Today I have a few tips about staying healthy and extending your life a few more years. As I read the paper this last weekend, I found this interesting article by Jennie Chin Hansen, the president of AARP, and registered nurse living in San Francisco; which by the way is a great place for California travel nurse jobs . So, Jennie says that to live longer you must take control of your own health and try to follow all or at least half of these healthy living tips:
- Make a list of your pills – keeping a medication record and can help you avoid expensive physical and financial health costs. It was reported, by the Institute of Medicine, that 1.5 million preventable errors and harmful interactions occur annually, due to medication mismanagement. So, managing your medication the proper way cannot only save your life but also time and money. Also, stay in touch with your doctor and pharmacist; consider them your heath team.
- Exercise regularly! We all know about this one but don’t usually make the long time commitment. In 2008, The Washing Post reported that physical exercise may protect your blood from the aging process, which in turn will help slow the “maturing” process! So, just keep on moving. Plus, if nothing else, exercising keeps your mind healthy and active, take out the daily stress and fell better about yourself.
- Balance?? I didn’t know abut this one either. But, apparently walking in astronaut shoes will help people 65 and older avoid fatal falls. A MIT graduate invented a new technology to help returning astronauts regain their balance on Earth. This new technology is called “iShoe”; which gives health providers vital balance information about the person wearing the “iShoe”. As any new technology, it’s a bit high, about $100. But, it measures pressure patterns of people who have balance problems and, in turn, it gives health professionals the ability to correct problems and avoid fatal falls.
- Home care high-tech gadgets can help you monitor health indexes, such as blood pressure and glucose levels. In 2008, the FDA approved a care-management tool called Intel Health Guide. The data from this device is reported to health professionals in a hospital or clinic; at home, the patient can get feedback via video-conference or email for any needed adjustment; this was reported by The Wall Street Journal.
- Puzzles!! That sounds fun and my grandmother always has her puzzle book in her hand. I wondered why she liked cross-puzzles so much and she told me “it keeps my mind busy and going.” Well, grandma, you are right! According to a recent study from the University of Illinois, with people in their 60s and 70s, the first time after playing video games the brain not only remains more agile but memory and reasoning ability improve. And, my granny is 87 and still can take really good care of herself, cook, and do her puzzles a few times a day.
- Keep your bones strong; if you are a woman age 40 or older, whatever ethnic background, ask your doctor for a bone density scan to prevent osteoporosis.
- Get help from health cue cards. Usually, most of elderly patients forget anywhere from 40% to 80% of the doctor’s advice after leaving the office. To help prevent this problem, the American College of Physicians Foundation produced “Health Tips” cards. These cards are easy to read and provide advice on specific medical conditions and suggest questions to ask the doctor. Anyone can get free cards by asking your doctor or go to http://foundation.acponline.org/hl/htips.htm.
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