Home Health Dallas enables seniors to live happy, healthy, and independent lives in their own homes.\

Being in cheerful and high spirits can have many positive benefits for seniors. Some seniors do not have the social interactions they had as younger adults and they can often slip into a bout of depression. The tips provided below can help bring happiness and cheer to a senior. While these tips may seem minor, they have a huge effect.

1. Read an amusing book. This is a great way to escape from reality while providing a sense of happiness. Try not to look too far down the road. Having short views of life can be rewarding. It helps to ensure that the little things are not overlooked!

2. Make time for friends and people who bring a smile and offer some amusement. This can make seniors very happy by giving them a social outlet as well as someone to laugh with.

3. Enjoy the outdoors. Fresh air can be invigorating and can increase mood.

4. Do not be hard on yourself. Life is too short to dwell on shortcomings. Try to focus on positive aspects each and every day.

5. If there is a location in the home that makes a senior feel comfortable and happy, try to arrange daily living so that much time is spent there.

Source: happiness-project.com

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Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

Home Health Dallas enables seniors to live happy, healthy, and independent lives in their own homes.

As heart disease plagues the United States in unfortunate numbers, it would seem there are no solutions when heart problems arise. For older generations, the last thing they want to worry about is poor heart and circulatory health. Seniors can avoid heart issues by following these daily guidelines.

• Lower Those Cholesterols Levels—People with coronary artery disease can monitor their cholesterol to ensure they don’t become another statistic or victim of heart disease.

• Practice Good Nutrition—Seniors worried about heart disease can eliminate some of that worry by merely changing their diets to follow healthier guidelines.

• Exercise—By taking that afternoon walk, seniors can decrease their chances of heart and circulatory problems a great deal. Exercise not only makes you feel good by getting out of the house, but also does a number on your heart.

• Read Up On Heart Health—So many publications nowadays offer great information when it comes to practicing good heart health. Seniors can turn to any of these publications such as the Harvard Heart Letter. This report helps seniors understand heart and circulatory health and the effects heart problems can have on emotional health. Such reports also provide detailed tips as to what you can do to lower your risk.

If you are a caregiver, or know anyone with a heart condition, you could benefit from watching the following clip, which features a modified form of CPR called CCR that is easier to learn, easier to do and can save even more lives!

Source: health.harvard.edu

Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

Home Health Dallas enables seniors to live happy, healthy, and independent lives in their own homes.

Valentine’s Day is a special day for seniors as well. No matter how old you are, you will always enjoy receiving a card signifying someone’s love. Seniors often enjoy receiving hand-made cards from grandchildren. There are many ways to brighten the day for a senior on Valentine’s Day. Below is a list that provides some great ideas for gifts on Valentine’s Day.

1. Make handcrafted Valentine’s cards. This can be a great project for school classrooms as well as adult groups. Seniors would be very appreciative of any cards that were hand delivered. Taking the time to make and deliver something by hand can have a huge effect on seniors.

2. Small gifts provide a bit of cheer. For senior family members, use a heart shaped picture frame to display family photographs and present to your senior loved one.

3. Chocolates and cookies make great gifts. Be sure to check if the senior is on a restrictive diet before buying sweet treats. Many sugar-free chocolates are available and cookies that are made at home can also be made to suit a particular diet.

4. A “heart attack” is not always a bad thing! If you are able to decorate living spaces with hearts and other Valentine’s symbols, you will be giving a senior a positive “heart attack.” This can also be done through the mail by filling an envelope with heart shaped paper and confetti.

Source: aginggrandparents.suite101.com

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Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

No matter what the age or the physical condition, seniors can benefit from an exercise program. Not every senior can do the same exercise, but there are many to choose from. Exercise can greatly lower the risks associated with heart disease and can have a positive effect on over-all health. The list below contains some tips and facts pertaining to daily exercise for seniors.

Before making changes to a diet or adding exercise, Home Health Dallas wants to remind all seniors that they should always talk to their doctors first. Be sure to ask about medications, the ability to lift heavy objects and what exercises are safe for you.

1. Exercise can help circulation and strengthen the heart and cardiovascular system. It also lowers blood pressure, improves muscle tone and strength, boosts self-esteem and improves sleep.

2. Stretching exercises lengthen the muscles, preparing them for activity. It will reduce the chance of injury and muscle strain.

3. Aerobic or cardiovascular exercise strengthens the heart and lungs and will greatly improve the use of oxygen in the body.

4. Try to implement a walking program to start. Then you can move to jogging, biking or water aerobics.

5. An exercise session should last between 20 and 30 minutes to provide the best benefits for the body and over-all health. Exercise every day or every other day for the best results.

Source: webmd.com

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Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

Here at Home Health Dallas we have many goals we wish to accomplish this year, when you’re setting your goals this year, don’t do it alone. Encourage your grandchildren to make goals of their own, and then work with them to keep them motivated, and also keep your own goals on target. Collectively as a family you can make this year better than last.

1. Ask them to come up with an area that they could improve in their lives – be gentle, but ask them how they think they could improve. Would they like to get better grades? Get along better with a sibling? Learn a new skill? Once an area has been settled on, help them make that goal specific.

2. Motivate with group efforts – write down your resolutions along with theirs, and track progress with charts. Get the whole family involved, and come together to talk about how you’re doing with your resolutions

3. Use visual rewards for progress – when you check in with the progress of your grandchildren, reward them. Add stickers to a chart you’ve created, or give them pennies for their piggy bank for every step of the way

4. Keep the experience positive – motivate children by ensuring they always remain positive even if they have setbacks while trying to reach their goals

Via: eHow

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Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

Home Health Dallas knows that setting and achieving meaningful goals is a great way to build confidence and increase motivation. This could be exactly the medicine a senior that’s been feeling down needs. A crucial part of achieving goals is support, so as a caregiver, you can give the senior that you care for a helping hand towards success.

1. Help form a support team – you don’t have to do it alone! Help your loved one form a support network that will help them reach their goals. If it’s to eat better, consider hiring a nutritionist and encourage friends and family to adopt healthier eating habits around them too. If it’s exercise, attend classes with your senior and ask others to do the same.

2. Remind him/her it’s not always going to be easy – especially for seniors who often face so many challenges later in life, it’s easy to give up on something that’s not coming easy. Often, resolutions that will drastically change their life aren’t going to be easy. Certain goals can be physically and emotionally challenging, so give them a friendly push when needed

3. A slip up doesn’t mean give up – as part of overcoming the challenges that can come with new goals, seniors need to keep on going even if they slip up along the way. In that situation, encourage them to learn from what they were doing wrong, then put it behind them and move forward. Ask them if there’s anything you can do to give them a hand with starting new!

Via: Associated Content

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Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

Young people are not the only ones who make a New Year’s resolution to shed a few pounds. Many seniors are overweight, and losing extra pounds will not only make them feel better about themselves, but it will be beneficial to their over-all health. Below is a short list of tips that will help seniors implement ways to lose weight in the upcoming year.

1. Try to be more conscious of what you eat. While sweets are hard to resist, try eating a piece of fruit instead of candy. It will satisfy your craving for sugar and is much healthier.

2. Buy a scale for the bathroom. This will help monitor your weight. You can even use a journal to keep track of any changes. A good scale will help you through your weight-loss journey.

3. Increase physical activity. Seniors do not need to join a gym. A simple short walk each day will help burn extra calories. In addition, that walk can help keep your heart healthy.  Exercise also increases your mood, so not only will it have physical benefits, but your mental health will improve as well.

4. Discuss weight loss plans with a doctor. You want to make sure your diet is providing you with the intake you need to stay healthy yet at the same time will help you lose weight.

Source: aarp.org

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Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

Seniors often make New Year’s resolutions, but very few follow through on them past the first few turns of the calendar. 2010 is a great year for seniors, at least it can be if they stick to their goals that can improve their health and lives.

1. Focus on fun – particularly when it comes to losing weight or starting an exercise program, the resolution can become a burden rather than something you desire to achieve. Find exercise activities you enjoy, and if your resolutions have nothing to do with weight loss or exercise; ensure you go about attaining your goals in a way that’s focused on fun!

2. Think about your future today – if you have goals for the future, there’s no better time than now to start working towards achieving them. You might have excuses, whether it’s related to your age, your health, the logistics of getting around or something else; but those are aspects unlikely to change so take the bull by the horns and work towards the goals you set

3. Talk to others – if you tell others about your goals, you’ll be more likely to stick to them. It almost creates a challenge, since you’ll be encouraged to tell your friends and family that you’re successful rather than failing at your New Year’s resolutions. This also gives you a support network for encouragement

Via: AARP

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Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

New Year’s resolutions can be hard to stick to, but for 2010 seniors can abide by resolutions that will improve their health, but also offer them some fun!

1. Be social – attend parties, classes, and social groups. Seniors who are socially active have better physical and mental health than those who are isolated. It’s not uncommon for seniors to withdraw, but avoid it in 2010

2. Try healthy indulgences – controlled amounts of red wine and dark chocolate are enjoyable and can improve health by preventing diabetes, lower blood pressure and more

3. Laugh a lot – you’ve heard laughter is the best medicine. It’s true. Laughter is about the only thing you shouldn’t do in moderation. People should get in a good laugh a couple of times a week to improve the health of their blood vessels

4. Take a snooze – heart related death has been proven to be reduced in seniors who nap for 30 minutes at least 30 times per week. It can also help seniors feel refreshed and improve their immune systems

5. Dance for health – dancing can help to prevent dementia, and is a great form of exercise. Get out those dancing shoes in 2010!

6. Eat some fat – linoleic acid and safflower oil can actually help seniors with a few pounds to shed lose weight, so incorporate them into your diet

7. Get some sun – don’t forget the sunscreen, but vitamin D can lift spirits and reduce the risk of heart disease

8. Try tai chi or yoga – these activities can improve mental health through meditation and help with balance, strength and flexibility

9. Have sex – many seniors give up sex, but it can help you to sleep better, reduce pain, blood pressure and stress

10. Spend time in nature – anxiety and depression are greatly reduced in those who appreciate green space!

Via: AARP

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Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.

Many seniors are reluctant to engage in high-impact physical exercise for fear of causing damage to their joints or other strain on their bodies. But, according to a study of older athletes who participated in the 2005 National Senior Games, those who participate in high impact activities have higher bone density, decreasing the likelihood of conditions like osteoporosis. Seniors looking to reap the benefits, shouldn’t jump right off into the deep end, but can work their way up to high-impact activities by following these tips:

1. Start slow – particularly for those seniors who don’t exercise regularly, it’s important to build up strength, balance and endurance. Jumping right into high-impact activity could cause too much strain. Starting with light weights, aerobics and other activities will help to prepare seniors

2. Talk to your doctor – before beginning any exercise program as a senior, it’s essential you get clearance from your doctor. The study shows that your bone health could benefit, but of course, specifics depend upon your background and health. Seniors don’t want to do harm while trying to find benefit

3. Find exercises that work for you – high-impact exercises include anything that get your feet off the ground. Running, jumping rope, jumping jacks, and step aerobics can all have their benefits

4. Listen to your body – with any activity, particularly as you age, listen to what your body is telling you. Stop if it hurts or seems to cause strain; push yourself, but not too hard

Via: Xomba

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Home Health Senior Care Dallas - Your elderly loved one prefers to live at home and our CAREGivers are trained to help them remain safe and healthy at home. Call us at 972-239-3934.