Archives for Healthy Living

Senior Safety in Summertime

When you think of summer, thoughts of sunshine, swimming, and sitting on the porch with a cold ice tea in your hand may leap into your mind.  You probably don’t think of the potential dangers related to summer. Summer weather, particularly in Illinois, really brings the heat.  When we sweat, we lose precious water from our bodies causing dehydration if not replenished quickly.  One of the early symptoms of dehydration is dizziness.  If a senior is dehydrated and gets up too quickly, the resulting light-headedness can cause a dangerous fall.   Keep in mind that if you feel thirsty, you are
Read More

Finding the Meaning of Life

What is the meaning of life?  Everyone, from philosophers to theologians, has been asking this question for as long as humans have been in existence.  Scientists are now taking a crack at it, and have come up with a few tips to help us find it. According to an article on Psych Central, the first step towards finding meaning is nature.  People who are around nature often report having more meaning in their lives.  Even just looking at pictures of nature can help.  In one interesting study, groups were shown pictures of nature in the four seasons.  People shown the seasons
Read More

Walking for a Sharper Mind

The weather’s getting warmer, the flowers are blooming, and the air is thick with the smell of spring.  Do you need another good reason to go for a walk outside today?  Well here’s another: research shows that staying physically active keeps us mentally sharp as we age. When we are strolling along, our heart pumps strongly and our blood vessels get essentially flushed with fresh blood.  This keeps our circulatory system healthy, but it also has a great effect on your brain.  There are many blood vessels in and around the brain, supplying the hungry nerve cells with oxygen and
Read More

Eat Green for Earth Day

Earth Day was this month, and it makes us think of ways that we can leave the world a little better for those who follow us.  One way is by eating “green”. This doesn’t mean that you need to load up on green vegetables.  (Although eating green leafy veggies is a great way to stay healthy!)  It means to eat things that are grown in a way that benefits Mother Earth. Eating locally is a great way to help the environment.  For example, imagine that you buy an apple at the supermarket down the street.  Chances are that the apple
Read More

Snoozing May Lower Cancer Risk

Sleeping, snoozing, nodding off, getting shut-eye… However we say it, we need it.  Sleep regenerates our bodies, helps us form memories, and tunes up neural connections.  But now scientists are saying that catching plenty of zzz’s can also reduce our risk of cancer. order viagra no prescription When light levels are low, our tiny pineal gland releases a hormone called melatonin into our blood.  This hormone makes us sleepy and helps us drift off. And when scientists evaluated the effects of melatonin on the body, they found that it did not only help someone to sleep, but high levels were
Read More

A Healthy Diet Makes for a Happier You

Eating well is important at any age, but becomes more so as we age.  It seems that young adults can eat nearly anything without any consequence.  But as the years go on, foods have more of an effect on a body.  Eating well-balanced meals is important to avoid conditions such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Food is essentially energy that the cells in our body need to do their jobs.  So we need to eat enough to give those cells the energy that they need.  As we age and are not as physical, our cells don’t need
Read More

Be Yourself and Be Happy

Everyone keeps saying that to be happy, you just need to “be yourself”.  This simple phrase has been used so often that we are now skeptical of it.  Is there any scientific proof that “being yourself” will actually make you happier? homemade body wrap to lose inches Actually, there is.  A study was done by the two authors of Focus: Use Different Ways of Seeing the World for Success and Influence which surprisingly showed that “being yourself” does lead to happiness, especially if you’re a pessimist. That sure beats trying to be happy all the time! The research study had participants
Read More

Keep allergies at bay before the spring season arrives

In a recent article published by US News, editors explained that it’s easier to prevent allergic symptoms before they arrive. The task will be incredibly more successful than trying to stop them once they’re in full swing. In addition to taking medication designed to relieve allergy’s side effects, the editors suggested the following measures: Limiting outdoor activities when pollen counts are high. Leaving windows closed at home or in the car to keep pollen out. online Installing and using your air conditioner early, to filter the outside air that comes into your home. Washing your hair after being outside. Avoiding
Read More