Change Your Attitude to Live Longer - Comfort Keepers San Mateo

Let's start with telling you the truth! Yes, life is not going to be easy on you! It will even become harder as you age and reach your senior years. Truth!

So, what are you going to do about it? Will you keep complaining, keep getting frustrated and stop giving in at each and every step of your life? Will you keep getting slanted and accept knowing that life is simply like that?

Or will you start tackling the problems with a mindset of winning, learning and getting better with each obstacle life throws at you way?

This definitely is the better option as what will we gain out of being pessimistic and sad at the fact that life will never be easy? What will come out of us if we keep struggling and suffering, whereas we can just embrace our difficulties to grow and enjoy the struggle?

Yes, I may sound strange but I am telling you the truth.

There are some very promising studies conducted that have asserted again and again that simply having a positive attitude towards your life adds years to your life. In other words, your attitude determines how long and how healthy you will live. The most prominent of these studies is the one conducted by the researchers at the Yale and Miami University and they have found out that positive thinking and optimistic attitude can add as much as 7 and a half more years to your life.

So, the choice is upon us! And we from Comfort Keepers are here to help you achieve the positive state of mind and being. Follow these simple tips and contact us to know more.

 Read Motivational Books

There are so many books out there on this topic of positive attitude and how to build and sustain it that you may get lost while finding out which one would be better. So, we have sorted the most suitable ones for you. Have a look at these two titles- “Live Long, Die Short: A Guide to Authentic Health and Successful Aging” by Roger Landry and “Keep Moving: And Other Tips and Truths About Aging” by Dick Van Dyke.

 Watch Inspirational Videos at Ted

There are plenty of great inspirational speakers out there whom you can access on YouTube Ted talks channel. Tune in and listen what they have to say. You will find ample amount of high energy positivity within you.

Unlock Your Untapped Potential

We all have some of our own unique strengths and weaknesses. We may have passed all of our lives without really realizing those. So, try to find out yours, you may never know what awaits to surprise you. On the other hand another approach at getting back at life could very well be overcoming our weaknesses or turning them into strengths. Just take as example Fauja Singh who picked up distance running at the age of 89. Thanks to his positive thinking, we saw him celebrating his 100th birthday by crossing the finish line at the Toronto Marathon.

 Redirect Negative Responses

Simply put, when we feel tired we feel like just lying down and giving up for the day! And the cycle continues. What you can do is to choose not to feel tired by making some lifestyle changes and leading a routine life. Start regular physical exercises and meditate or do yoga! Or even better make a list of all the things that you think you can’t do and move on to accomplish each one of them. And know that you can!

 You Are Never Too Old

The old saying that you are too old to start new things has really become old. In reality, you are never too old to embark on new adventures and start new projects. Keep living your life like it really is- infinite and eternal.

For any kind of help and support regarding senior care and well-being do not hesitate to contact Comfort Keepers. 

Best Part-time Job Options for Seniors - Comfort Keepers San Mateo

We have been talking about entrepreneurship in senior years a few days back when we cited numerous reports of seniors getting very much successful with entrepreneurship and shattering the age-old concept that seniors can’t do new things or can’t start new ventures after retirement.

However, there may be situations when your senior loved one is not so bent on being a full time dedicated entrepreneur or on starting their own thing. Physics and psychology may not always allow this. Even then, they can easily opt for a suitable part-time job that would keep them engaged and infused in a meaning life.

Here we have sorted out some of the best options for our senior loved to choose as a part-time job.

Tutor

Tutoring is one of the best or possibly the best part-time job option for seniors. With their massive reservoir of experience and skills, they would be the best mentors for the youngsters. So, our senior loved ones can start tutoring young people on the topic they are most experienced, interested and comfortable.

Tour Guide

This can be another great option for our elderly loved ones to engage in as a part-time vocation. If your senior loved one has an interest in history and a knack for storytelling then through being a tour guide they will find an extraordinary opportunity to be social, active and happy. And seniors are the ones who will be most acquainted with the city’s most attractive places after passing so much time around. Just make sure that they are physically capable of walking long distances and climb stairs. Hopefully, you are always there for their physical care.

Bookkeeping or Accountancy

These kinds of jobs are quite accommodating for our elderly loved ones as these require less physical and mental stress. Therefore, if your senior loved one is good at math and finance then look for any company that is looking for part-time bookkeepers or accountants. Another benefit of being involved in such kind of activities in senior years is being able to maintain a sound cognitive health.

Non-profit Professionals

Many nonprofit organizations often hire part-time professionals for various administrative positions. So, look for such organizations in your locality and enquire whether they are hiring for marketing, fundraising or any such positions.

Volunteering

Or in case that your senior loved one is mostly looking for sincere engagement and meaningful activities in their lives without any consideration of monetary compensation than you can anytime choose to volunteer for any worthy cause that calls you most intensely.

There are numerous benefits of engaging in a part-time position in senior years after retirement. Apart from the economic boost, you will get the opportunity of having a more fulfilling, active and meaningful life in declining years. So, if you are considering to do one, start without any further hesitation. For any help and support regarding senior care, health and well-being do not hesitate to contact Comfort Keepers!

Starting the Money Talk with Your Aging Parents - Comfort Keepers San Mateo

Money becomes one of the major concerns when a family starts the process of ensuring best possible care for our senior loved ones. It is the time when we should start talking about it with our aging parents as well as all the members of the family.

However, we have often seen that starting this so important money talk becomes somewhat uncomfortable to begin. If you are also encountering problems about this issue and have been pondering about how you should start discussing this issue then do not think that you are alone in this. We have brought to you some guiding ideas in this matter.

Recognize the Importance

Firstly before even starting the conversation you have to realize the importance of the issue yourself. You have to acknowledge that saving for retirement and planning out all the financial issues beforehand is very much necessary. Besides, you have to know that keeping all the financial data like tax information, bank account and insurances information along with keeping all the financial reports in place is necessary. You should also know that creating a well-developed will is also becomes essential at this stage.

Start with General Topics

When attempting to start discussing the financial topics with your aging parents, start with general but related topics like what’s their plan for their retirement or something like that instead of jumping on the topic right away. That way you will get simple cues to take the matter to more serious issues gradually.

Tell Them Your Own Plans

You can start by telling your own financial initiatives and retirement plans to them to set the introduction. Let them know how important it is to have a financial plan ready for your retirement and the declining years.

Don’t Impose

Once you get to know all the details about their plans and overall financial conditions start placing options to them. Look for possible lacks in the plan or possible improvements. Like if they have not created a centralized storage of all the financial data then suggest or offer to do that for them. Or if they have not made a will then offer to arrange a family lawyer to sketch that out for them. But you should never impose any decision upon them, make sure to be as a trusted adviser.

Involve All the Members in the Discourse

Many families struggle to amass all the money that we often need to ensure proper care for our loved ones. Then the discussion becomes even more uncomfortable at times. Then you will not only have to know the financial condition of your parents but also all the siblings responsible for ensuring the best care possible. So, at this stage, you just have to involve all the members in the discourse and discuss a way out of it.

Have a Financial Adviser

After trying all you can, if you fail to reach your goals or fail to make your parents realize all the issues then you may consider having a financial advisor to discuss it with them for you. Besides, an adviser will be able to better guide you all in terms of taxes, insurances, will and other such issues.

For any help and support regarding senior care, health, senior living and well-being do not hesitate to contact Comfort Keepers.

The Destructive Duo: Depression and Dementia - Comfort Keepers San Mateo

Depression - the life sucking mental trap - can hamper your day to day life to a great extent. It may even become so severe that one does not want to simply live anymore and attempts to commit suicide. However, a vast number of research and studies also suggest that depression, be it early life or late life, increases the risk of developing dementia significantly.

A Review of the Studies

A research, after thoroughly examining 23 independent studies, has concluded that depression significantly increases the chances of developing dementia. This research found out the link between depression to all types of dementia. However, the risk was more prominently higher in case of Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.

Another study concentrating on and following up 1764 participants for eight years for depressive tendencies and the possible dementia development have found out that there are surprising amount of evidence and correlation between late-life depression and dementia.

Yet another research conducted a comprehensive review of 16 studies focused on late life depression and five studies on early life depression and have found out that both the groups had two to four times more likelihood of developing dementia than those without depression.

What’s the Link?

To frankly tell the truth the experts do not have any definite answer to this link of depression to dementia. However, what they can confer is that as depression is connected with brain changes so it makes it more likely to cause the damage in the brain cells seen in case of dementia.

What Can We Do?

Now, this is the most practical part as far as our and our loved ones’ well-being is concerned. What can we do to stave away the depressive tendencies seen in us or our loved ones?

First of all, we have to acknowledge the fact that medication really works in case of curbing depression, anxiety and other such mental illnesses. Besides, there are very effective therapies that are proven to get people out of the depressive mental closet. So, whenever you see depressive tendencies in yourself and in your loved ones contact a psychiatrist as soon as possible.

Apart from medication and therapies, there are some other environmental and lifestyle changes that you can make in order to deal with the depressive tendencies.

Lead an active life and encourage your loved ones to do the same. Do regular physical exercises, engage in social and communal activities, do some volunteering for a worthy cause and get yourself involved in artistic or creative activities.

Practice meditation. Meditation can help a lot in case of removing depression and taking you towards a bright and peaceful inner atmosphere.

Find things and activities that make you happy. It can be anything - wearing new and nice dresses, going to the woods, singing songs or listening to them, going to your favorite location in town or any other little thing that makes you feel better.

Another very important thing to remember is that while a person is suffering from depression he or she may not be aware of it or may not be even forthcoming to express their situation. So, it is up to us to keep an eye and discern the symptoms of depression in the people around us.

Whenever you see any such depressive symptoms in your loved ones then start talking with them with care and make them realize that it is an illness for which they are sad. It’s not normal sadness and it is very much curable with medication and other practices.   

Brain Health in Senior Years - Comfort Keepers San Mateo

We often observe various misconceptions and wrong ideas related with what aging does to your brain and about the things that you can do to improve your brain muscles in senior years. So, we from Comfort Keepers thought of clearing up some of the major misconceptions and at the same time guide you towards the right way to improve your brain health, memory and overall cognitive faculty.

Simple Exercise

One of the major misconceptions is that most of us think aging of the brain and the consequent decay is inevitable. However, this is not altogether a true statement. Although it is natural that with age the brain is likely to shrink but with just a bit of added measure you can also reverse the brain shrinking quite significantly. A study conducted by the University of Illinois and the University of Pittsburgh combined have found out that just simple exercises like walking or stretching can increase the size of the hippocampus, the main area of the brain responsible for memory, up to 2% in just one year. Besides, the study also suggested that seniors who exercise regularly are likely to have less amount of amyloid, the sticky plaque found in the brain in case of Alzheimer’s disease.

Eat Fish

Another common misconception is that supplements can boost memory and brain power. This cannot be asserted for sure. The evidence and reports on this matter often portray conflicting information on the results of supplements. Although vitamin E has been shown to slow down cognitive decline with age, high doses come with some obvious side effects. However, there’s a natural brain health booster that is unknown to most of us is fish. A UCLA study has found out that among the seniors over the age of 65 who ate at least one meal a week centered on fish items had higher amount of gray matter in their hippocampus than those who had less fish or didn’t have at all. The research concluded that the more you eat fish, up to three servings per week, the lesser the chances of cognitive decline.

Learn New Things

Although many of us tend to believe that playing games like crossword puzzles help to boost our brain power but in reality, it is not exactly the case. Actually what helps is learning anything new. Be it a game like crossword puzzle or a new skill like playing a musical instrument. But, keep playing the same game won’t help. Doing repetitive tasks won't help in creating new neural connection or improving your brain but learning new things will. A recent Swedish study reports that learning a new language increased the size of some brain parts. So, keep learning new things be it small games or huge task like learning a language.

Your Mind Actually Gets Better with Age

Contrary to popular beliefs our brain actually get better with age. This happens because the left and the right hemisphere of the brain sync better due to the richness of neural connection that is achieved with age. That’s why we often see wisdom and emotional balance increasing with age. Due to the same increased left and right connectivity creativity also soars in senior years. Besides, with a huge reservoir of skills, knowledge and experience accumulated throughout the whole lifespan our senior loved ones develop a crystallized form of superior intelligence.

Now, with these ideas in your head we can rightly hope that you will never allow the negative misconceptions about aging take the upper hand on you. For any help and support regarding senior health and well being do not hesitate to contact Comfort Keepers San Mateo!