In honor of seniors everywhere and the all the ways they bring wisdom, joy and love to our everyday lives, on August 21st, Freedom Home Care will be celebrating National Senior Citizen’s Day. It’s also a time when we acknowledge the many contributions and achievements they’ve made over the years and to raise awareness about their social, health and economic issues. This was a proclamation made by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 who stated that because of the ways seniors impact our lives, they deserve a day to be honored and recognized. Before that, Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security
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Posts by Freedom Home Care
A Social Life Leads to Longevity
As a senior, your social health is just as important as your physical health. Experts say that seniors should seek to stay connected with friends and family members every day. Many people don’t realize it, but a lack of social interaction can lead to a number of health risks. But a quality social life can have the same effect on your overall health as a good workout. As more baby boomers near the golden years, the number of seniors living alone increases. According to statistics, older adults without children is on the rise, leaving fewer family members to care for them. As a result, social isolation
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Health Benefits of Laughter for Seniors
They say that laughter is the best medicine. Laughter has been scientifically proven to offer a number of restorative effects in our lives and today Freedom Home Care will celebrate all of its benefits on National Tell a Joke Day. People have been sharing jokes since the 1900s – and perhaps even earlier in some Sumerian cultures. Historians have traced a 1000-year-old double entendre, found in the Codex Exoniensis, back to Britain. What may have started out as innuendo, has grown in form and meaning. Today, jokes can be told in many different ways – from irony, sarcasm, and satire
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Senior Activity: Nature Walk
Being outdoors is therapeutic for human beings at any age. It’s also been shown to be a major positive contributor to the mental, physical and emotional health of seniors. Researchers say that spending time in nature has restorative effects in many ways. Being outdoors has the power to facilitate better moods, decrease depression, improve cognitive function and lower stress levels. The more time your loved one spends in nature, the greater the effects. For those seniors who receive Chicago in-home care or personalized elder care, nature’s advantages are not just limited to being outdoors. Studies show that simply gazing out
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Activities For Alzheimer's Patients
In order to help loved ones with dementia continue to lead a good, quality life and achieve purpose and pleasure, it’s important that they continually engage in activities that will stimulate them mentally, physically and emotionally. Many times those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s are under-stimulated in their daily lives which can lead to a number of things like loss of focus and attention, interrupted sleep patterns, anxiety and depression, and behavioral challenges including repetitive questioning, shadowing and agitation. It’s common, in the first stages of Alzheimer’s, for loved ones to stop doing the things that they once enjoyed. That doesn’t mean they no
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How to Help a Parent That is Refusing Elder Care
One of the most heartbreaking things that adult children deal with is an aging parent that refuses in-home care. Not only is it heartbreaking, but it can also be the most frustrating. You’ve heard these stories before. Mom claims she doesn’t need help bathing and dressing, even though she struggles to do it herself. Dad doesn’t want anyone driving him to his appointments even though the doctor recommended it. You know your parent needs help, but how do you help a resistant loved one get the personalized elder care that they need? On one hand, you don’t want to force
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Why Staying Social is Important for Seniors
They say with age comes wisdom, but what they don’t tell you is that there will also be a whole new set of challenges to face in the later years of being an adult.
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Myths About Dementia
It’s all too common for us as human beings to try to come up with ways to make sense of things we don’t understand. Since we don’t fully understand diseases like dementia, myths can sometimes take the place of the truth. However, it’s important to remember that the people we love, who suffer from dementia, stand to benefit the most when we learn the facts about the disease. Here’s a list that Freedom Home Care created to help clear up some of the misunderstandings that you or people that you know may have about dementia: Dementia Only Affects Seniors Many people believe that dementia is a condition that
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Join Us for the Walk to End Alzheimer's
Get your gym shoes, friends and family ready! We have a date for our North Shore 2017 Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Join us Saturday, September 16, 2017 to help a world without Alzheimer’s.
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Summer Safety Tips for the Elderly
Many parts of the country are experiencing bouts of record heat this summer – and some of the drier, more arid regions can be dangerous for anyone, especially older adults. When exposed to conditions of intense heat, older loved ones are more susceptible to things like heat-exhaustion, cardiovascular disease and stroke. And statistics show that almost 200 Americans die each year because of health problems resulting from heat and humidity – many of which are 50 years or older. But seniors are not completely defenseless against the sun’s sweltering heat rays. It just takes a little bit of thought and a good
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