Can Meditation Increase Your Pain Tolerance?

One scientist from the University of Montreal seems to think so. When performing a study on long-time Zen meditators, Joshua Grant and his colleagues discovered that their tolerance for pain far outweighed the tolerance of the subjects in the control group. This was a result of the thicker layer of gray matter in the area of the brain that processes pain sensory, most likely the result of sustained activity of the brain – much like working out a muscle. Not only does old age work against the thickness of gray matter, but also the lack of mental activity for those in their middle ages. Therefore, seniors who are consistently doing things like meditation, crossword puzzles and other “thinking games,” have improved memory and mental capacities.

According to a study conducted in 2008 by a team from Harvard Medical School, additional benefits of daily meditation include lower stress levels, eased blood pressure and added cell protection from aging.

Therefore, try adding meditation to your daily to do list. Whether it’s an exhilarating AM wake-up call or much needed time to unwind, meditation offers irreplaceable health advantages. Not to mention, it is also a nice bonding experience for you and an elderly loved one.

The Benefits of Walking

Walking is one of the simplest exercises that you can do. Many don’t think of walking as an exercise because they do it all the time.  After all, they’re just walking.  However, walking can become your favorite fitness program. Walking is an easy exercise program to start, which makes it the perfect choice for people over 40.  Walking is one of those exercises that almost everyone, no matter their fitness level, can do and get great results.

New reports say that to maintain a healthy level of fitness as we grow older, daily activity must include 60 minutes of physical activity. This can be a frightening thought if you’ve been sedentary for a good number of years.  Many people have the misconception that unless you are sweating like crazy during a workout, you are not going to see any benefit from exercise. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

For seniors, walking is an exercise that can grow with you as you increase your activity level. Your walking program may begin with a Sunday stroll in the park, but then your walking workout will grow and have a purpose – to get fit.

Here are a few benefits of walking:

• Improved cardiovascular endurance
• Proper posture
• Improved mood
• Weight loss
• Improved sleep
• Increased muscle tone

Walking can be done most anywhere and at just about any time. You may want to begin in a mall with other early morning walkers.  There may be a track at your local high school or university.  You can go out in the rain or cold as long as you wear proper gear and walk flat paths for safety.  Walking is a very versatile exercise program.  Just keep your shoes with you so whether you’re on vacation or a business trip you can go on your walk.

Start at a pace that you can maintain and still hold a conversation. This will be faster than a stroll but you won’t be race-walking either. Start with a half mile or a mile walk. As you walk faster you can walk farther as a way of continually challenge yourself.

As you get more fit and start to look for greater fitness challenges, move off the track or mall and onto walking paths that have hills.  Walking up and down hills will not only improve your muscle strength, but your heart and lungs will get a good workout, too.  If you live in a neighborhood that has nice sidewalks and streets, choose your path and take a walk.  Call a friend to join you and enjoy your walk even more!

Walking is a great avenue toward better health for people over 40.  It is an activity that is easily customized and other than the cost of the clothing and shoes, it is free (and who doesn’t like free?). You can vary your terrain, vary your speed, and walk farther to challenge yourself and make your fitness program more effective.

You can get started walking for exercise today with just a pair of good shoes and comfortable clothing.  Before you know it, you’ll be feeling better and well on your way to a new, healthy lifestyle.

Simple Prepared Meal Delivery Services for Family Caretakers Of Seniors

Almost all daughters and sons who take care of their older parent, or elderly parents, usually do not imagine themselves as caregivers. They just consider themselves as attending to their parents. A caregiver is defined as somebody that provides support for another person who may not be able to reside on their own as a result of bodily, psychological, financial, or mental limitations.

Caregivers are likely to be thought to be specialists or volunteers who stop by the home of the person they may be looking after as needed. In situations where an expert will not be necessary, the duty will most likely drop on the siblings of the family. This could consist of errands, housekeeping, yard maintenance, managing finances, food shopping, and cooking meals in advance.

Surveys differ, but as many as 80% of all caregiver services in the U.S. are provided by family members. This adds up to practically 50 million men and women, and approximately a third of every U.S. family has an unpaid caregiver attending to the needs of an older parent in some capacity. 86% of caregivers are family members, and 66% tend to be female. The average family caregiver can assume this obligation for as long as nine years.

While there are several jobs and commitments a family caretaker will expect, 65% of all services consist of cooking food, and 40% are maintaining specific nutritional diets. 75% of family caregivers state food shopping is often a regular part of their duty. Senior citizens make up the largest percentage of people in society who need diabetic, weight loss, low sodium, and heart healthy diet programs. Preparing meals in advance for parents is usually a significant task in itself. Preparing meals regarding special diets, calls for further expertise with respect to both food shopping, and cooking.

Family caretakers who reside nearby will have a much easier go regarding cooking and taking care of their aging parents compared to those that live further away, or perhaps in another state. With the fast paced routines of employment and rearing their own families, it is no surprise 40% of family caregivers find caring for a mother or father, or parents, can be a burden. 32% say it is a excessive responsibility and results in emotional tension, but when it comes to taking care of an aging member of the family, it is usually a labor of love.

Prepared Meal Delivery Solutions

Nourishing an aging parent, or parents, can be one of the most frequent, and time intensive responsibilities a family caregiver can provide. Having prepared meals delivered, in some capacity, is often a potential option that helps both the family caregiver and the parent. Menus can be as simple as one dinner a day, to a comprehensive selection of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Most companies that offer premade meals ship their meals frozen allowing it to easily be heated up in a microwave oven.

• DineWise is a nationwide meal delivery service that delivers frozen senior meals across the country. They have a substantial choice of foods, and offer nutritional options for individuals with diabetic, weight loss, and low sodium requirements. Repeated food deliveries may be booked for any time frame, as well as any budget. DineWise meal costs average $12 per meal.
• HomeStyle Direct is a service that accepts medicaid for residents who live in Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Utah, or Wyoming. Their menu offers significantly less selection and does not cater to specific nutritional diet programs, but they do offer less expensive cost option. Their average meals will cost around $6 each.
• Meals On Wheels is a local service which provides hot meals to homebound senior citizens, typically more than 60 years old. Restrictions, qualifying criteria, and rates, in the form of contributions, varies depending on the county you live in. The service is not offered nationally. These agencies are usually financed through charitable efforts and local governing bodies.

National prepared meal delivery service corporations give family caretakers the ability to reduce stress and lower the burden of taking care of an aging parent, or parents. They also offer a benefit to the elderly in that they are simple to reheat, and enable seniors a sense of remaining self-sufficient. They may be bought in just about any volume, and optionally planned for regular shipping and delivery dates. Having precooked meals on hand also offers convenience for family caregivers in situations where they go away, or cannot attend for their parent, or parents.

Dance: the movement activity for the elderly ( www.bestlocalassistedliving.com )

Just gotta dance!

Here is an all-purpose -- and inexpensive -- activity providing many benefits:

Dance equals the most vigorous of sport participation and it may provide the same physical exertion that sports and games provide with less space requirements. Dr. Kenneth Cooper, founder of the Aerobics Center in Dallas, states "ballroom dance is a fairly minimal activity, but if you can combine frequency per week with duration, you can get a nice training effect." Other possible physical benefits of dance for older adults include: improved balance, coordination and kinesthetic awareness, improved alignment with decreased arthritis difficulties, insomnia, neuromuscular hypertension, and low back pain. Dance also seems to maintain interest better than a regimen of calisthenics.

Dance may contribute to the physical fitness of its participants through versatile exercise that aids muscle tone, weight control, gracefulness, general body control, and health. In 1988, Sutton at the University of Minnesota found that middle-aged men who participated in moderate activity over a seven year period reduced the risk of fatal coronary heart disease incidence by thirty-seven percent. Simmons measured changes in the cardiorespiratory systems of older adults after participating in thirty sessions of dancing and no form of aerobic dance was used, only modified folk, couple, and square dances. Results identified that low to moderate intensity in a regular dance program did contribute significant improvements in predicted V|O.sub.2~ Max and resting systolic blood pressure. These findings support the premise that dancing is a legitimate aerobic workout for older adults.

Creativity

Dance provides for self expression, even if it's only shuffling movements, which still have some element of "creating one's own routine". Each individual shuffles their feet as they wish to. Though some dance forms such as square and folk have very structured steps and formations, ballroom and social dance allow individuals to be creative and try different steps and moves.

Dance has long been a rationalization for getting people together. Unlike other activities, dance allows participants to concentrate on each other rather than play to an audience or strive to meet regimented skill specifications. Dance may decrease isolation, loneliness and boredom, increase tactile support, cooperation and enjoyment, and it also gives participants something to do with their hands, feet, and body if communicating on a purely verbal level is awkward.

Other areas that dance may contribute to include:

Rhythm and coordination

Relaxation and escape

Recognition and understanding of one's own culture

Opportunity for adventure and new experience

Characteristics of the Aged

According to Shephard, there are two primary questions that the leader of an older adult dance program must consider. First, what movements and fitness demands are required to successfully perform this dance? Dances with slow tempos and very little locomotion involved should be chosen for those individuals with minimal fitness levels. As fitness levels improve the tempo and amount of space that steps cover may be increased.

Secondly, what is the skill complexity and cognitive demands of this dance? Older individuals need clear and concrete instructions and an opportunity to learn at their own pace. Begin with only the basic steps of a social dance or the most simple degree of difficulty for folk and square dances. Progression on step complexity should be slow with sufficient repetition for learning. The gradual loss of sensitivity in the feet will affect the older adult's sense of position and balance; therefore, steps requiring rapid change in motion or direction should be avoided.

Individuals should have a medical examination before participation in dance programs. After the examination the instructor then needs to assess the biomechanical capabilities and weaknesses to determine appropriate type and intensity of movement according to the need of each individual. There should be sensitivity to the variability of present fitness and mobility levels within the dances called. Traditional movements and their style of execution should be modified in response to signs of over-exertion. The risk of injuries, such as strains, and sprains increases with age, particularly after the age of 55. Furthermore, many older adults fear bodily injury during a movement activity, and for good reason, since an injury can be a serious blow to self-sufficiency and personal freedom.

In short, dance leaders should possess a sound understanding of these limitations and be able to teach the participants rules of safe participation.

Social/Emotional Characteristics

Motivation of the older adult to seriously participate in a dance program requires the leadership of a caring person who has a personality that assures the participant of success and well-being. The leader's ability to provide meaningful feedback that conveys an appreciation of the older adult's accomplishments will also be motivational.

Different types of dance can lead to different types of social interaction. Line and folk dances allow for simultaneous interaction among the group. Mixers allow for short acquaintances with everyone participating in the dance. Square dances provide interaction for a small group of friends. Social dances allow a couple to interact apart from the group, although the steps from the social dances can be performed in line formation without the need for separating into couples.

The Dance Routine

The first dances should always be chosen to slowly warm-up the body. The last dances should also be slow for a cooling-down effect. The routines between might alternate among fast, moderate, or slow tempos as long as continuous movement is sustained throughout. It is often helpful to end each class session with a short period of relaxation.

Any or all of these can be used to provide residents with exercise, social opportunities and fun -- and sustain and improve the independence they have remaining.

How Do They Test The Happiness of a Clam?

Is this clam happy?

The Satisfaction With Life Scale is a measure of life satisfaction developed by Ed Diener and colleagues in 1985. It’s stood the test of time and is still used today. Try it out on yourself.

Below are five statements that you may agree or disagree with. Using the 1-7 scale below, indicate your agreement with each item by placing the appropriate number on the line preceding that item. 

Please be open and honest in your responding.

7 Strongly agree

6 Agree

5 Slightly agree

4 Neither agree nor disagree

3 Slightly disagree

2 Disagree

1 Strongly disagree

Statements

____In most ways my life is close to my ideal.

____The conditions of my life are excellent.

____I am satisfied with my life.

____So far I have gotten the important things I want in life.

____If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.

Results

31-35 Extremely satisfied

26-30 Satisfied

21-25 Slightly satisfied

20 Neutral

15-19 Slightly dissatisfied

10-14 Dissatisfied

5-9 Extremely dissatisfied

People who score in the “extremely satisfied” range feel their lives are very rewarding and have gone very well, though not necessarily perfectly, Diener and his son Robert Biswas-Diener explain in their book Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth.

“Satisfied” scorers are generally happy and feel very good about their lives, yet see room for improvement.

“Slightly satisfied” people feel life is going well, but they are not quite where they would like to be.

The “neutral” category means the good and bad stuff in a person’s life are in a dead heat.

People in either the dissatisfied or slightly dissatisfied category need to ask themselves whether it is because of a recent bad event or because their lives are heading in the right direction but aren’t there yet. If it’s either of those causes, they probably don’t need to worry about the score, write Diener and Biswas-Diener.

If they are usually “down,” they should consider whether their expectations are simply too high or whether they need to change something significant in their lives. In any case, they may need to seek help from a person they trust, such as member of the clergy or a mental health counselor.

Finally, the “extremely dissatisfied” scorers need to make very serious efforts to turn their lives around, and that may require professional help.

Happiness is ...

Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychologist at the University of California Riverside and author of the 2007 book The How of Happiness, explains that happiness has a thinking and a feeling component. To be happy emotionally means experiencing fairly frequent positive emotions and relatively infrequent negative emotions. To be happy at the cognitive level is to feel happy with your life, the progress you are making on life goals or the direction in which your life is going.

Why it is Important to Have Fun after You Retire

It is time to retire not bid farewell to planet earth! Lets get rid of the gloom and doom prophesies and start looking forward to an active, fun filled retired life. It all begins and ends with the mind. What kind of thinking do you practice? Are you a positive thinker or a negative thinker? Positive people go far in life because their ability to see the bright side of things will carry them far.

Retirement is a word, a concept that a good many of us work hard towards. Sure, we make plans in a casual, offhand manner when we say we will take up knitting or learn Spanish when we retire. As you draw near to retirement it is not a bad idea to start scoping out all the fun things you can do with your spare time. Rather than wringing your hands in dismay at not having a job to go to, look forward with joy to waking up and enjoying the peace and serenity a new day brings. Sure you will make plans and then life will intervene and plans will change, but that is all part of the fun of being alive.

By far the most important thing to keep in mind is not to allow depression to gain as much as a toehold in the doorway of your life. Depression sets off a chain reaction whereby you start feeling sorry for yourself and start thinking you are abandoned and alone. Thats just the start, soon depression will take over, you will lose your appetite and your health, your interest in life and slowly the will to live. 

Everything negative in your life will start becoming magnified a hundred fold and every mole hill will become an insurmountable mountain.

In our youth the very toughness of our age helps us to shrug off all things negative. However, as senior citizens a positive outlook is very important. Dont give yourself opportunities to sit and brood, get up and go out, get going and do stuff, just dont sit around feeling sorry for yourself.

Here are some tips on how you can set yourself up to have fun after you retire:

Depending on how active and healthy you are there is a long list of things you can do to enjoy retired life. You have the choice to live a fulfilled life or a sedentary life based on how you view retirement. 

Does it symbolize the closing of a door after a lifetime of work and a hectic social life or is it the opening of the door to brand new life? The way you answer this question will determine how much you enjoy your life after retirement.

CELEBRATE LIFE!

There are many senior citizen groups all across the country, join a couple, they actually do a lot of fun things. There are bus tours and travel to places you have never had a chance to visit. You get to make new friends and find yourself a whole new peer group to play with.

If your partner is with you, you may want to consider renting a mobile home and touring the countryside. America is full of mobile home parks where you can park and avail of the facilities provided from BBQ pits to electricity and running water, sewage connections and garbage disposal. 

Traveling is a great way to feel alive!

If you like arts and entertainment you can start taking in the shows and also get involved in your local theater. Join a social group that is involved in cultural entertainment or start your own music group. 

Start a group that meets maybe twice a week to play gin rummy, it does not matter so long as you socialize and stay busy. Plenty of food and wine tasting festivals are held all over the country that you can visit and enjoy.

If you have the money then take a cruise, maybe you have friends you can team up with and plan a fun trip. The cruise itself will provide you with great opportunities to meet new people and make new friends.

What you do is not important, what is important is that you have fun doing it! When you retire you need to make a concerted effort to stay positive and upbeat to enjoy a full life.

Senior Travel on a Budget

Retirement is the time for seniors to think about travel.  We put off some trips during the career phase of our lives, because we either did not have time for them or we lacked resources to go where we wanted.  Now we have the time!  But some of us may lack the resources to do every kind of trip and travel our hearts desire.  Here are some tips for traveling on a budget:

• Use the Internet to find special deals for hotels, motels, car rentals and flights.  The search term ‘cheap travel’ yields 63 million results!  If you have not chosen a particular destination, the possibilities for traveling inexpensively are unlimited if you peruse the Internet.  If your destination is already decided, simply add that city/state or country to the search term, and the results will be geared to your choice.  For example, ‘cheap travel Paris’ will offer amazing options for traveling inexpensively to Paris.
• Sign up on the Internet to get travel notifications from major web sites regarding travel offers.  Some of the big ones are Travelocity and Orbitz for travel in general; all major airlines have weekly travel offers that include discounts; Amtrak has regular discount offers for train travel; car rental sites provide weekly destination specific options; most of these sites offer travel combinations such as flight+car rental with significant discounts.  In addition, sites such as Gate1Travel and Travelzoo offer specials on travel that includes escorted tours world-wide, and frequently combine flight and room for destination travel at incredibly low cost.
• If you want to travel to a specific city or state for an event or to see a tourist attraction, find their discount days.  Be sure to check the web site for  a schedule of those days.
• If you are traveling in your own vehicle, pack your own food in a cooler to save on eating out in restaurants.  Roadside picnic areas and visitor rest stops across the United States, Canada and Europe have picnic tables in shaded spots that many travelers find attractive and restful for eating. 
• Go to www.elderhostel.com to find travel that includes learning adventures, generally on a budget most can afford.  This is not luxury travel.  It is an exciting opportunity to learn while you travel, without a huge price tag.
• Talk with friends who are also senior citizens, and who travel a lot. Ask their advice (and secrets!) for traveling inexpensively.  There is nothing like learning from someone who has good experience.

Planning your travel in advance will likely afford you the opportunity to find less expensive means for getting where you want to go and seeing/experiencing what piques your interest.  Don’t let lack of funds limit your options when the deals are out there just waiting for you to find them.

Affordable Lifelong Learning for Senior Citizens

The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live ~ Mortimer Alder

Lifetime learning is a way for seniors to keep challenging ourselves mentally, to investigate new avenues along paths previously unexplored, and to stay engaged with the ever-changing world in which we live – and have some fun doing it! Going back to school after retirement is a whole different ball game than our first time around. Now, we WANT to go to class and we look forward to learning and we are not a pain in the side of teachers sending notes or talking during lectures – well at least not too much. And by interacting with younger students and faculty, some of that youthful exuberance tends to rub off on us and we are better for it.

We know the many benefits of maintaining a focus on learning for a lifetime:

1.    Keeps our minds active and our mental facilities exercised.

2.    Give us the opportunity to pursue in-depth an interest that we did not have time for the first time around or during our career.

3.    Facilitates social interaction, increasing confidence when dealing with others who have a shared interest.

4.    Instills a feeling of accomplishment as we ace those exams and become an expert in our field. If not an expert, at least we know more now than when we started.

5.    Provides an opportunity to learn new skills and generate some cash from the knowledge.

With so much to offer and with free time available to retirees, what can we do to take advantage of the opportunities that exist? What is out there to help us pursue our lifelong learning dreams?

Programs for Lifelong Learning

California State University (CSU) offers the “over 60 program” for senior citizens – with tuition waived for Californians 60 or older regardless of income. Lisa Krieger of the Mercury News writes about Timothy Fitzgerald, a 64-year-old who is completing his fifth degree at San Jose State University and his third master’s. No moss is gathering on Tim as he busily completes homework assignments and prepares for exams. Note that the enrollment does not come at the expense of younger students as seniors register after the regular students and if there is no room left, they do not get in.

What a great service. If you want to find what is available in your neighborhood as far as schools or libraries, About.com offers a link that you can complete to see what is where. Different areas and institutions will have their own offerings so check them out.

We live in the Bay Area so I did some research and found a sample of programs offered by San Francisco State under their “Programs for Mature Learners”:

• Eldercollege – this program gives people over 50 the opportunity to take any regular university course on a space available, audit basis with instructor approval. This program is offered during the spring and fall semesters. Participants have access to library and gym services without having to pay the usual university fees associated with these services. The cost of this program is $55 per semester.
• Sixty-Plus – a self-governing group organized under the Institute on Gerontology. There are no prior academic requirements for membership. Meetings are every other week with speakers discussing a variety of subjects. Social events follow the meetings.
• Over 60 degree program – enables people 60 years or older to earn a baccalaureate or master’s degree at SF State without paying campus fees.
• Osher Lifelong Learning Institute – a community for baby boomers and seniors who enjoy the challenge, stimulation and quest for continued learning. Membership provides major discounts on course registration and events.

I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday – Abraham Lincoln

You may not have loved high school or you college may have been overwhelming. Possibly you exceeded everyone’s expectations and cruised through your education. Whatever the case, in retirement, you can CHOOSE to return to school where you can CHOOSE what you want to study. Grades do not matter. There is no competition to rank high in the class. This kind of learning can be FUN. If lifelong learning is your cup of tea, retirement is your invitation to pick it up and drink deeply.