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BE Active
Maintain Flexibility and Mobility
As an older adult, regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health. It can prevent or delay many of the health problems that seem to come with age. It also helps your muscles grow stronger so you can keep doing your day-to-day activities without becoming dependent on others. Mobility helps correct our muscular imbalances, improves our posture, helps prevent injuries, allows us to move more efficiently, and gives us a better range of motion during our workouts and everyday movements. Stretching allows for greater movement in joints and improves posture. It also helps to release muscle tension and soreness, and reduces the risk of injury. Lastly, it may also help increase circulation, muscle control, and improve balance and coordination.
Try out the following Apps and Videos for instructions and program plans:
Flexibility Training & Stretching Exercise at Home
Flexibility Training is a simple and free Android app developed by Fitify that has 65 different stretching exercises for improving flexibility. The app comprises both yoga and passive stretching exercises. You can choose from four stretching sessions: full body, upper body, lower body, and back stretching.
Stretch Exercise – Flexibility
The Stretch Exercise app by Leap Fitness Group is a comprehensive flexibility app. Apart from basic full-body stretches, it has ailment-specific training sessions. Under the Training Plans section, there are plenty of options, such as splits training, neck and shoulder pain relief, knee pain relief, and more. However, you can only access these specific plans with a premium subscription or by watching ads.
Yoga Studio
Yoga studio’s library of more than 100 ready- made yoga videos and meditations is a great way to get started on flexibility programs. You can search for classes based on duration, ability, focus, and intensity. Our build your own class form a library of 280 poses.
You can also download videos and view without internet access.
SilverSneakers GO
This fitness app is designed for seniors. SilverSneakers GO offers 4- 12 week strength, walking and flexibility programs tailored to your fitness level
BE Mindful
Mindfulness refers to a popular form of meditation that can help seniors maintain a healthy physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Its main purpose is to help you achieve a relaxed state of mind by increasing your awareness of your present thoughts, emotions, and feelings
Create a Gratitude List
Creating a gratitude list may help improve well-being and promote positivity by helping you focus on the things that you’re grateful for.
Try adding 3-5 items to your list each day and build it into your daily schedule to stay consistent.
You can write your gratitude list first thing in the morning to get your day off to a great start or list a few things that you’re grateful for before winding down for bed.
BE Social
If you or your loved one are retired and looking for activities for senior citizens that are anything but boring, we’ve got you covered. Here are just a few fun activities that you can enjoy while living in a senior community or while living at home. Remember, mental and physical health can be greatly improved by connecting with peers. Spending time at an event, making friends, or catching up with old acquaintances can have a significantly positive impact on your overall wellness.
Hiking and Walking Clubs
Movement is medicine, and a good walk outside can provide a breath of fresh air and a boost to natural “feel good” endorphins. Walking around the community is an easy way for a senior to keep active, and can be a good avenue to making friends. Some communities even arrange transportation so that club members can walk in a nearby park or on a walking path. Get the whole family involved by taking a hike with grandkids.
Group Exercise Classes
Group exercises, like yoga, tai chi, or Feldenkrais, are fun and social ways to improve flexibility and balance, which are key to preventing falls in older adults. Some communities offer chair exercise classes, and others may offer water aerobics programs, which can appeal to seniors who are living with arthritis.
Wii Sports
The senior in your life may not be able to shoot baskets anymore, but Nintendo’s Wii interactive console games, in which you move your body instead of pressing buttons or using a joystick, offer a nice alternative. There are a variety of games that the sports-minded seniors can play, including bowling, tennis, and golf, as well as the aforementioned basketball. The Wii gaming system is a perk at many Arbor communities.
Join a book club
Join a book club – or start your own with some friends. You can meet face to face or virtually.
BE Active In Your Community
Volunteering is good for your health!
Helping homeless pets in your community
If helping dogs, cats, and other animals at your local animal shelter interests you, you’ll have plenty to consider. You need to choose which animal shelter you want to give your time to, what kind of jobs you’re capable of doing, and whether you can meet the shelter’s requirements.
Don’t worry, though, as there are plenty of opportunities to help out at shelters. There’s bound to be a volunteer position that fits your abilities.
So many things need to be done at animal shelters. Obviously, caring for the animals is very important. Shelters need volunteers to clean cages, fill water or food bowls, provide company to the animals, walk the dogs, play with the cats, do training and socialization, and more.
Not all jobs require directly interacting with the animals, though. Shelters rely on volunteers to help work fundraising events, make calls, post fliers, and make social media posts.
Graphic designers, photographers, newsletter writers, event planners, and many other skilled positions provide a big help to shelters that need to raise money and ask for donations.
There are also day-to-day operations that can be handled by volunteers and really help animal shelters in need. Shelters need accountants and bookkeepers to keep records in order. Legal advisers need to handle contracts and legal matters. Computer programmers can help design apps and programs to pair adopters with their perfect pets.
Some shelters have educational programs to teach children about animals and help them get involved in animal care, so educators are needed, too.
BE Nutritious
Chocolate is a natural meed booster!
Brownie Bites Satisfy your sweet tooth without destroying your diet! These are only 44 calories for each mini muffin and they are perfect for sharing!
1 Egg
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tbsp sugar substitute
3 tbsp cocoa powder
½ cup almond flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt 1
tbsp mini chocolate chips
Whisk wet ingredients together. Whisk dry ingredients together. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
Bake for 15 minutes at 350*. Makes 15 mini cupcakes.
44 Calories Each. Total Fat: 3.1g saturated fat .07g Cholesterol Sodium 12.3mg Carb 3.7g Fiber .8g Sugar 2.1g Protein 1.4g
Exercise Your Brain
Take a Trip to your local library
How Library Programs Benefit Seniors
• Libraries are an important source of access to computers and digital literacy training helping seniors to connect with family, friends, health information and government services.
• Libraries are committed to provide opportunities for seniors to share their expertise through special programs, reading groups, volunteering and mentoring.
• Libraries reach beyond the walls of their buildings to engage senior citizens who have mobility and transportation issues, providing service in senior centers and nursing homes.
• Libraries provide a safe, comfortable, and inviting setting at which older members of the community are treated with courtesy and respect.
• Libraries offer opportunities for intergenerational activity that engages the whole community.
Book of The Month
Reading continues to be one of America’s favorite pastimes, and for good reason. Relaxing with a good book is beneficial for people of all ages, but especially seniors, as it can reduce stress, provide mental simulation, and even improve memory. Listening to a book is more convenient and enjoyable for some, and eBooks allow you to enlarge the text, a perfect option for seniors who may have a hard time reading small print
FROM AGE-ING TO SAGE-ING: A REVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO GROWING OLDER BY ZALMAN SCHACHTER-SHALOMI AND RONALD S. MILLER
How great is this title? Very clever! This is a book for seniors who want to age into a life that’s full of excitement and passion. Schachter-Shalomi aims to help readers let go of the negativity, fear, and anxiety that too often goes along with aging, and instead embrace the fact that with age comes some great benefits, like wisdom. He also covers the stigma around aging and gives some practical tips on remembering that what someone else thinks of you is none of your business, as they say.
Laughter is the best medicine. It’s a saying all of us have come across. Laughter has proven itself to be a natural form of medicine that is available to everyone, and it can help you both physically and mentally. It helps you relax and relieve stress, all the while boosting your immune system by releasing endorphins. Laughter also helps prevent potential heart diseases, as you laugh your blood flow increases which in turn improves the function of your blood vessels. But the best part is, it brings you joy. This book right here wants to help with that. 100 Funny Stories for the Elderlyis an entertaining collection of short stories that aims to make you smile. All the better if you burst out laughing. This book is filled with amusing short stories that you can relate to and enjoy. It can help stimulate your brain, which in turn can improve your mind and memory. To put it briefly, the goal of this book is for you to achieve:
· pleasure and delight from the funny yet heart-warming stories you can relate to
· improved mental ability and memory
· focus and clarity as you exercise mind and memory
New Products to Try
GrandPad
With your GrandPad® you get EVERYTHING you need to stay connected: A GrandPad, Stylus, Charger, Data Plan, 24/7/365 Customer Care and access to the Companion App.
The GrandPad is an easy-to-use tablet that comes with built-in wireless data. It allows seniors to play games, listen to music, video chat with family, and communicate with no hassle.
To use the GrandPad tablet, you’ll need purchase the comprehensive subscription service. This includes insurance, internet connection, and its own private family network, which allows approved members to add photos, update contact information, and more. There’s no modem to set up or passwords to remember, and GrandPad’s device insurance replaces broken devices at no cost. It can be great technology for seniors who aren’t very tech-savvy but want to stay connected with loved ones.
Senior Travel
Discounts On Airline Tickets
In addition to airline miles you might accumulate through a credit card, you can look for senior deals when booking a flight. For best deals call the airline. These airline deals are not always available on-line and they do not always apply to every flight destination. Always call the airline directly if interested in receiving this type of discount. Some airlines change their policies occasionally, so it is best to ask if you don’t see a discount offered online. Here are a few airline senior discounts to consider:
Alaska Airlines: 10% off (65+)
American Airlines: Various discounts for 65 and up (call directly about possible senior discounts, only available for certain markets and flights).
Southwest Airlines: Various discounts for ages 65 and up (call to apply senior discount).
United Airlines: Various discounts for ages 65 and up (call to apply senior discount).
Air France: Offers a Senior Pass to customers who are at least 65 years old. The pass costs 49 euros a year, and includes benefits such as flexible tickets and discounts on flights.
British Airways: AARP members can receive between $65 and $200 off round-trip flights.
Delta: Gives a senior discount in certain markets. Call to ask about availability.
JetBlue: Discounts of 5% for retired military and veterans are available for those enrolled in Veterans Advantage.
ParkRideFly: Gives AARP members a 12% savings when booking airport parking.
United Airlines: Offers a discounted price to passengers who are 65 and older for selected destinations.
Click this link for more information: http://www.cheapflights.com/travel-tips/senior-airfare-discounts/
Senior Living
Cost of Home Health Care
The average cost of in-home care in the United States is $4,957 a month. Costs will vary by location and by service level.
For home health care, the cost is higher, at an average of $5,148 a month. However, considering that home health care can include nursing services, it is a more economical option than residential skilled nursing care, which costs an average of $7,908 a month for a shared room and $9,034 for a private room.
The national median cost of personal care services provided by a home health aide is $28 per hour according to Genworth's most recent Cost of Care Survey. The median hourly cost of nonmedical home care is $26 per hour. Agencies typically charge 20 percent to 30 percent more than individual caregivers, but reputable agencies conduct background checks of caregivers and may be better equipped to provide all types of care an individual requires.
Paying For Home Health Care
Medicare Advantage Home Care Services
Beginning in 2019, for the first time, Medicare Advantage benefits include non-skilled home care services. These services include benefits such as transportation to doctors’ offices or help shopping for healthier food. The new benefits may not require a physician’s prescription, but a licensed healthcare provider must designate them as medically appropriate.
Medicare
Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and/or Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) cover eligible home health services like these: Part-time or "intermittent" skilled nursing care. Physical therapy. Occupational therapy. Medicare defines home health care as a wide range of health care services that can be given in your home for an illness or injury. Home health care is usually less expensive, more convenient, than and just as effective as care you get in a hospital or skilled nursing facility.
The type of care refers to care provided in the home by a licensed medical professional, such as a nurse or physical therapist.
Long-Term Care Insurance
Since individuals who require non-medical home care are not sick in the traditional sense, traditional health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid may not provide for their needs. Having a Long-Term Care Insurance policy in place prior to any major changes in the health and mobility can guarantees that they will have complete home care coverage assistance available if and when they need it.
Veterans Benefits
Veteran Aid & Attendance offers families and individuals an additional method of meeting home care costs. A veteran's and their spouse's joint, countable income must be less than the pension amount for which they are eligible. For example, a married veteran in 2021 is eligible for $27,549 in A&A pension; if their countable income is $10,000, then they are eligible to receive an additional $17,549 / year in pension.