget and looking into different funding options for senior health expenses.
You can speak with a financial advisor or go through your finances yourself to see where your spending can be cut and put into a retirement fund or health savings account. If you are already retired, think about ways you can save money and reduce daily costs to plan for healthcare expenses in the future.
Finally, while it’s not fun to think about, the reality is that 70% of seniors will need long term care and those odds include you. Start exploring options like assisted living today so you can have a plan already in place when the time comes to make the move to a senior care community.
Independence, the ability to age in place with the necessary care services, the cost savings compared to other care options, and the lively, active communities that are so different from traditional fears of nursing homes are all reasons why assisted living is an obvious choice for a senior care community. But it’s still not easy to talk to a loved one about making the big move.
Putting off the conversation can lead to serious long-term consequences, so it’s important to have that discussion sooner rather than later—no matter how difficult it is. Here’s some of the best ways to plan for an open and honest talk with your loved one about making an assisted living community their new home.
Signs to look out for
There may be a single specific reason or several smaller ones for wanting to move your loved one to an assisted living community, but here are a few common signs to be on the lookout for as your loved one ages.
They are isolated are no longer socializing with others
You aren’t sure if they are eating, or they are losing weight and consistently have an empty fridge
They can no longer drive, or don’t have reliable transportation to necessary places (such as the doctor’s office or the grocery store)
They have a steadily declining hygiene
They have lost interest in activities they used to enjoy
Their house is becoming dirty and cluttered
They can’t remember where they are and get lost in familiar places—or are becoming forgetful in general (forgetting to pay bills, take important medications, turn off the oven, or take out the trash)
They have fallen and injured themselves at home
They need to be checked in on regularly
They frequently need medical care
Prepare beforehand
It’s important that you go into the conversation with a solid plan. Get the essential family members—such as your siblings—involved and ensure that all of you are on the same page about what you want to talk to your family member about. You don’t want the conversation about assisted living to turn into a family argument, which only adds stress to an already stressful topic of discussion.
It’s also important that you learn about different senior care options and go into the conversation informed—especially about why you recommend assisted living over a nursing home or home care. Have a list of communities that might be good fits and a detailed explanation of what types of daily care services and skilled medical care they provide at the ready.
Find the right time
Picking the right time to bring up assisted living is essential to ensuring the conversation is productive. Make sure you do it in person, not over the phone. This will likely be a conversation that takes some time, so don’t try and squeeze it into a packed day. Make it a priority and clear your schedule.
However, don’t hold the conversation during a holiday or family reunion—these events are special and you shouldn’t put a loved one on the spot during a happy celebration. Ensure that you find a neutral day and gather the family to talk to your loved one in a group setting that is comfortable, not accusatory.
Communicate clearly
During the conversation, it’s important you stay calm and don’t let your emotions overtake the discussion. Be honest and upfront about your intentions during the talk, but don’t try to push your loved one into a decision that they aren’t yet ready for.
Conversation starters
“Do you feel safe at home? Are you worried about what would happen if you fell or hurt yourself and no one was around?”
“Are you struggling with remembering important things?”
“Do you need help around the house that isn’t being provided right now? Are you able to cook meals and get to the store?”
“Do you miss being close to your friends or having plans for things to do?”
“Are you concerned about what’s going to happen to your independence or mobility as you age?”
“Would you like to feel more secure and have a community around you for support?”
Work together
The first conversation about assisted living shouldn’t be an immediate decision—after all, your loved one’s opinions and feelings should be at the center of the discussion and they need to be comfortable with moving forward. Working together to find the right community is key to ensuring that your loved one feels respected and included throughout the process.
Research together with your family member and go on community tours with the family to help them feel confident in their choice of a new home. Remember—this is an incredibly difficult task your loved one is about to face. But by keeping their feelings at the heart of all decisions, the conversation about assisted living can lead to great things for your loved one.
There’s no feeling like coming home after a long day. As seniors age, it becomes important to them that they have a home in which they can feel safe, relaxed, and secure. However, this can become a major sticking point that makes seniors unwilling to move to care communities like assisted living.
Many seniors want to age in place, or have a single home that they live in for as long as possible. For most, this means their family home. But, as they age, more and more older adults need assistance that they cannot provide for themselves—which makes staying at home difficult on themselves and their families.
Rather than aging in place at a family home, assisted living provides seniors with opportunities to age in a community that can provide them with care and personal services—along with other benefits—as needed, rather than moving multiple times when new care concerns arise.
Why seniors think they need to live at home
Seniors want to stay in their familiar homes for many reasons, which aren’t limited to but can include:
Not wanting to burden or trouble their families with a move to a senior care community
Guilt or shame about growing older
Wanting to avoid thinking about serious health concerns
Many seniors also have images in their heads of dull and dreary nursing homes, where they are confined to small rooms and lose all their self-sufficiency in a single day. There also is a common misconception about how much senior living costs. Aging adults might think staying at home is a less expensive option, when the opposite is often true.
Challenges that arise later in life
It’s a sad but true fact that many seniors experience a steep decline in their ability to care for themselves after they turn 70. In fact, over 75% of seniors have a serious chronic illness they likely need assistance with, and health concerns can’t always be addressed by a family member.
The longer a senior and their family wait to start looking at senior care options, the more limited their options become. It’s hard to find the right place to meet a seniors’ individual needs when:
You aren’t sure what care needs a loved one might need in the future
In addition, moving to senior living when there is no longer a choice can make things physically, emotionally, and mentally draining on both seniors and their families. And having in-home care when looking for living arrangements can become incredibly expensive.
Benefits of aging in assisted living
Assisted living communities understand the fears and reluctance that seniors have about leaving their family home. They work to provide a comfortable environment where seniors get the care they need as new conditions and needs develop over time.
When seniors make the move to assisted living before their condition becomes dire, they have time to readjust to a new community. Most assisted living communities even provide catered living for seniors who don’t need specific care services yet, but want some of the messy parts of life like laundry and cleaning taken care of for them.
Assisted living provides a variety of services that don’t take independence away from seniors, but give help in needed areas. These areas include:
Bathing & dressing
Personal care
Moving around the community
Medication management
Housekeeping
Meal planning & cooking
Moving to assisted living also helps reduce the stress on family members. Living at a family home may seem like a great idea for seniors, until they need everyday help and a child or other family member has to put their career and personal life on hold to become a full-time caregiver.
Living independently and aging in place at Vista Springs
Assisted living communities like Vista Springs offer many benefits that seniors can’t get when they age at a family home. These include:
Vista Springs offers everything from catered living to skilled nursing care to hospice and palliative care for end-of-life services. With this wide array of options, seniors can find a new home and age in place at Vista Springs!
It’s important for seniors to feel comfortable and secure in their home as they age. But living at home can create problems down the line. When seniors move to assisted living before a situation becomes desperate, they can enjoy incredible benefits during their golden years.
As people age, the odds of having a sleeping disorder rise dramatically. Many older adults either can’t fall asleep at night, wake up too often, or can’t breathe properly while trying to sleep. In fact, 40% of seniors struggle with serious health problems as a result of poor sleeping habits and a general lack of sleep.
What are the senior health problems that arise from not getting a good night’s sleep? And what can you do to help combat sleep deprivation? Look through this blog to get the information you need about seniors and sleep—along with ideas on how you can fix your sleeping habits before bedtime tonight.
What constitutes a ‘good night’s sleep’?
There’s a common misconception that seniors don’t need as much sleep as other adults, which has likely arisen due to the large number of seniors who struggle to get enough sleep. However, that’s just not true. Seniors need the same amount of sleep as they did when they were younger. All adults over 20 years of age need somewhere between 7-9 hours of sleep per day.
Why seniors don’t get enough sleep
The main causes of sleep deprivation in seniors can usually be linked to two different sources—insomnia or sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is a disorder that occurs when breathing patterns are interrupted during sleep. This limits the flow of oxygen to the brain, which in turn causes you to wake up in order to correct the breathing error. While there are certain groups of people who are more likely to have sleep apnea, it generally becomes more common as you age.
If you suspect you might have sleep apnea, talk to your doctor. They might be able to give you tips on lifestyle changes that will reduce your overall risk, or help you get a CPAP machine or other device that can help open up your airways.
Insomnia
Insomnia is a sleeping disorder characterized by an inability to fall asleep or an inability to stay asleep. Seniors often get insomnia from:
Side effects of medications needed for other health problems
Anxiety and stress about aging
Other health-related issues such as chronic pain
The dangers of sleep deprivation on senior health
The number one danger of sleep deprivation is daytime fatigue, a condition that makes people extremely tired throughout the day—although they don’t fall asleep as a result of their sleepiness. Instead, they suffer from:
With sleep deprivation being such a dangerous issue for seniors to contend with, it’s important that immediate steps are taken to fix sleeping habits. Try avoiding taking sleep medication if you can—it can be expensive, habit-forming, and comes with its own side effects. Instead, use mediation and prescriptions as a last resort and first try natural ways to improve your sleep.
Create a sleeping routine
A nighttime routine can help signal to your brain that it’s time for bed, which is especially helpful if you struggle with insomnia. A routine can include things like:
Taking a warm bath before bed
Drinking a glass of water
Winding down with some light reading and relaxing music
Turning off all lights
Going to bed at a consistent time (and waking up at the same time each day)
Avoid certain behaviors at night
Sometimes engaging in certain behaviors or activities before bed can hurt your chances of getting a good night’s sleep. Things to avoid before bed include:
Watching TV or using smartphones and other electronics
Drinking anything with caffeine or alcohol before you try and sleep
Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol during the day
Smoking right before bedtime
Exercising at night
Optimize your room for sleep
There are simple changes you can make in your apartment and bedroom that can help you improve your sleeping habits, such as:
Making your room dark
Keeping the temperature cooler at nighttime
Taking electronics and TVs out of the bedroom
Creating a noise level that lulls you to sleep—usually either silence or a soft white noise
Removing distracting or unnecessary lights and sounds in your room
Using your bed only for sleeping, not for relaxing in during the day
It’s essential that seniors get to sleep at night, or you can risk coming down with some serious health problems. By being aware of how much sleep you should be getting and taking immediate action steps, you can improve your sleeping habits and get the right amount of rest as you age.
The phrase “activities of daily living” is often thrown around within discussions about senior living options and different care services. But what exactly are ADLs, and how do they differ from IADLs—another common term used in senior care?
Wonder no more! This blog will talk about the differences between ADLs and IADLs and what activities are included under each term, along with an explanation of how these different care services become benefits for independence within assisted living communities.
What’s the difference?
Both ADLs and IADLs refer to key life tasks that need to be accomplished daily. ADLs, or activities of daily living, are more basic tasks that are essential to independent living. IADLs, or instrumental activities of daily living, are more complex tasks that are still a necessary part of everyday life.
A good way to remember the difference between the two is to think of ADLs as tasks we learned as children—like eating and walking—and IADLs as things we learned as teenagers—like money management, driving, and housekeeping.
Activities of daily living
Care services for ADLs can range from simple assistance, such as check-ins and monitoring services, to full dependency on a nurse or caregiver to complete tasks. These care services are broken down into six specific categories:
1. Ambulating
This care service mostly involves helping with walking—both inside and outside. However, it can also include pushing a wheelchair, following alongside someone with a walker, or holding a senior’s arm while they walk.
2. Eating
The physical act of eating, including getting food into a person’s mouth and their ability to chew and swallow is another ADL that some seniors need assistance with.
3. Grooming
Grooming includes picking out clothes and getting dressed, brushing hair, cutting nails, brushing teeth, and taking care of personal appearance and hygiene.
4. Toileting
This care service includes all aspects of using the bathroom including getting to the toilet, using it, and properly cleaning oneself.
5. Bathing
Washing the face, taking a shower or bath, cleaning all parts of the body, and getting in and out of the tub are examples of ADLs that fall under the category of bathing.
6. Transferring
“Transferring” means moving the body from one position to another. For example, helping a senior with transferring can include getting them out of bed, sitting them up, moving them into a wheelchair, or helping to get them standing up.
Instrumental activities of daily living
IADLs have a much more broad range of care service categories than ADLs. Rather than having exactly six different groups of activities, there isn’t a consistent number of IADLs. However, there are some common examples that all involve complex thinking and organizational skills that can be lost as people grow older.
Money management
Managing one’s money includes things like paying bills, balancing checkbooks, going to the bank, depositing checks, and monitoring the flow of cash in and out of an account.
Transportation
Transportation needs include being able to drive oneself to different places, or arranging rides and organizing transport when you cannot drive alone.
Housekeeping & maintenance
These tasks include keeping up with house cleaning, doing laundry, fixing minor maintenance needs like broken toilets or leaky faucets, and keeping things decluttered and tidy.
Knowing how to use the phone or computer to check messages, emails, and voicemails are all things that fall under a general category of “communication”, along with opening and replying to mail and remembering dates when visitors were coming to visit.
Medication management
Knowing what medications to take and when, along with knowing when a prescription is running low, when it needs to be refilled, and how to refill it is all part of medication management.
Cooking & meal preparation
This can include planning out meals for the week, grocery shopping, storing groceries and checking expiration dates, and all the aspects of cooking a meal. It can also include picking the right food to meet dietary needs.
Daily care in assisted living
Seniors begin to lose independence when they are no longer able to complete ADLs and IADLs on their own. In order to help community members maintain independence for as long as possible, assisted living doesn’t require all of these tasks to be taken care of at all times, like you would expect in a nursing home.
Assisted living communities will only give seniors assistance on ADLs and IADLs that residents need help with. Beyond these needed care services, community members are able to take care of their own daily tasks however they best see fit.
Because assisted living has the care services to provide for all of these needs as they arise, it’s easy for seniors to be able to age in place in assisted living communities knowing they will get the services they need, when they need them.
Summertime means barbecues, lake trips and fun in the sun with family and friends but it can also mean lawn mowing, weed pulling, bug killing and other (not so fun) tasks to keep your home or yard in shape. While they are not fun for anyone, for aging adults these tasks can become increasingly difficult. Moving to an assisted living facility can mean exchanging tedious and arduous home tasks for simply enjoying everything the summer has to offer.
What do you give up when you choose an assisted living community? Things you don’t want to be doing anyway.
Home maintenance
Never change a light bulb again. Don’t worry about that leaky faucet and definitely don’t climb up on that ladder to clean the gutters. All the stuff you dread doing around the house, repairs, cleaning, leaky faucets, is taken care of when you live in a retirement community with a full of life focus.
Plan trips & activities
It’s great to take trips; it’s not always great to plan them. The effort of searching for something to do, researching parking, finding food in the area and figuring out transportation can often take away the joy of visiting a new place. So, let someone else plan the logistics for you while you simply tag along for the fun. No driving, no parking, no fighting traffic, just a good time.
Watch your house while you’re gone
If it’s always been your dream to travel in your retirement years, you don’t want to be burdened by the requirements of home ownership. Leaving a home behind for extended periods means keeping it safe and locked up, planning for yard maintenance while you’re away and worrying about what might happen while it’s empty. If you’re traveling during the winter, it’s your responsibility to keep your sidewalks clear, and snow build up on your home can often cause damage if not tended to immediately. When you’re traveling, you want to enjoy your time away. When you live in a community like Vista Springs, your home is taken care of, no matter where are.
Cooking
An elaborate meal tastes great, but the before and after can be tedious. Preparation can take hours and doing the dishes sometimes makes the meal more of a hassle than a reward. A luxury living community means a variety of exciting, healthy meals that you can enjoy with friends or family, without the hassle of preparation or cleanup.
Yard work
From raking to snow shoveling, yard work can take its toll on your back and joints and can make owning a home as you age a painful burden. Rather than paying a neighbor kid to shovel the sidewalk every time it snows or watching the leaves pile up while you dread getting out the rake, depend on your community to create and take care of a lush and beautiful landscape.
As a sizable percentage of the population reaches old age, many families worry about the health of their loved ones. A common fear is that a senior family member will be diagnosed with dementia. Dementia, which is a name given to describe a large number of specific memory diseases, affects about 10% of Americans, although the anxiety surrounding dementia makes many people think that the numbers are higher.
Dementia has many stages and forms, but most people are only aware of the late-stage symptoms that can be the most frightening and upsetting. Because these are the more well known symptoms, it can become difficult to understand what the early signs of dementia actually are.
It’s important to try and get a dementia diagnosis as soon as possible so the best treatment plan can be put in place, meaning it’s equally important to know what the earliest signs of dementia are and how to recognize them in your loved ones.
Memory loss
The most well-known and obvious sign to spot for dementia is memory loss. After all, dementia is another name for memory disease. But memory loss can mean different things, and it’s important to know when something could be a sign of dementia, and when a behavior is part of the normal aging process.
Simple forgetfulness, such as blanking on a name or word but then remembering it later, isn’t necessarily the type of sign you need to be on the lookout for. Something that might be a more significant sign of memory loss would be forgetting the name of a close relative or friend, and not being able to recall it later.
A good indicator of whether memory loss is a simple brain lapse or a serious sign is if the memory loss is interfering with the daily life of your loved one. For example, if they can no longer hold a conversation because they forget names, dates, and events, it could be an early dementia warning sign.
Confusion
Another important indicator of oncoming dementia is confusion. While not as unmistakable as forgetting names of relatives, confusion can often be the result of other, less obvious, characteristics of memory loss. If an elderly family member is having more confusion than normal, such as not understanding where they are, what day or time it is, or who they are talking to, it could be pointing to a more serious problem than a simple senior moment.
Changes in attitude
If you notice abrupt changes in attitude from senior family members, then it could be another early sign of approaching dementia. Sometimes people who are suffering from early dementia symptoms will become angry, irritable, aggressive, scared, or anxious. Usually these behavioral changes are because they are afraid of what’s happening to them, and are either lashing out or withdrawing from confusion.
A major shift in overall personality is another warning sign to be aware of, such as a normally social person becoming reclusive, or a usually shy person suddenly becoming more outgoing and reckless.
Cognitive difficulty
Dementia affects more in the brain than just memory, and a person’s cognitive thinking and mental abilities are often damaged by dementia. Early dementia symptoms can be represented by difficulty with things like:
Puzzle-solving
Organizing
Scheduling
Complex thinking
Following directions
Simple math
Problems with speaking or writing
If your loved one stumbles over words occasionally as they continue to age, there probably isn’t a reason to get overly concerned. However, if your extremely well-spoken relative is struggling to remember even basic words and is forgetting what simple phrases mean, it could be a sign of something more severe.
Similarly, if you notice that a loved one can no longer write the way they used to and is using increasingly poor grammar and spelling, it could be another early dementia warning sign.
Remember:
In today’s world, we can sometimes be hyper-vigilant when it comes to searching for signs of dementia. While it’s important to get an early diagnosis, we can also be a little paranoid with our loved one’s health.
It’s normal for seniors to have a few lapses in memory and some mood changes as they age, so not every dropped word and misplaced item is a reason for alarm. However, if you notice a possible symptom getting rapidly worse, or a number of signs presenting together, you may want to consider talking to your loved one.
Always keep your senior family members informed about your suspicions, and don’t exclude them from any decisions you make. If you think that a trip to the doctor is necessary, go with your loved one to show support. Working together as a family is always the best way to approach serious health issues, including dementia.
As you age, it can be difficult to be as socially active as you once were. You might find yourself making excuses or giving friends a rain check on social gatherings. However, this kind of social avoidance can lead to serious consequences for your physical and mental health. Take a look and see why socialization is so important for aging adults.
Why don’t seniors socialize?
It’s very common for seniors and older adults to avoid socializing at the same rates they did when they were younger. But why? For some, it’s because of the decreased mobility they have as they age. When it’s hard to drive or get in and out of vehicles, or if you need to use a walker or wheelchair to get around, going out and socializing becomes a demanding and laborious task.
In addition to struggling with mobility, seniors can find themselves having much less energy throughout the day and becoming exhausted quickly—making evening dinners and events tiring rather than invigorating. It also becomes more difficult to navigate unknown environments, so staying at home becomes a preferable option to going out.
For some seniors, there are more than just physical barriers between themselves and socialization. As adults age, it can become more and more challenging to be emotionally available for family and friends. Seniors may be upset at their condition or frustrated in general, and want to avoid interactions and isolate themselves thinking that will be the better option. However, the opposite is often true.
Socialization lowers rates of depression
Depression is unfortunately a common mental health problem among seniors. Senior depression is usually brought on by the loneliness or guilt seniors feel when they isolate themselves as they age. Symptoms include:
Lack of energy & motivation
Feelings of sadness or despair
Difficulty sleeping (or sleeping much longer than normal)
Feelings of self-loathing
Sudden weight loss or gain
Slower movement & speech
Increased abuse of alcohol
Neglecting personal care (like showering, grooming, or eating)
Loss of interest in hobbies
Thoughts of suicide
While older adults who feel this way might not want to socialize, isolation always makes depression worse. Socialization provides opportunities to learn, converse, laugh, and be stimulated—all of which can make depression more bearable for seniors. Socialization can also decrease the odds of getting senior depression at all.
Remember, if you are at all concerned that you or a loved one is suffering from depression, get help and speak to a professional right away.
Socialization improves memory and can help prevent dementia
Over the years there have been countless studies that have linked a lack of socialization to an increased risk of dementia and other memory diseases. As adults age, it’s important that the brain remains stimulated and engaged. Socialization can help seniors maintain proper cognitive function by exercising their brains in different ways then it works while someone is alone.
In fact, a very recent study suggests that interactions with friends (who are not relatives) can decrease dementia risk by as much as 12%. Socialization decreases the stress on the brain that can slow down mental functions, and well as create a “reserve” of mental energy, all while promoting healthy behavior and interaction.
It’s important that your brain doesn’t just sit in your head as you age, and socializing with others can challenge your cognitive thinking and functions in helpful ways that build brain strength and endurance.
Socialization makes seniors happier and healthier
It’s not just mental health that can be improved with socialization—it can also help boost your physical energy as well. Studies have made connections between lowered social activity and high blood pressure, and some new theories are suggesting that high rates of social interaction can lower the chances of osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and cardiovascular disease in older adults.
Most importantly, social interaction makes people happier. Seniors who are socially active are more likely to be physically active as well, and they are less stressed, have longer lifespans, and have greater self-esteem than seniors who are isolated.
Social opportunities near you
There are plenty of ways for you to be social, or to help a loved one stay social as they age. Opportunities for socialization include:
Senior hobby groups (like gardening, bird-watching, cooking, or collecting clubs)
Activity groups (like arts & crafts, movie watching, or book clubs)
Group health activities (like music therapy or meditation)
Senior living communities like assisted living give people plenty of opportunities to grow socially without needing to find ways to leave home or travel to other locations. Because of the group environment and daily activities in senior living, there are plenty of ways to cultivate new relationships and meet people socially without dealing with stress.
There are new advancements being made in medical fields everyday, which can mean great things for seniors who are in need of medical treatment. Even as scientific progress continues to make a significant impact, it’s just as important to meet the needs of a patient that go beyond medical care at the same time. A person’s physical, emotional, and mental states are just as important as their physical condition.
So how do we meet those needs? Holistic care is an approach to healing that works to include all areas of a person’s wellbeing in their treatment plan. Most people are confused about what holistic care means and how it can apply to them — and in the case of seniors who need care, how it can improve their lives. Let’s take a look at what holistic care is and how it can apply to your loved one’s care plan.
What is holistic care?
Holistic care is centered around a philosophy of healing the whole person. This means looking at a patient as a person first, not as a diagnosis or set of care needs. Holistic care takes into consideration other aspects of a person beyond the physical, including their feelings, emotions, and overall state of mind throughout their care journey.
In addition, holistic care tries to fix the cause of a condition instead of just managing the physical symptoms of sickness. Holistic treatments include not only the traditional remedies that you would receive from a regular doctor, but also different ways to help treat conditions that go beyond traditional medicine.
Take, for example, migraines. If someone complained of migraines, a holistic medical practitioner would give the patient medication to manage pain just like most doctors. However, they would also look at what could be behind the headaches, such as a bad diet, poor sleep, or high stress levels. They would then suggest additional treatments for those factors, like a new diet plan, different habits for better sleep, or a massage or meditation course to help decrease stress.
Holistic care practitioners try to make patients feel dignified, respected, and heard by considering the physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual needs of a patient. Common examples of holistic care include:
As people age and become seniors, they generally find themselves struggling with more and more health problems. This can be incredibly difficult to handle, especially if pain is a daily symptom. Many seniors look to avoid having an overwhelming amount of prescriptions and medications, many of which come with serious side effects.
While the benefits of medical science have undeniably come a long way, it’s also important that seniors feel valued as people. Holistic care can be a great supplemental option for seniors who want to maintain their dignity, feel valued and respected, and have different options for treatments and pain management alongside traditional remedies.
Holistic care can have additional benefits that make a big impact on seniors, including:
Opportunities for socialization
Healthy relationships with long-term caregivers
Cognitive development and maintenance
An increased sense of self-worth and self-respect
Staying independent for longer
Spiritual and religious comfort
Seniors don’t want to feel like a burden on their caregivers, and a brusque attitude can make them feel as though they aren’t being valued as people first and foremost. Seniors with serious illnesses can quickly become depressed if they aren’t treated with compassion and respect. Therefore, it makes sense that holistic care can go a long way in helping seniors mentally, emotionally, and physically.
As older adults continue to age, it’s critical that they eat foods with nutrition to boost their energy levels and build their endurance. Without enough energy, physical and mental health can begin decline. In order to get that much needed energy boost, here are 10 foods that provide multiple health benefits for seniors.
1. Nuts
Nuts are full of healthy fats and proteins that give seniors nutritional energy. The amino acids in nuts can also help rebuild and strengthen muscles, which is great for simple stretching and exercising.
Walnuts
Walnuts have plenty of fiber for seniors, and can be eaten on their own as a snack or in salads, deserts, and other dishes. Their high calorie count will also help provide seniors with all-day energy.
Almonds
The carbs and fiber in almonds are complicated and are broken down slowly, which provides energy throughout the day rather than all at once. This makes nuts a great pick-me-up with a long-lasting effect.
2. Berries
As with nuts, berries can be a quick snack that taste great and have many added health benefits that seniors can take advantage of.
Blueberries
Blueberries are full of antioxidants, which not only provide immune-boosting effects, but can help protect muscles from weakening over time. Blueberries also have water packed into them, which keeps seniors hydrated and energized.
Healthy carbs like whole grains have complicated cellular structures that take time to break down during digestion, which provides a constant source of energy throughout the day. Switching from unhealthy carbs to whole grains is a small step that has lasting health benefits.
Oatmeal
The rumors are true—oatmeal is good for your heart! A bowl of oatmeal in the morning can give you much-needed energy throughout the day, as well as providing fiber and protein that seniors need to build their endurance.
Quinoa
Quinoa, which is more of a seed than a grain, is packed full of healthy carbs and protein. It also helps build and repair muscles, which helps seniors maintain their muscle mass and mobility as they age.
4. Sweet potatoes
Rather than white or yellow potatoes, give sweet potatoes a try! Sweet potatoes have much more nutritional value than other potatoes, even though the “sweet” in the name might imply otherwise. The sweetness actually comes from the complex sugars and carbs that give seniors energy and encourage them to exercise and build muscle mass.
5. Greek or plain yogurt
Plain or Greek yogurt provides a big boost of energy with healthy proteins and fats. Rather than the sweetened versions that add lots of sugar, unflavored yogurt gives you lasting energy. You can add some fruits or berries to get natural sweetness if you need!
6. Bananas
As most people know, bananas are high in potassium. What isn’t as well known is what potassium helps to balance hydration and deliver energy. In addition, bananas have anti-inflammatory properties that help seniors build endurance and heal torn muscles faster.
7. Beans and lentils
Beans and lentils are high in a number of vitamins and minerals, such as zinc, iron, and magnesium. Replenishing minerals can help seniors maintain blood sugar levels, which in turn helps provide a constant stream of energy.
8. Water
While water is a drink, not a food, it is still one of the best things seniors can have to boost energy and build endurance. Without proper hydration, muscles won’t be able to function properly and seniors can easily lose both strength and mobility over time from dehydration.
If drinking water isn’t your thing, then take a look at some other ways you can get your daily dose of hydration.
Seeds are another example of a healthy snack that can give seniors a quick boost of energy and build endurance.
Chia Seeds
The slower you naturally digest food, the more steady your energy levels will be throughout the day. That’s why seeds that are high in fiber like chia seeds are a great high-energy snack.
Pumpkin Seeds
Like chia seeds, pumpkin seeds have a high fiber content that helps
regulate digestion throughout the day. You can easily make your own
pumpkin seeds at home by baking them in the oven with a little salt.
10. Avocados
Avocados provide some of the healthiest natural fats found in any food item. Healthy fats are used as energy, rather than unhealthy fats which are stored by the body. Seniors can take advantage of the energy provided by avocados to motivate themselves to exercise and move.
Seniors need to find the energy to move, stretch, exercise, and socialize as they age, or they face serious health consequences. Rather than losing independence, eat the right foods and stay healthier for longer!
After retirement, you might discover that you have more time on your hands than originally expected. In order to fill that time, many seniors start exploring new hobbies and activities. But many common activities like golfing, traveling, and fishing aren’t geared towards seniors who would rather stay at home than go out.
Luckily, there are plenty of senior hobbies that don’t need a lot of time, money, or physical capability, and can take place in your own living room. Retirement offers a perfect opportunity to learn new skills, so take a look at these seven different retirement hobbies that are perfect for creative types.
1. Painting and drawing
Creating artwork like paintings and drawings is an activity that has almost no limitations on what can be created. From watercolors to acrylics to oils to charcoals, there are countless mediums of art, so you can find the perfect one that works best for you.
Local community centers typically have plenty of art classes that are great for beginners. These also provide seniors with a new way to get out of the house and socialize with others. Whether you go big with canvases and materials or keep it simple with a few pencils and paper, painting and drawing can help you feel relaxed and calm while helping you build your artistic skills.
2. Crafting
Crafting is another example of a creative activity that doesn’t require a lot of mobility or physical effort, and it includes all kinds of hobbies such as:
Crafting can also be a way to make a little extra money after retirement. Going to craft shows or selling your items online can be a fun way to earn some extra cash while exploring a new activity and meeting plenty of new people.
3. Cooking
There are almost an unlimited number of ways to learn new cooking skills, from looking at old family recipes to watching cooking shows to swapping ideas with friends. There’s so many recipes out there that everyone from the most basic beginner to seasoned experts can find something new to work with.
Cooking also provides seniors with a way to take control of their health, explore different cuisines, and share meals with others. Whether you’re gaining a few basic cooking skills or perfecting your talents, retirement is a perfect time to explore new cooking opportunities. Looking for some great beginner recipes to get started with? Click the link below to try some healthy options!
Pottery is an often overlooked but incredibly satisfying hobby. It typically requires a significant amount of time, which makes it a perfect creative outlet for retired seniors who can now afford to dedicate the necessary hours to create ceramics.
Like many other crafting opportunities, pottery gives seniors a chance to earn some additional income by selling their wares either online or at festivals and craft shows. Pottery can create useful items like bowls, plates, and vases, or fun home decor items and abstract art pieces.
5. Woodworking
If you like a hands-on approach to retirement hobbies and want to try something a little out of the box, then woodworking might be the best option for you. While getting the right tools can be an expensive up-front cost, woodworking is a wonderful creative outlet that your friends and family might not have seen before.
6. Gardening
If you think that all gardening involves kneeling down in the dirt and having to perform back-breaking labor, then you would be wrong! Gardening can take place out of doors in flower beds, but it can also be adapted to meet a senior’s needs, especially if getting up and down is difficult.
Container gardening is a great way to get enjoyment out of planting and growing your own flowers or vegetables without having to perform as much physical labor. Raised containers like planters, baskets, and pots can help you protect your back health, and can take place both indoors and outdoors.
7. Writing
As you age, you might discover that there are many things you want to record and preserve for posterity. Or you might have some creative ideas that you want to explore through writing. Either way, there’s never a better time to start than today!
Writing can include everything from novels to poems to short stories, as well as everything in between. If you are looking for a good place to start, then consider reminiscence writing as a way to help you connect to past events while providing helpful therapeutic results.
There are parts of aging that we don’t like to talk about, including the loss of independence that many older people face. It’s difficult to see our senior loved ones struggle with things that used to come easy to them, but it’s even harder for them as they have to face the idea that they can no longer take care of themselves alone.
Helping a loved one accept their new situation often involves a conversation about moving to a place where they can receive aid for the things they can no longer do themselves. With bleak images of nursing homes often popping into mind, this option is incredibly unappealing to many seniors. However, a perfect balance between independence and assistance for your senior loved one can be found in assisted living.
What does loss of independence look like?
Losing independence looks different in each senior as they age, but
there are three main ways elderly people begin to notice a loss of
independence.
Physical—As seniors age they lose strength and mobility, making housekeeping chores, getting out of bed, walking around their residence, bathing, and dressing difficult to do alone.
Mental—Losing cognitive function makes it difficult for seniors to remember appointments, medication schedules, when they last ate, and other personal care tasks.
Social—When a senior can no longer drive or move easily, they often find themselves isolated and unable to engage socially with others, which can have long-term effects on their mental health.
As a result of losing independence, seniors can feel depressed, angry, guilty, ashamed, or afraid. Seniors can also become confused about why they are losing their independence and either act out or isolate—neither of which are healthy reactions.
The most common of these feelings is depression, which can often go unnoticed in seniors. It’s important to get your loved one help if they are showing signs of depression, which include:
Loss of interest in socializing and activities that used to interest them
Changes in weight & appetite
Lack of motivation
Neglecting personal care (bathing, dressing, taking medications)
Decline in cognitive functions
Self-loathing
Another common reaction is extreme guilt or shame. Seniors can feel like their inability to care for themselves is their fault, or they might feel ashamed that they need help in parts of their life that they had control over when they were younger.
Every senior is going to react differently, so be aware of the different types of feelings that your loved one might exhibit during this difficult period in their life, and work with them to address the negative feelings that they have.
What can you do?
The best thing you can do for a loved one struggling through the process of accepting their loss of independence is to be patient. Your loved one may not understand their own feelings, so don’t add to their stress with your frustrations. Keeping a level head and remaining calm can go a long way.
Visit with your loved one regularly and encourage them to ask for help when they need it so you can understand what their needs are. Offer rides to get them out of their house or apartment and to places where they can socialize with others. If you are working as a temporary caregiver, remember to take your own health into consideration so you don’t burn out, causing more difficulty.
Another one of the best things you can do is encourage your loved one to move to a community that can give them both the help they need and encourage their own independence.
Assisted living and senior independence
Assisted living can be a great solution for seniors who need help in
certain areas of their lives, but want to maintain their independence as
well. Most communities create a plan with your loved one to provide
needed services, but allow independence in the other areas of your
family member’s life. Common services include:
In addition to assistance with these types of tasks, assisted living
communities also provide socialization opportunities that your loved one
wouldn’t find with in-home care or a family caregiver. Rather than
remain confined to a single room, assisted living communities are
designed to get seniors interacting with each other and participating in
fun activities.
Communities like Vista Springs are designed with independence and luxury in mind, and we look forward to giving your senior loved one every opportunity to maintain control over their lives while offering assistance with the things they do need help with. Click the link below to learn more about what makes Vista Springs different, or subscribe to our blog to get the latest information on all things assisted living!
When caring for a loved one, the process can be both a rewarding and stressful experience. It often involves shifting family dynamics, financial changes, and an increased workload. Because of this, it is not uncommon for caregivers to experience increased feelings of stress and burnout. Without support, these feelings can lead to emotional and physical problems like heart disease and depression.
To avoid these issues, it’s important to recognize the need for help and support to relieve some of the stress. Here are some practical ways to accomplish this:
1. Ask for help
Caregivers often find themselves taking on too much and not wanting to burden others with our responsibilities. However, this common problem can quickly lead to feelings of being overwhelmed and helpless. Speak up and let family and friends know that you need some assistance.
Additionally, when someone does offer to provide help, don’t be afraid to accept it. Keep in mind that this also means having to relinquish complete control of the situation, which can be challenging.
2. Take breaks
Busy caregivers often don’t have much leisure time to themselves. However, not making this element a priority could be counterproductive in the long run. If necessary, dedicate this time in a calendar and ask someone to help fill in for you (see the paragraph above and ask for help with this item) and take the time to rest from the list of caregiver responsibilities. After this rest time, energy and focus will be improved, increasing attitude and productivity.
3. Make health a priority
When a caregiver fails to make their health a priority, that will ultimately result in not being able to provide the level of care their loved one needs. Getting enough sleep, eating healthy, regular doctor visits, and exercise are essential components that keep a caregiver feeling great and energized.
4. Find support
Depending on the situation, caregiving can become a lonely place. But that doesn’t have to be the case, as there are many other caregivers out there that are dealing with similar situations and they can become an excellent resource. There are also support groups available (both in-person and online) that focus on discussing and listening to others’ who know and understand what caregiving entails. These groups can provide comfort from those feelings of lonesomeness as well as education and insight on care and specific diseases.
5. Accept the situation
It is easy to find ourselves in a trap of feeling frustrated or mad about the caregiving situation, continuously asking why something like this has happened. That energy is being wasted and doesn’t help improve caregiving abilities. Instead, try to accept the situation and use it as a tool to build personal strength, depth, and understanding.
In conclusion, when stress and burnout set in, it puts the caregiver at risk of not being able to provide adequate care. That impacts both the caregiver and the person being cared for. The bottom line is that managing the health and well-being of a caregiver is equally as important as making sure a family member takes their medication and gets to their doctor appointments on time.
Today, more Americans are living longer, meaning that more couples are going through the aging process together. If you and your spouse are considering options for assisted living, here are a few areas to research while planning.
Does the community meet our needs as a couple?
Not all assisted living communities are prepared to support a couple’s needs. In the past, the vast majority of people living in senior communities were single individuals, so it’s necessary to find out how each community has adapted to serving couples. For instance, some facilities offer shared rooms or suites, whereas other living situations might require couples with different medical conditions to live in different wings. Consider your dynamic as a couple and decide what living arrangement is a priority for you.
Does the community meet our needs as individuals?
Often, one partner is less healthy than the other or needs more involved medical care. Perhaps one spouse needs constant help with daily tasks, while the other is able-bodied and interested in an active lifestyle. It’s imperative to find out how the community is suited to these needs. Does the social life of the community appeal to both of you as individuals? Is the more active partner comfortable with leaving their spouse in the care of the medical staff?
Also, look ahead a few years and find out how any future health developments will be handled. You will want to be aware of possible adjustments ahead of time, such as the cost of outside services or requirements for changing facilities. In light of your different medical conditions, consider how the community’s policies may impact you and your spouse. Make educated plans for eventualities such as moving into separate facilities when one partner’s medical conditions change.
What are our financial options?
Assisted living can be expensive, so it’s best to make plans as early as possible. Research which type of assisted living will be best for you and your spouse: continuing care retirement communities offer many phases of senior living in one location, family care homes have a small number of residents in a home setting, and skilled nursing facilities offer specialized care options. Depending on which arrangement you choose, you may have the possibility of tiered pricing packages designed to reflect the differing types of care provided for each person.
Here are three tips to making the transition as a couple a little easier:
Make a downsizing plan. Most living arrangements will be smaller than the homes many couples own together
Prepare to make the new home as welcoming as possible! Creating a comfortable and functional space, including familiar household items, will help ease the transition.
Understand the community’s intimacy policies. Take the time to make arrangements with the community, particularly if one or both partners require memory care or if medical treatment compromises privacy. Maintaining intimacy as a couple is essential, no matter what our age.
Talk to each other about your social plans. If your significant other wants to live in a community with a lot of social activity and you don’t, it’s important to communicate how you will accommodate each of your needs without conflict.
Keep these ideas in mind as you and your partner approach your transition to the next stage of life. While the move to assisted living is a big step, having a plan in place will help everything go smoothly and prevent the need to make huge decisions during a crisis. Keep your needs in mind, both as a couple and as individuals with unique medical needs and social interests. With a plan in place for approaching this critical phase, the transition to assisted living can be an excellent step forward in a couple’s journey together.
The prospect of moving out of a comfortable and familiar environment typically isn’t appealing to anyone, no matter their age. But, for aging adults, and the adults taking care of them, it’s often a prospect that must be considered. Before even considering a move, aging adults and their family member will want to make sure it’s necessary. Here are some signs that may indicate it’s time to start considering an assisted living facility.
Frequent falls
Is your parent or loved one falling a lot lately? Even if it’s just small stumbles over the edge of a carpet or a bump against the corner of a coffee table, frequent tumbles can be a sign of a bigger problem. Or, they could be the eventual cause of a larger problem.
According to the CDC, “Each year, millions of older people—those 65 and older—fall. In fact, more than one out of four older people falls each year, but less than half tell their doctor. Falling once doubles your chances of falling again.”
Even if your parent doesn’t tell you they’ve been falling or stumbling, you can keep your eyes open for signs such as unexplained bruises or limp. It’s also important to consider what would happen if they were to fall. How often do they have people over? If they were unable to get up or get to a phone, how long would it take to discover them? Both the falling and the repercussions of the falling are things to consider.
Memory lapses
Observe their behavior when you’re around. Are there small things they seem to be often forgetting, like names or what day it is or the last time they went to the grocery store? While these little things may seem inconsequential, you should consider what else they may forget when you’re not there. Maybe they’ve forgotten to turn the oven off or to lock their doors at night? It’s possible they could forget to put the car in park before getting out or even forget to take their medications. If the small things start adding up, it may be time to consider help, before the big things cause larger issues.
Minimal social life
Even if their social life isn’t what it used to be, how often do they leave the house or have people over? They may not be going to the movies once a week or out every weekend, but do they at least have activities they care about or people they look forward to seeing? Being cooped up at home or not leaving the house may be a sign of depression or might indicate they can no longer travel on their own. Either way, social activities are essential to a healthy lifestyle, and if they can’t attend them on their own, it may be time to move to a facility that can help.
Changes in appearance
Next time you visit your loved one, take a long look at them. What do you notice? When you give them a hug, do they feel thinner? Weight loss could be a sign they aren’t cooking enough or getting the proper nutrition. Alternatively, weight gain could be a sign of turning to easy but unhealthy food options, or that a condition like diabetes is not being treated.
Besides their physical appearance, how do their clothes look? Are the clothes clean and well-kept? Does your love one appear well-groomed and clean? Or, are they still in their night clothes in the afternoon or wearing clothes that seem dirty?
These are all signs that your loved one may not be able to complete everyday tasks such as laundry or showering.
Poor food supply
Check the fridge and cupboards of your loved one, what do you find? Are the shelves bare? Or, is the fridge full but with expired or stale items? Are there multiples of one item but not enough of another? If the weather turned bad and they couldn’t get to the store, would there be enough food to last a few days?
A grimy house
If your loved one can’t keep up with everyday house cleaning, it can create an unsanitary situation, and you’ll start to see signs even if they are good at hiding it. There may be visible signs such as cobwebs and mold in corners, but make sure you check the areas they think you won’t see like their bedroom and bathroom. These are areas they may neglect if they don’t have the energy to clean the whole house.
Frequent medical care
If your loved one is heading to the ER or hospital for one reason or another, chronic illness, frequent falls, respiratory problems or more, they may need more advanced medical care than they can get at home. Ambulance rides can be costly and so can a long stay at a hospital. Making the switch to an assisted living center, while it may be more up front, can provide your loved one access to the care they need without frequent, emergency trips.
One or two of these signs on their own may not indicate it’s time to move your family member out of their home. Maybe they just need some extra house cleaning help or a meal service to relieve the stress of cooking every day. If they want to continue living independently, and they aren’t in immediate danger, some services can help them do that.
But, a combination of these signs can result in a low quality of life and may mean it’s time to start thinking about a move.
When it’s time to start looking at alternative living options for your aging loved one, you’ll know it’s time using these indicators, chances are, they might be a little hesitant. Moving out of their home is a big change, and there are a lot of things they may think they will be giving up. They’ll have a lot of reasons why staying right where they are is the best option. But, many of the reasons people give for avoiding assisted living facilities are actually misconceptions.
Here are a few common misconceptions about life in an assisted living facility.
Loss of independence
Many feel that when they enter into an assisted living facility, they will be giving up a lot, most importantly their independence. But, many facilities are designed to offer their residents the same amount, and sometimes more, independence, than they had a home. Small details make the difference here, like their own mailboxes, the option to have their car or utilize public transportation, and the ability to bring their own furniture and even cook for themselves if they want to.
More expensive than home
Another common argument refers to the cost of an assisted living facility. And while the cost will vary depending the type and amount of care needed, in many cases choosing assisted living over staying home can save money. If an aging loved one lives alone but can’t complete many household tasks such as cleaning or yard work, they may be paying someone else to do it for them.
And, if they are slowly finding themselves uneasy and are afraid of falling, they may need railings or special tubs installed throughout their home. Adding these features, combined with medical bills or in home care if a fall or injury occurs around the house, costs can begin to add up. An assisted living facility has the features your loved one needs already built in and extra care in included in the price of the facility.
Life is over
Many see assisted living as a “final stop” and imagine all the things they will be losing, including the things that make their lives fulfilling including friends, visits, and activities. But at facilities like Vista Springs, they strive to provide a community that is “Full of Life.” Their daily activities focus on rediscovery, reconnection, and renewal and aim to target areas such as social wellness, vibrant living, and optimism.
In many ways, given the level of care and features meant to enhance life, residents find they can do more within the facility than they ever could while living at home. In a close, active community, everything they need to live a fulfilling, active life is right at their fingertips.
You lose the “homey” feel
Many see assisted living facilities as sterile environments full of sick people, medicines, bland food and cheesy hospital decor. But many facilities, like Vista Springs, are far from that description. In certain locations, the halls and rooms are designed to mimic the feel of a neighborhood street, with street signs and rooms with framed, picture windows lining the hallways. Fireplaces and pianos offer a soft, calming ambiance and sunrooms and cozy nooks provide places to find peace. Resident’s rooms can be customized with their own flair and nurses stations are situated off the beaten path, out of the way of foot traffic.
You should wait to move until “something happens”
“But I’m fine,” your loved one insists, and that may be true. Many think it’s best to wait and move until something happens but, when one fall can lead to more and costly medical bills can start to add up, why wait? Why not move into a safer environment in order to prevent something from happening.
These are just a small spattering of the misconceptions people carry about moving to an assisted living facility. The bottom line is assisted living facilities have come a long way, and there’s no reason that leaving home has to mean giving up a home.
When it’s time to move into an assisted living facility, everyone involved in the move will have a lot of questions. If you are helping a loved one decide which community is right for them, you should be asking a lot of questions during tours.
Before going in, you’ll probably have a general idea of the things you need to know and the topics you’ll want to cover. You definitely need to cover basic housekeeping questions like:
Cost and payment options
Insurance coverage
Waitlist
Discharge policy
What services are included and which are extra
But, there are other, more specific questions regarding lifestyle, quality of life and the general feel of the facility that you should be asking. Often, these questions reveal more about the community and are more important than the “housekeeping” questions. If you’re looking for assisted living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, or anywhere, make sure to ask the following questions.
What are the “age in place” options?
If your loved one is thinking about leaving their home for assisted living, it’s probably going to be a big change. Once they make the move, consistency will be important and another move will be the last thing on everyone’s mind. Before you choose an assisted living facility, ask about the level of care they can offer if your loved one experiences any health changes or setbacks? Do they have the services to care for them if they experience dementia or if they lose mobility? What about hospice? Is this a community your loved one can stay in as long as they need to? Make sure the next move they make is as permanent as possible.
How many personal items are allowed?
Personal touches are important when it comes to feeling at home in a new environment. How much of their own furniture, decor and home items can your loved one bring with them to their new home? Will they be able to completely outfit their apartment with their own furniture and favorite rugs? Will there be room for their favorite books, pictures, or wall art? Bringing a touch of home may be an important deciding factor in choosing a place so it’s an important question to ask.
What services are offered on site?
The services offered on site can make a facility feel more like a community than just a place. By offering beauty salons, libraries, cafes, mailboxes and even walking paths, residents can make their own appointments and attend them without leaving the facility. This can add a level of independence and they won’t need to rely on rides or public transportation to enjoy these small pleasures.
What are other residents/families saying?
During your tour, take some time to aim questions not just at the staff, but at other residents. Try to time a visit when other families will be visiting so you can chat with them as well. Ask about the general mood of their loved one, their activity levels and what their favorite things to do are.
What types of activities, either within or outside the facility, are offered?
How will the facility help your loved one remain active, engaged and social? While many residents will want to plan and attend their own activities outside the facility, it may be best for some to stay close. For these residents, it’s comforting knowing that there will be activities for them to participate in whether or not they choose to leave the community daily or stay. Daily activities and an active social life are important to everyone’s well-being and are particularly important within an assisted living facility.
Don’t just ask surface level “housekeeping” questions. To get a feel for what life will look like within a community, dig deeper and ask questions that matter.
Though the decision to move to assisted living may be bittersweet or difficult, making the process of moving easy and fun can help a new resident settle in more quickly and begin the enriching lifestyle that assisted living communities provide. Here is a rough timeline of how to plan the move to assisted living in the coming year. Let’s get started!
6+ Months ahead:
Six months or more ahead of the move may seem like a long ways away, but it’s never too soon to start decluttering. Start sorting out keepsakes, allowing plenty of time and opportunities to talk about the memories associated with them. Friends and family may feel similarly attached to objects such as childhood artwork or trophies, so it’s great to get everyone involved in this first stage. Giving things full of memories to family is a great way to keep them around while decluttering. If you can, limit sorting to only about one to two hours per day, and keep things light and companionable.
In terms of logistics, gather up important or sensitive documents, and if necessary, go over them with trusted accountants, doctors, and other professionals to determine what needs to be kept.
It’s also time to begin searching for a real estate agent, if necessary. Gather a few options and go with the best fit for you.
Also, start planning creative meals with pantry and frozen food items. Who knows what you’ll come up with?
3 Months ahead:
Contact your assisted living community and obtain a floor plan for you or your loved one’s future apartment. Start planning what goes where, and don’t be afraid of downsizing. Make lists! Are you giving furniture to friends and family, and if so, who gets what? What are essential medications and toiletries that need to get to the apartment? Start decluttering in earnest, and research moving companies if finances allow.
2 Months ahead:
Visit the assisted living community and start getting familiar with their facilities. Making a new home is daunting, but the more comfortable you are with the space before you move, the better. Plan a garage sale and start donating any furniture, decorations, clothing, or other items. It’s also important to make plans for any pets – can they come with you, or do they need another home?
1 Month ahead:
Buy packing materials, such as boxes, tape, and labels, and start packing non-essential items slowly. Be sure to label everything clearly to make unpacking simple. Start donating frozen and canned foods to local food pantries.
This is also a great point to notify the post office, utilities, banks, credit cards, and others about you or your loved one’s change of address. Make a list of everywhere your address needs to be changed and check it off as you go.
2 Weeks ahead:
Get family and friends together for packing and cleaning. Leave no stone unturned! Coordinate plants and valuables, and consider leaving them in a trusted family member’s care so they don’t get neglected in the action.
1 Week ahead:
Pack a day-of-the-move kit, including toiletries, clothes, and bedding. Check and double check rooms, and get rid of any remaining food in order to defrost the refrigerator.
Moving day:
Work with your movers on fragile or special pieces, but most of all, stay relaxed. You’ve done all the legwork, so focus on you and your loved ones today.
After move-in:
Arrange lots of visits with family, and make a goal to try out one new activity every day. Pretty soon, it’ll feel just like home!
Moving to assisted living in Michigan doesn’t have to be a hassle. By leaving yourself plenty of time and doing things little by little, your 2018 move will be just an exciting next step.
After retirement, you may find that you have a lot of extra time on your hands that you don’t know exactly what to do with. While having different hobbies and finding social activities can help fill the time, another thing to consider could be volunteering some of your time within your local community.
Senior volunteers are especially great for charitable programs and other organizations because your free time is more flexible than that of many other volunteers. Being able to make a difference no matter what your age is has benefits both for you and for your community. Here are some reasons why you should get involved and some different areas you can volunteer in.
Why is it important to get involved?
There are many societal and moral benefits to volunteering your time
which we are all well aware of. However, there are other benefits of
volunteer work that can have a more direct impact on your life and your
health.
Volunteering is good for your cognitive health
By being engaged through activities like volunteering, you can lower your risks of memory health issues like dementia. Staying active and keeping your mind busy in healthy ways can significantly decrease your chances of getting memory diseases like dementia or Alzhiemers as you continue to age.
Volunteering prevents senior depression
Senior depression and isolation is a very serious condition that can lead to a degradation of both your mental health and your general physical state. Meeting new people and remaining active in your community can help you avoid feelings of loneliness and isolation that often arise after retirement.
Volunteering encourages physical activity
It can be hard to stay physically active as a senior, but volunteering is a great way to get in some more activity and movement than you might normally get in a day. From walking as you clean up litter, to helping cook food at a soup kitchen, to playing games with kids, there are plenty of opportunities for healthy activities while volunteering.
1. Food drives and soup kitchens
One of the simplest ways to help out in your community as a senior volunteer is helping feed the hungry through food banks, soup kitchens, food drives, and organizations like Meals on Wheels. These kinds of volunteer opportunities have a major impact on those in need.
2. Helping other seniors
Senior volunteers are able to understand other seniors better than younger volunteers, so there are plenty of opportunities to help seniors with dementia and memory care, socialization, and caregiving through programs like Seniors Helping Seniors.
3. Tutoring and teaching
You don’t need to have been a teacher to be able to help kids and younger people learn. Most people looking for tutoring just need someone who is willing to go at their pace and clearly explain, which senior volunteers can provide. Local schools and after-school care programs are often looking for volunteers to help with tutoring.
4. Work with youth and younger generations
Teaching isn’t the only way you can help younger generations. There are many programs where you can work with youths like Foster Grandparents. Foster Grandparents provides role models and mentors for children across America who need help with reading, who have been abused or neglected, or who have disabilities, among other things.
5. Help with animals and animal organizations
Volunteering with animal shelters or local animal rights groups can bring your love for animals into your retirement years. Shelters are always looking for people to help take care of animals and make sure all these lovable creatures get the attention they deserve.
6. Volunteer with your past career
You can use the skills you gained in your previous career in your
volunteering efforts. There are plenty of people who would benefit from
your expertise in areas like:
Another big area that is in need of senior volunteers is the environment. Cleaning up litter from parks and streets in your community can make a difference not only on the environment, but in the appearance of your local community, as you are able to see the direct impact of your volunteer work.
Find a cause that matters to you
While these are some of the most popular volunteering opportunities for seniors, there are plenty of other causes that need the help of senior volunteers. Finding a cause that is important to you helps you maintain your dedication, as the motivation behind your volunteer work strongly resonates with you.
Doing some research into your favorite causes and letting that inform which organizations or programs you reach out to can help ensure that your volunteer work is going to the people you are most proud to volunteer with. Your assistance is invaluable to many different groups, and both you and your community will benefit from your volunteer work, no matter where you focus your efforts.
When it comes to the costs associated with senior living options like an assisted living community, there are a lot of questions that family members ask themselves when finding a home for a loved one. Things may be on your mind like what are the costs associated with increased care needs, how much is the monthly room and board, and if luxuries are an additional charge.
Finding senior loved ones the best senior living community depends on knowing the answers to all of these questions and more. When thinking about ways to help finance assisted living, another common question is if Medicare, or senior health insurance available to everyone over 65, will help pay for the costs of assisted living.
What is assisted living?
So what is assisted living? How is it different from other types of residential senior living communities, like a nursing home or a senior retirement community? The biggest difference between assisted living and other senior living options is that assisted living, as the name suggests, assists seniors who need help with activities of daily living, or ADLs, while still offering them plenty of independence.
Nursing homes, which are also an example of a senior living community that offers care services for seniors, have very limited independence due to the high level of care that residents typically need. On the other hand, senior retirement communities are for retirees who do not yet need any help with ADLs.
Assisted living is a perfect medium between the two. Assisted living offers residents plenty of independence in their lives and the ability to make their own decisions, while still providing care services and ADLs assistance for things like:
Medication management
Housekeeping and cleaning
Laundry
Meal preparation
Money management
Bathing and personal care
Appointment and schedule keeping
Standing up and other mobility needs
What Medicare covers
To make a long answer short, Medicare does not cover assisted living costs. Medicare, for the most part, does not pay for any type of long-term residential care, including nursing homes and assisted living communities, so if one of these is the best option for your loved one, you will need to find a different way to pay than through their Medicare plan.
Medicare will sometimes pay for a short-term stay in a skilled nursing facility or for some home health care options, but senior living communities like assisted living are not included in Medicare plans. This can pose a problem for many elders, especially as the senior population often needs some sort of residential care community as they continue to age.
Other payment options
While Medicare doesn’t help pay for assisted living, there are some other payment options that can give your loved one assistance in covering the costs of a senior living community.
Long-term care insurance
Most long-term care insurance policies will cover the expenses associated with senior living, including assisted living costs. While the popularity of the traditional version of these plans has decreased over time, there are new “hybrid” plans that might be a good investment for your loved one.
Life insurance policies
Some life insurance policies will cover assisted living costs, but it varies from plan to plan. While most of us might think that life insurance is only paid out after a death, they can offer payouts to seniors still living if they meet the plan’s qualifications.
Veterans benefits
Often times there are VA benefits that will help pay for assisted living or other residential care options if your loved one served the country. Check with your loved one’s local VA chapter for more information.
Medicaid
If your loved one doesn’t have any savings, or had a low income while they were working, they might qualify for Medicaid, a government program made to help cover the costs of healthcare for those in dire financial circumstances. Medicaid coverage is determined state by state, so it may or may not help depending on where your loved one lives.
Out-of-pocket
If your loved one has saved enough money throughout their life, they may be able to afford assisted living costs from their savings. Planning ahead is key for this payment method, and things like waiting lists, community “shopping”, and retirement income plans are important for your loved one.
Taking on the responsibility of caring for an aging or ill loved that can no longer take care of themselves one is one that many family members take on without question. They are happy to take care of the person that, in many cases, cared for them and they will do so with complete devotion. But, even the most devoted caregiver can struggle to find a healthy balance between their own life and the duties of care giving. This is where respite care comes in. Respite care is temporary, professional care of a dependent person that provides relief for their usual caregivers.
A Commonwealth Fund study reported that 60 percent of the family caregivers surveyed, ages 19-64, reported “fair or poor” health and one or more chronic conditions or disabilities, compared with only 33 percent of non-caregivers. There are 16 million caregivers, and 9 million of those have health problems of their own.
Taking time off to care for themselves is something caregivers should consider a necessity, not a luxury. And when it’s time to take that break, they can turn to respite care services. While they may be reluctant to take a break, here are some reasons to take advantage of the respite care services offered by local assisted living centers.
Avoid isolation and depression
When a loved one needs constant care, it’s tempting for a caregiver to shut out the world and focus on giving them the care and attention they need. But becoming socially isolated from friends can affect more than their social life. Too much social isolation can lead to feelings of loneliness, despair and eventually depression. This is often a worry in regards to the elderly if they can’t travel or get out on their own, but it is something that can affect caregivers as well. While our loved ones can be great company, it’s important to see out other interactions and nurture friendship to avoid loneliness and depression.
Stay in good health
We already mentioned that a large number of caregivers report significant health problems. But, it should be noted that many of those health problems could be avoided if the caregiver to the time and energy to take care of themselves and not just their loved one. Taking the time to exercise, visit healthcare providers, or just get out into the fresh air can have positive effects on our health. Caregivers suffering from illness, chronic pain or other ailments cannot provide the best care possible to their loved ones.
Exhaustion
Sometimes, being tired can be worse than being sick. Especially being over tired. And, not getting enough sleep can make our bodies more prone to illness. Nights spent listening to see if your loved one will get out of bed or fall in the night can affect sleep even if it feels like they are getting enough. It may be hard to fall into a deep sleep if you are constantly worried or on guard. Even one night away can reset your clock and leave you feeling awake and alert.
Stay mentally focused
Exhaustion and illness can not only affect our bodies but our minds. If you are in charge of distributing medication or tracking the diet of your loved one, you need to be as focused and alert as possible. Letting your mind wander or become clouded can be a dangerous mistake. But if you aren’t getting enough sleep or are feeling overwhelmed, it can happen easily.
Stay positive
Stepping away from the trials of caregiving even for a day or two can offer a whole new outlook on life. If caregivers feel overwhelmed, exhausted or ill it can be difficult to remember why they chose to be a caregiver in the first place. By stepping away or taking a vacation, they can renew their bodies but also refresh their minds and gain a new, positive outlook on the perks and rewards of caring for their loved one.
The opportunity to refresh and renew is good for both the caregiver and the patient and should be taken advantage of. A day away here and there and vacations can help make sure that caregivers are at their peak physical and mental health. Taking advantage of respite care opportunities is a great way to take the time caregivers need to take care of themselves.
The decision to move into an assisted living community is a big transition for aging adults. Seniors often fear losing their independence, but a quality senior community will promote autonomy and independence for its residents.
Caregivers and family members do many tasks around the home to help aging adults function well. However, it’s all too easy to fall into the habit of doing too much to help, which can impair seniors’ sense of autonomy. Caring for ourselves is an essential element of retaining our health and mental faculties as we age. Sadly, if an aging adult loses their independence, the will to live may diminish as well.
However, this doesn’t need to be the case! Even the most frail patients can still benefit greatly from completing a few simple activities and feeling more accomplished afterward. With patience and careful attention, you and your loved one’s medical team can develop a safe, balanced approach. Here are a few ways that caregivers and family members can support senior living while still allowing aging adults to maintain their autonomy:
If a senior can’t complete every step of an activity on their own, it is still beneficial to help them do as much as possible on their own. Family members and professionals can supervise to ensure safety and offer assistance when necessary.
Don’t stereotype your loved one. Automatically assuming that someone is weak and incapable can negatively impact the way they view themselves, producing more dependence.
Recognize what a significant achievement it is for your loved one to complete even a small task, like washing a few dishes or getting dressed on their own. A sense of pride and accomplishment will foster independence.
Remember that there’s no need to rush. Sometimes, seniors are perfectly capable of doing activities they’ve done their whole lives, they just need more time on each task. Be patient and always remember that your loved one’s independence and sense of accomplishment is more important than how fast they get dressed.
Tailor expectations to each individual’s ability. By working with your family member’s assisted living staff, you can ensure that their daily activities are appropriate to their health conditions.
Assisted living communities sometimes offer group activities or community classes for residents. Encourage your loved one to participate in a daily routine that will help them feel more confident and social.
It’s impossible to overemphasize how much daily exercise can support happy, healthy senior living. Including even minimal levels of physical activity in their routine helps aging adults stay fit, flexible, and alert.
These are just a few of the ways that senior living can benefit from an assisted living community. While moving into a new community can be a huge change, family and staff members can work to ensure that seniors maintain a dynamic, self-reliant lifestyle. With these ideas in mind, your aging loved one will enjoy a sense of independence long into their golden years.
Saving money is important no matter your age or income level, but seniors often find themselves needing a few extra dollars here and there to make retirement work. Fortunately, there are practical ways to stretch a dollar, without breaking the bank.
Downsizing to a smaller home, getting rid of cable television, sharing expenses with friends and taking advantage of senior discounts are all effective ways to save money in retirement.
Downsizing
Larger homes cost more to heat, cool, furnish and repair, which is why downsizing the square footage makes a lot of sense for seniors. Moving to an assisted living community can amplify the cost savings, depending on the circumstances. Specifically, downsizing can reduce gas, electric, insurance, property taxes, and water bills, while minimizing upkeep costs like new carpet and landscaping.
Cut back on cable
Cable television isn’t cheap, especially when you factor in premium channels such as HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax. While it’s fun to have all of the sports and specialty channels, they aren’t always necessary, and they can cost more than $100 a month. Netflix and Hulu are much more cost-effective, allowing seniors to stream content via the Internet on their televisions. Both services combined allow retirees to watch movies and television shows at a fraction of the cost of cable.
Share expenses
Whether it’s carpooling to bingo, the movies or to the store to get groceries, ride sharing among seniors is an effective way to cut down on fuel costs. Transportation isn’t cheap, especially in areas of the country where cities are decentralized, or in the countryside where it takes some time to get back to more populated areas. Thus, lower fuel costs can help seniors. Ride sharing also cuts down on the wear and tear to older adults’ vehicles, extending a car or truck’s useful life and reducing maintenance costs.
Moving into an assisted living facility like Vista Springs can also help seniors spread the cost of entertainment, activities, and medical care among fellow residents, enhancing the quality of life for everyone involved. The costs of independent medical attention, food preparation, and daily entertainment is often-times cost-prohibitive for seniors living alone. Finding ways to share expenses among a group provides new and exciting possibilities for aging adults.
Senior discounts
Movie theaters, fast-food restaurants, fine-dining restaurants and similar establishments typically offer senior discounts at particular times, or on specific days of the week. Taking advantage of these opportunities can yield cost-savings and an active retirement, which is beneficial on multiple levels. The goal of retirement is not to stop spending money, but to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor of many years of working. Senior discounts allow seniors to get out and do more for less, which is positive for everyone in the community.
Seniors living off of a fixed income usually need to be cost-conscious to ensure a comfortable and rewarding retirement. But when you find ways to save money in an efficient, practical and common sense way, older adults can live a fun and enjoyable retirement.
As people age, things change in many aspects of their lives. It might be the loss of social interaction with dear friends and relatives who move to other states for a lower cost of living and warmer climates. Friends and family may move, and it is important to be supportive, but it’s still painful emotionally. When other friends or relatives pass away, this creates new painful feelings of loss.
The importance of connection
Most aging adults benefit greatly from being in diverse and exciting social communities that offer a variety of social gatherings and physical activities such as low and medium impact exercise classes, swimming activities, as well as a range of motion chair exercises to upbeat music. And according to exciting research from AARP and Harvard Health Publications, regular exercise changes the brain to improve memory and thinking skills.
Groundbreaking brain research
This exciting research highlights one of the many positive reasons why this happens with seniors. Researchers found that regular aerobic exercise that increases your heart rate and stimulates your sweat glands appears to boost the size of the hippocampus, which is the brain area involved in verbal memory and learning. The lead research mentioned another interesting point involving brain fog that affects many aging adults. With these types of exercises, the brain fog goes away. That is amazing.
Unfortunately, resistance training, balance and muscle toning exercises did not have the same results, but they are still important forms of exercise for other reasons such as an increase in strength, firmness, and stability with balance affecting your legs and feet.
In assisted living communities, you will not be on your own to attempt to figure out and structure a workout plan. That is taken care of since the community has professional trainers there to guide, train, and supervise your activities. They are highly skilled and experienced in dealing with seniors, by keeping a watchful eye on your activities, it will help to keep you from overdoing things. Also, this certainly beats the fees charged by fitness centers and gyms.
Aging adults can thrive in assisted living communities versus aging in place and living alone at home. Even seniors who live alone in a new home face the same issues with isolation, security issues, and in some cases driving restrictions apply due to medical, or vision problems.
Seemingly endless possibilities
In assisted living communities like Vista Springs, there are plenty of opportunities to meet new and vibrant people who share your interests and tastes whether it’s playing pool, poker, movies, jazz, dancing, or even learning a new computer language.
We’ve all seen, heard, or perhaps even dreamed about the picture-perfect retirement: sunny skies, warm nights, brunch in the morning, cocktails in the evening. For retirement-aged adults after World War II, relocation to destination retirements was made possible by the additional savings that Medicare allowed on top of Social Security a few decades earlier. Add on the pensions from employer loyalty, and it’s easy to see why “the good life” picture of retirement was popular. Nowadays, aging adults may not have the means for the retirement life that existed in the ’60s, but staying in your state doesn’t mean settling for second best. Here’s why:
Memories keep you sharp and happy
A study from the University of Pennsylvania in 2013 reported that being in a place associated with a particular memory allows people to recall that memory more clearly. For example, think about how you might feel around your old neighborhood, or at an orchard that your family went to every year. This relationship between spatial and episodic memory means that being in a place with rich memory associations exercises your hippocampus, strengthening the brain’s ability to remember more for longer. While making new memories in a new place can be fun and exciting, there’s more to staying in your state for retirement than comfort and nostalgia. If you’re worried about memory loss as you age, familiar places can help you stay sharp.
Family, friends, networks, support
While life can carry us and our families and friends anywhere, chances are that wherever you are, you have a network of loved ones, work relationships, acquaintances, and connections. The benefits of having established relationships with the people around us are pretty obvious, as staying social in retirement can aid memory, keep you active, and entertain, but there are other ways that keeping your network into retirement can make your life easier.
More and more retirees are choosing to continue working in some capacity for longer. While the idea of working past retirement may make you cringe, part-time work, consultancy, and even entrepreneurship can help give life focus and increase self-sufficiency for aging adults. And even after you’ve retired from your career, your network of friends, business contacts, and coworkers can help you find the right gig in a market where half of all available jobs are never posted.
Staying near family and friends also means having support, no matter what. Your network can help with little, everyday things, like getting a ride to the doctor’s office, or watering your plants when you take a vacation. It’s possible to make new connections after a move for retirement, but nurturing existing relationships is usually easier, more fun, and more relaxing.
Smaller moves, less stress
We’ve explored before how choosing assisted living Michigan communities can enrich retirement life, and when the community is close to home, it’s so much easier. A short distance move is more affordable and less stressful than packing up and moving to a different state. Not only is moving easier, but staying in your state means no difficulty making arrangements for cars, personal IDs, insurance, and more. You may ask yourself, “Why relocate to assisted living near me when I can just stay in my home?” Aging in place is becoming a popular option for many retirees, and it may be right for you, but there are many considerations to take into account: check out our comparison here.
As another cold winter approaches, you may be dreaming of a warm-weather retirement, but there’s so much more to staying in Michigan than meets the eye. Like a cozy blanket and a hot drink on a snowy night, there’s comfort and joy in staying in your state for retirement.
When moving into an assisted living facility, the shift can be hard for both the resident and their family. You may have moved your loved one into an assisted living facility to help them be more social and gain a new community, but that doesn’t mean your job is done. Staying in touch and involved in your loved one’s life can make a huge difference in how they receive their new circumstances and their quality of life.
Here are a few ways to stay in touch and stay involved even if you are far away.
Get to know the community
If possible, when your loved one first makes the move, try to meet the other residents, their families if possible, and get to know the staff. When you’re involved, it will be easier for your loved one to connect a new life to their old one and find comfort in familiar interactions. While they may be hesitant to reach out and let others in at first, by breaking the ice for them, you can invite them to connect to others.
Plan visits
If you are close enough that you can visit on a regular basis, plan out those visits on a calendar and put that calendar in a visible place. This gives your loved one something to look forward to and planning out a whole month can make upcoming weeks more exciting. But, be sure to take the dates on the calendar seriously. Once the visit is on the calendar, every effort should be made to keep it. A missed date is worse than no planned date at all.
Send care packages
Fun packages can make the space between visits or scheduled calls more eventful and give your loved on something else to look forward to. But, when planning a package, get specific. Fill it with items that are personal to your family member, not just generic items. Try, books you’ve talked about, snacks you know they like, special pens if they like to do the crossword. These all show you are thinking about them when putting the package together. Getting these items can add an extra lift to their day even when they can’t see.
Listen
Even if your visits don’t happen often due to distance or other reasons, make the most out of the time you do have by truly engaging and listening to your loved one. This means acknowledging any challenges your loved one might be facing and recognizing that life has changed for them. They may feel as though they’ve lost something and, even if you know it’s the best choice, you should acknowledge those feelings. Ask questions that reveal genuine facts about their lives, not just surface level questions about the weather.
Use technology
If you can’t be with your loved one, there are still ways to keep in touch. Technology has given us countless ways to reach out across distance and taking advantage of these advances is crucial when managing a long-distance relationship with your loved one. Video chatting through FaceTime or Skype will offer face-to-face contact and can close the distance even more than a phone call.
Smartphones are becoming more and more common, and even older generations are taking advantage of their perks. Send a daily text with pictures and updates to your loved one and bring a smile to their face.
Folks with loved ones at a Vista Springs community can take advantage of our newest addition, Care Merge. This app is updated daily by the staff with images and updates about your loved one. Access your family member’s profile with a password and experience their everyday activities to ensure they are living full of life.
Whether it’s a big visit or a small gesture, just reaching out is a great way to make sure your loved one knows you care.
Longevity science is targeted not only towards extending our natural life spans, but also improving the quality of life overall. Longevity science has grown in recent years into a complicated and advanced discipline, with a variety of studies emerging that may have very real benefits within our lifetimes. Here are some of the tips and tricks discovered that appear to slow the process of aging.
Keep mentally active
Crossword puzzles and Sudoku are popular for a reason. Keeping yourself mentally active is one of the keys to reducing mental aging, such as dementia and the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. While keeping mentally active is not a cure to either of these issues, it can significantly slow down their progression. Play memory games, read books, and do other mentally focused activities each day.
Get your exercise
Physical fitness is important not only to keep you comfortable and healthy but also to keep your mind sharp and your spirits raised. Exercise has been shown to improve cognitive performance and mood. That doesn’t mean that you need to take a step aerobics class each day. Taking a long walk, gardening, and hiking are all excellent examples of physical activities that will slow down the aging process without being too intense.
Invest in hobbies
Hobbies are one of the best ways to keep yourself active. Knitting, book clubs, and other social hobbies can fulfill multiple needs at once — and all hobbies provoke thought. Think about the things that you enjoy doing; if you enjoy doing it, there’s almost certainly a group devoted to it. There are even groups available for individuals who enjoy scrapbooking and other relaxing activities. Your hobbies are one of the things that will likely keep you the most active outside of the house.
Stay social
Whether you volunteer at a local community center or simply chat with your friends, remaining well-socialized is one of the keys to keeping yourself active and fit. Socialization isn’t just a basic human need; it also involves a lot of mental stimulation. When you carry on a conversation with your friends, you’re remembering things and applying logic — both things that will keep your mind sharp. Remaining well-socialized also helps keep you motivated.
Eat right
Studies have shown that the cultures with the most longevity tend to eat diets that concentrate on lean meats, fruits, and vegetables. These diets often include high amounts of good fats, such as those found in avocados and olive oils. Red meats and starchy staples are relatively rare. By eating right, you can both feel better and potentially slow down your aging process. Antioxidants are also said to have a positive effect.
Slowing aging isn’t just about living a long life — it’s also about living a comfortable one. In general, keeping both physically and mentally active is one of the best ways that individuals can slow down the aging process and remain youthful and vital even in their later years.
Winter in the Midwest is no joke! Sudden storms and freezing temperatures can make life difficult for anyone who lives here—especially for seniors. It’s important for seniors to have a steady internal temperature, as their bodies aren’t able to regulate body heat and maintain warmth the way they could when they were younger.
In the Midwest, winters can be extremely harsh, so it’s important that you take the necessary steps to ensure that your senior loved one is staying warm. From making sure their apartment is full of blankets and sweaters to limiting outdoor exposure as much as possible, there are plenty of ways you can help protect your loved one and keep them warm!
1. Turn the heat up
While most of us are used to turning down the heat in winter to help save money on heating bills, a senior’s home should be kept at a warmer temperature to protect them from getting chills. Remember, a senior’s body loses heat faster than people middle aged or younger. A senior’s home should be kept at 70 degrees during the winter at the very lowest.
2. Prepare for outages
Harsh storms can sometimes cause power outages at the most inopportune moments. Having no heat or light is a dangerous situation, so help your loved ones prepare for the risk by:
Stocking their house with flashlights and batteries
Keeping an eye on the weather report and encouraging your loved one to go stay with family before big storms
Reminding loved ones to keep their cell phones charged
Having a case of bottled water and shelf-stable foods in case of multiple-day outages
3. Dress in layers
It’s always easier to take layers off when you get too hot than it is to try and add them on after you’ve gotten too cold. Putting on a sweater after your internal body temperature has dropped often means a slow reheating process.
Encourage your elderly family members to wear multiple layers, which will help them maintain their body temperatures. And remember, layering isn’t just for heading outside, it’s equally as important to have extra clothing while staying indoors as well.
4. Keep blankets nearby
When we start to feel chilly, throwing a blanket over ourselves is a great way to quickly warm up. In your loved one’s home, make this simple task even easier by strategically leaving blankets in places where they might need them, such as near chairs or by their bed.
5. Warm drinks and foods
Eating and drinking warm foods can help encourage the body to maintain its internal temperature, as well as proving the essential nutrients needed for the body to maintain its mass and health during the winter. Rather than cold foods and iced water, encourage your senior family members to have foods like hot soups and tea.
6. Cover extremities
It’s important to remember in colder months that the hands, feet, and head are the parts of the body that get chilled and lose their warmth first. With that in mind, it’s essential for these extremities to be protected in winter.
Hats, mittens, gloves, socks, and slippers are all examples of clothing items that are necessary to keep an elderly loved one from getting too cold throughout the winter. Hats and gloves can be worn inside to stay warm if needed, and having these clothing items nearby is helpful, so seniors don’t need to go searching when they get cold.
7. Safety when traveling
Just like we need to prepare for a power outage, it’s important to prepare for vehicle breakdowns in winter as well. If your loved one travels alone, ensure they keep extra coats, blankets, and even boots in their car in case of an emergency. Similarly, if they are being driven by someone else, make sure they have extra warm clothes and water with them in case of an emergency.
8. Limit outdoor exposure
The worst of winter weather is obviously found outdoors. Freezing temperatures, ice, and wet snow that chills us quickly are all dangerous features of a Midwest winter. In order to protect your loved one, do what you can to keep them out of the elements.
Helping keep a loved one indoors can mean anything from running errands for them to doing what you can to encourage them to enjoy the weather from inside the home rather than out of it. Keeping seniors inside helps them stay warm, and also reduces the risk of dangerous falls.
While Midwest winters are more punishing than in other areas, they are still manageable with a plan and some preparation. Helping your senior loved ones stay warm is a wonderful to keep them safe from the elements, even as the winter storms rage outside.
It’s important to be involved with your loved one’s health as they age so you can best assist them with medications, doctor’s visits, and other care needs. While being aware of the physical needs of your family members is essential, it’s equally important to be mindful of the state of their mental health.
Seniors can often suffer from loneliness and depression that goes undiagnosed and untreated. Typically this omission comes from the fact that seniors tend to hide mental health concerns from their families out of guilt or shame. That’s why it’s critical to know what signs to be on the lookout for in senior family members and understand how depression and loneliness manifest in elderly people.
A serious epidemic
Shockingly, many people are under the impression that loneliness and depression in old age are a normal part of the aging process. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Loneliness and depression are diagnosed medical conditions that aren’t just a part of growing old, but are part of a serious epidemic in seniors.
Just as with younger people, untreated depression and loneliness in seniors can have severe consequences on both mental and physical health. And, when paired with other health conditions that many older people experience, the symptoms of these mental health issues can have even farther-reaching long-term effects.
Four unexpected consequences of loneliness and depression
Senior loneliness is a specific type of social isolation that occurs when an older person no longer engages in the world around them as they did when they were younger. This condition often occurs in seniors who live at home and don’t have daily social interactions.
While living at home rather than moving to a senior living community is a favorable idea for most seniors, it can become extremely lonely if transportation and mobility become limited. And, if children and grandchildren are too busy with their own schedules to visit often, older family members can find themselves alone and overwhelmed with feelings of worthlessness and detachment.
Less frequent communication with family and friends
Debilitating medical diagnoses
Despondent attitude
What is senior depression?
Like loneliness, senior depression is often the result of changes in health, mobility, or mindset. While it’s reasonable for seniors to have some feelings of anger or sadness about their changing position in life, a serious mental health condition like depression is different than these general emotions and should never be taken lightly.
If you believe a loved one is suffering from depression, speak to them immediately and ensure they have access to the necessary resources should they reach a breaking point, such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Depression should never be ignored, even if having a conversation with your senior family member about their mental health is difficult. By being open and willing to listen to them while also being on the lookout for signs that overall sadness has progressed into something more, you can help protect your loved ones.
Signs of senior depression
Overwhelming feelings of sadness, hopelessness, shame, or guilt
The consequences of senior loneliness and depression are frightening to consider, but the good news is that there is plenty that you can do to help your loved ones. The number one thing you can do is to be there for your family members and make time to check in and visit with them.
In addition, you can offer them rides to social events if you live close by, take them out for dinners and shopping trips, and encourage them to find new opportunities to engage with other people. Socialization is essential for maintaining cognitive and mental health in old age, so doing your part to help seniors stay social goes a long way in preventing and treating loneliness and depression.
If you are still concerned that your loved one isn’t getting the necessary interactions they need to stay healthy, you might want to talk to them about assisted living. Assisted living provides seniors not only with the care services they need to age in place, but plenty of opportunities for making new friends and relationships with other residents.
Many people have heard the term “hospice” without really understanding exactly what it is or what hospice care provides. Those who don’t understand the term have probably never had a reason to think about it, and most don’t think about it until they are in a situation that requires it.
But, hospice care is something everyone should understand because you never know when a family member may require hospice services. But, before we answer, ‘what is hospice care?’ It’s important to point out that there are a lot of misconceptions about hospice. So, let’s start by talking about what Hospice care is NOT.
Hospice is NOT:
Just a place or facility
Whether you desire the full-time care of a Hospice facility or the convenience of a team of caregivers in the comfort of your home or in an assisted living community, hospice care offers flexibility.
Just for cancer patients
A long-standing myth, hospice provides end of life care to those with a wide range of end of life conditions such as kidney failure, heart failure, and advanced dementia or Alzheimer’s.
Just for the patient
Many hospice services provide not only medical care for the patient but grief counseling and after death assistance for the family.
Permanent
Hospice is not a permanent choice. Anyone in hospice care may choose to leave and receive curative treatments at any time.
So, what is hospice care?
Hospice is medical care geared toward maintaining and improving quality of life for an individual whose illness or condition is likely incurable. Hospice is offered as an option when all curative measures have been exhausted and the life prognosis is six months or less.
Hospice IS:
Well-rounded care
Hospice care doesn’t just focus on one aspect of end-of-life care, like pain management. Pain management is part of it, but hospice professionals look at the whole life of the patient. They want to make them comfortable, help them engage in life as much as possible and help ease their minds and hearts. To do that, they provide not only medical care but emotional care as well.
A team of caregivers
Hospice isn’t just a single individual. To provide proper, end of life care, a team of professionals works together to administer medications, provide support, give physical therapy, and provide all the services that account for a fulfilled life, all the way to the end.
Respite care
Even those individuals who have vowed to care for their sick loved one sometimes need a break. In order to provide the best care possible, they need to be able to step away from time to time and leave their loved one in the care of someone they trust. Many hospice providers offer respite care so, even if you haven’t turned to a facility for full-time hospice help, you can still get the help you need when you need it.
Affordable
Many insurance plans cover a portion of the expense for Hospice care but for those that don’t, it is “covered by Medicare (through the Medicare Hospice Benefit), Medicaid (in most states), and The Veteran’s Health Administration,” according to the American Hospice Foundation’s website.
While different programs may offer different benefits, you can find a list of the services most Hospice Care Services provide on the the Hospice Foundation of America’s website. You should be sure to ask any facility or service you are considering what exactly they provide.
Proper dental care is an essential part of aging healthfully. As we grow older, our oral health has an even bigger impact on our overall well-being than in past years, so maintaining a dental hygiene routine is important.
While brushing and flossing routines remain central, some additional steps are important for seniors’ dental health. People with dementia, severe arthritis, or mobility struggles need assistance with this crucial habit, so make sure your aging loved ones have the help they need. With these things in mind, you can prevent future problems and ensure the best oral health possible.
Tips for improving senior dental care during aging
See your dentist at least every six months. Routine cleanings help prevent decay and cavities, and also allow your dentist to detect gum disease in the early, reversible stages.
Let your dentist know of any health conditions or new medications that may lead to oral problems. Tell them right away if you ever experience increased sensitivity.
Quit smoking. In addition to the risk of lung cancer, smoking can lead to gum disease, tooth decay, and tooth loss.
Brush twice a day with a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride-containing toothpaste, and floss once a day.
If you wear dentures, remember to clean them daily. Remove them for at least four hours a day, preferably at night.
Eat whole foods and avoid sugar. Processed, high-sugar foods do not support oral health in any way, but teeth and gums thrive on a high-fiber diet.
Medical conditions connected to oral health
Many of the health problems that concern seniors are linked to oral health. A strong dental hygiene routine doesn’t just support your teeth and gums; here are a few of the ways excellent dental care is connected to overall health:
Cardiovascular disease
Oral health is closely connected with our heart health. Periodontitis allows bacteria below the gum line, contributing to the spread of toxins through our body. Studies have found that severe periodontal disease is associated with higher risks of stroke and double the risk of fatal heart disease, and in some cases, tooth infections can cause infection in the heart’s lining or valves. In the absence of gum disease, fewer bacteria are present in the cardiovascular system. While researchers don’t fully understand the connection between oral and heart conditions, it’s clear that good dental hygiene supports the cardiovascular system.
Pneumonia and respiratory problems
Poor oral health can contribute to pneumonia. In fact, some studies have shown a higher mortality rate in pneumonia patients who also have more gum problems. When bacteria from the mouth is inhaled into the lungs, an infection may occur in the respiratory system and existing medical conditions can become much worse. Regular brushing and cleaning helps remove dangerous oral bacteria and helps prevent internal infection.
Diabetes
Oral health is essential for people with diabetes. Gum disease inhibits the use of insulin, and high blood sugar leads to gum infections. People whose glucose is poorly managed suffer from gum disease much more often than those whose glucose is well-controlled, so stay mindful of your blood glucose levels.
These are just a few of the ways doctors and scientists have demonstrated the essential role played by our oral health. With education and energy put toward dental hygiene, you or your aging loved ones can enjoy a healthier, more comfortable daily life.
Being a caregiver for a loved one is a job most people are happy to take on. They want to take care of the person who, in many cases, took care of them. And while caregiving has its rewards, it’s also a 24/7 job. Caregivers are on call at all hours of the day, especially if they are the primary caregiver. This constant responsibility and added emotional and physical strain can cause something called caregiver stress. When caring for a loved one, you are less likely to care for yourself, give yourself much-needed breaks, or keep yourself healthy.
In many cases, those keeping others from becoming even more ill, end up in the hospital themselves. To stay strong for your family and avoid the ails caused by caregiver stress, remember these self-care ideas.
Ask for and accept help
If you’re caring for a family member, ask another family member to step in once in awhile. Even if they just come by to read while you sit with a cup of coffee, this small break can refresh your body and mind. Or ask a neighbor to stop by for an hour while you go grocery shopping. Even though you are the primary caregiver, you don’t have to shoulder the responsibility on your own.
The chance to talk to someone who understands what you are going through can lift a huge weight off your shoulders. Only another caregiver will understand that while you love your family member, you may sometimes get frustrated with them, and then feel guilty about it. Find a safe space where you can express these feelings with people who are probably feeling the same things. It’s also a place where you can brainstorm solutions to the problems you face every day and find the resources you need to face those problems head on.
Stay active
You can combat fatigue, depression, and insomnia by staying active. Even if it’s just a 20-minute walk every day or jogging in place in front of the TV, any movement helps. Try Yoga in the morning before your loved one wakes up or a simple stretching routine every night before bed. It doesn’t have to be intense; it just needs to get you moving. Though, if you do have the option to get out the house (remember when we said to ask for help?) getting outside can play a large role in staying happy and healthy.
Stay social
While it’s tempting to spend almost all your time with your loved one, chatting, watching TV, reading or playing games, it’s also detrimental to your health to cut off other connections. When we don’t socialize, ailments like depression and loneliness are quick to set in. Maintain your social life as much as possible by asking neighbors or other family to step into the caregiver role once in awhile. Make daily phone calls to friends and family and share updates and stories with your loved one. If they have a hard time getting out, they will enjoy hearing your stories and being involved in your life.
Overall, the best advice for caregivers is to take care of yourself, too. Eat right, drink water, get plenty of sleep, and see your doctor regularly. You won’t be any help to your loved one if you wear yourself down!
The digital age we live in today is fast-paced and full of constantly changing technology. This can be intimidating to aging adults who may fear they can’t understand new devices. However, combined, seniors and technology can be a powerful tool.
Modern devices connect us with loved ones, keep us in touch with medical professionals, and help us stay safe. If your loved one is nervous about getting started, here are a few easy ways to explore technology for seniors.
1. Use Technology to Connect
Today’s technology offers powerful ways to connect with our family and friends. For seniors who may not be as mobile as they once were, this is a huge benefit. There are many ways to use the digital world to stay social:
Help your loved one set up a social media account to see the latest photos and updates from grandchildren or long-distance relatives.
Use Skype or other video-chatting services to stay in touch when distance or health prevents face-to-face visits.
If your elderly family members can’t attend gatherings, upload family videos to YouTube and share privately.
2. Find Community Resources
The first step to understanding the digital world is mastering basic computer skills. For those of us who didn’t grow up with modern technology, this can be quite a challenge! If you need assistance or ideas for helping your aging loved one become comfortable with computers, research what resources are available in your area.
Many senior living community centers offer technology education. Local libraries, schools, and junior colleges have computer facilities and may offer classes or tutoring programs to the general public. Another great resource is your local Area Agency on Aging, a free service offered by the U.S. Administration on Aging.
3. Start Learning and Creating from Home
As we age, we may find that active pastimes are simply too demanding for our current health. Additionally, the living spaces in most retirement communities may not allow space for large projects. However, the digital revolution has made a huge range of new creative and educational activities possible from the comfort of our own homes.
Many people have always wanted to learn another language, but never had the time; some have a novel inside them just waiting to be written. Perhaps your loved one would enjoy blogging on a favorite topic and connecting with others who share their interests. Technology makes all these things possible! Check out resources like the National Novel Writing Month and Khan Academy for inspiration.
4. How to Get Started
No matter our age or lifestyle, trying new habits can be intimidating. Some seniors are ready and excited to get started with new technology, while some may be very overwhelmed.
Focus on small steps and loving communication.
Forming a new habit takes at least two months, so remember that this change in your loved one’s lifestyle probably won’t happen all at once.
To help keep your loved one from becoming even more overwhelmed, start with bite-sized projects.
Even a few small changes can make a huge difference! Just one email or social media account is enough to increase contact with family and friends.
These are just a few of the ways modern technology can enhance senior living for aging adults! With a few simple steps to introduce your loved one to the digital world, you can help them enjoy a happier, safer, and more convenient lifestyle. No matter where we are in life, the digital world is an exciting place to learn and explore.
The holidays are notorious for overindulgence, whether it’s from eating too much at the family dinner table or from having too much rich and sugary food that isn’t healthy for us. But what can you do over the holidays to avoid packing on the pounds when healthy options aren’t as readily available?
Thankfully, there are plenty of tips and tricks you can use to avoid overeating and making poor health choices during big family feasts, while still enjoying your favorite foods. Take a look through this list of helpful ideas that you can use to make better decisions this holiday season, and celebrate without the stomachache.
1. Watch what you drink
The beverages we consume during the holidays is an often unexpected source of carbs and calories. Sweet drinks and alcohol can have unhealthy ingredients, and when we don’t stop to consider what we are drinking, we can find ourselves shaking our heads in shock at the scale next year.
To help avoid overindulging with unhealthy drinks, make sure you are consuming plenty of water throughout the day. Not only will this help you quench your thirst, but drinking a glass of water before a meal can also help you feel full and calm your cravings before dessert is brought out.
2. Stop snacking
Eating healthy, full meals is the best way to avoid gaining weight over the holidays, so don’t skip out on breakfast and lunch in favor of unhealthy snacks! Not only are snacks typically high in fats and sugar, but they fill us up before we have a chance to eat our veggies during dinner.
If you are going to snack, try going to healthier foods like cut vegetables, fruits, or other foods that provide additional health benefits like boosting energy levels and building endurance.
3. Stay active
Staying active in winter isn’t always the easiest task, but it’s important to do what you can to combat additional calories with exercise. Even something as simple as taking a walk after your meal can go a long way in keeping your overall health in check over the holiday season. Just be sure to watch out for ice!
4. Find healthy options
Make sure that there are plenty of healthy options on the table, like salads and other vegetable side dishes. If you are hosting dinner, ensure that you provide the options your family and friends need to have a balanced meal. If you are visiting someone else, call ahead and see what the menu is, or offer to help out the host by bringing your own healthy dishes to share.
5. Fill up on vegetables
When filling up your plate with food, try and keep a ratio of 50% vegetables, 25% meats, and 25% starches. This will help you get the servings of veggies you need while still enjoying the other items on the table. A helpful hint: more color on a plate often means a healthier meal!
6. Pick the best spot
Having the best seat at the table doesn’t just mean more elbow room! If you aren’t seated right in front of the buffet table, you can avoid some of the cravings for second and third (and fourth) helpings. Staring at the available options during dinner can make it difficult to stick to one serving, so don’t sit yourself in the way of temptation!
7. Take your time
Don’t rush to stuff yourself just because holiday food tastes good! Things will be just as delicious if you take your time and savor each bite. Slowing down while eating helps you to fill up naturally, rather than still feeling hungry even though you’ve already overeaten.
In the same vein, don’t rush to get up and have additional helpings of food before you’ve finished the entire plate, including all your veggies and healthier items. This will help you stick to just one serving of each of your favorite foods, which will be more than enough when you take your time enjoying them!
8. Stop when you are full
The biggest favor you can do for yourself this holiday season is to stop eating once you are full. When eating foods we enjoy, most of us want to push ourselves past our limits, which leaves us aching and uncomfortable. By listening to our bodies and putting down the fork once we’ve had enough, we can save ourselves the discomfort and enjoy a much healthier holiday. Remember that leftovers are always an option!
Holidays are always a wonderful time for family and friends to gather together and enjoy each other’s company. As a part of that tradition, we often indulge in delicious meals, but it’s important to keep our health in mind. That doesn’t mean we can’t eat our dinner favorites, but following these tips can help us avoid feeling too full on unhealthy foods, so we can experience the absolute best that the holiday season has to offer.
