Category: Personal

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7 Tips for Getting a Better Night’s Sleep (Every Night!)

Getting a great night’s sleep is important for your health. It benefits your immune system, emotions and heart. If you wake up every morning feeling exhausted, these 8 tips can help you get the rest your body desperately needs:

1. Save Your Bedroom for Sleep

It’s easier to fall asleep at night when your body’s hormones follow an established sleep/wake cycle. To train your brain for a great night’s sleep, designate your bedroom as a sleep-only area. Don’t use it to watch TV, surf the internet or work.

2. Stay Active During the Day

Getting plenty of exercise during the day can help you sleep like a baby at night. Moderate exercise is best for fighting the effects of insomnia, but even 10 minutes of walking provides benefits for your sleep habits. Staying active makes you spend more time in the rejuvenating stages of deep sleep.

3. Avoid Alcohol at Night

Wait … doesn’t alcohol help you fall asleep? Yes and no. Drinking a glass of wine can make you feel drowsy, but it tends to wake you up in the middle of the night. If you have problems with insomnia, skip the booze and choose some calming chamomile tea with honey instead.

4. Phone a Friend

Sleep issues are often caused by anxiety or nervousness. One of the best remedies for stress is hearing the voice of a loved one. Talking with friends or family for 15-20 minutes in the evening can make you smile and put you in a great mood to rest soundly.

5. Know Your Body

Knowing your body’s unique sleep problems can help you prevent insomnia. If you wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, avoid drinking liquids for at least 90 minutes before bed. If joint pain doesn’t let you sleep, try a natural inflammation fighter such as turmeric to find relief.

6. Turn Off the TV Screen Ahead of Time

To get the best night’s sleep, you have to give your body a gentle push in that direction. About an hour before bedtime, start getting in the mood for sleep. Turn off the TV or other electronic devices that stimulate your brain. Take a warm bath, dim the lights a bit, read a book or listen to some soft music until you feel sleepy.

7. Eat Foods That Help You Sleep

One of the most important things you can do to sleep better is to eat the right foods. To wake up feeling refreshed every morning, your body needs plenty of tryptophan, a natural sleep miracle. This essential sleep hormone increases your levels of the brain chemicals serotonin and melatonin, helping you relax and making you super sleepy.

How can you treat your brain to these sleep superstars? Here are the best foods for sleeping all night long:

  • Complex carbohydrates: Sweet potatoes, oatmeal and whole-grain breads contain lots of tryptophan.
  • Fresh fruit: Cherries, peaches, nectarines and bananas are high in tryptophan and magnesium (great for calming).
  • Healthy proteins: Turkey isn’t the only type of protein that makes you sleepy. Fish, peanut butter and eggs also have this effect.

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5 Ways To Stay Happy and Healthy While Staying at Home

The key to feeling happy and staying healthy at home is to keep your activity level high. Here are five ways to take great care of your physical, emotional and mental health even if you can’t leave the house.

1. Good Emotions: Connect With Friends and Family

You need your friends and family, and they need you. Even if you can’t talk long, just seeing a friendly face can do wonders for your heart. There’s simply no replacement for a laugh or smile from loved ones.

How can you keep in touch while following social distancing to stay safe? Share the love digitally. Download video-conferencing apps such as WhatsApp or Zoom. These tools are easy to learn.

Phone calls, emails and text messages can also spread welcome morning cheer to friends. With voice technology, composing a heartfelt message is easy.

2. Calm Heart: Limit Negative News

The coronavirus is bad. You understand that. But you don’t need to keep hearing about it multiple times every day. Many health experts recommend cutting down on the amount of coronavirus-related news you watch.

This can reduce your anxiety levels significantly. Ironically, the less stress you have, the stronger your immune system. Instead of staying up late watching the news, get a good night’s sleep and wake up completely refreshed.

3. Active Mind: Put Together a Jigsaw Puzzle

Fight boredom by exercising your mind. Jigsaw puzzles are the perfect recipe for days stuck at home: they keep you entertained, take a long time to finish and feel rewarding from beginning to end.

The beautiful and sometimes humorous images of many puzzles can give you a positive attitude. Try ordering custom jigsaw puzzles online using pictures of your grandkids!

Sudoku, crossword puzzles, adult coloring books and other brain games can be just as effective. The important thing is to give your mind a healthy workout.

What are the best foods for staying healthy during the coronavirus? Follow a colorful diet. Eat lots of red bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, strawberries, yogurt and fresh fish.

4. Healthy Body: Stick to Your Exercise Routine

Now’s a great time to pick a dedicated exercise spot and do some exercise every day. Alternate excellent stretching exercises like Pilates with moderate activities that make you sweat: dancing, strength training or riding an exercise bike.

Keeping up a healthy exercise routine offers many benefits:

  • Excellent cardiovascular health
  • Great emotional health
  • Comforting sense of structure
  • Gratifying feeling of accomplishment

Plus, you get to watch your tummy getting slimmer every day. Having a stunning waistline can definitely make you smile.

5. Satisfied Tummy: Make Delicious and Nutritious Meals From Scratch

It’s easier than ever to have groceries delivered to your door. Instead of ordering takeout, get your hands on colorful fruit, crunchy veggies and nutrient-packed proteins.

It may take longer to prepare breakfast, lunch or dinner from scratch, but honestly time is something you have in abundance right now. Making nutritious meals is good for your whole body:

  • Making meals gives you a satisfying activity boost
  • Eating fresh fruit and veggies provides higher levels of nutrients
  • Avoiding takeout lowers cholesterol and glucose
  • Getting vitamins is essential for a healthy immune system

Cooking is a great way to stay entertained and stay healthy at the same time. It gives you more flexibility for eating healthy and making things that get your mouth watering.

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Most Common Causes for Seniors to Lose Vision

Vision, for many people, is one of the most precious of the five senses. It allows you to get around more easily, read books and cards, and look at the faces of the people you love most. As with all the other senses, vision tends to become less crisp with age. In fact, the National Center for Health Statistics estimates that approximately 13.5% of adults in the United States ages 65 and older have vision loss. Here are the most common causes for seniors to lose vision, in no particular order.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a disease that affects the optic nerve in the eye. Usually, it occurs when fluid builds up on the front portion of the eye. As the fluid pools, it places pressure on the inner eye and damages the optic nerve.

There are two main types of glaucoma: primary open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure glaucoma. The first type is the most common, and it tends to occur gradually. The second type is less common, but far more serious. It usually comes on suddenly and can cause permanent vision loss if it is not treated right away.

For people over 60 years of age, glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness. The good news is that the condition can be prevented if treatment is sought early.

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

As you age, you’re more likely to develop vision loss from age-related macular degeneration. This condition causes loss of sight in the center of your field of vision. It’s also one of the leading causes of permanent vision loss in people aged 60 and older.

Age-related macular degeneration happens when the macula, or middle portion of the retina, wears down. As it does, it causes blurry vision that tends to progress with time. There are two main forms of age-related macular degeneration: dry form and wet form. The dry form type occurs when drusen, or yellow deposits, form in the macula and distort or dim vision. The wet form happens when blood vessels beneath the macula leak fluid into the retina. This distorts vision and can create blind spots. Over time, the bleeding blood vessels can begin to scar, which frequently leads to permanent central vision loss.

If you have any symptoms of macular degeneration, including blurry vision or dark areas in the center of your vision, go to your eye doctor immediately. If diagnosed with the condition, you’ll need to make regular eye doctor appointments to manage it as much as possible.

Diabetic Retinopathy

Seniors with diabetes have an increased chance of developing an eye condition called diabetic retinopathy. This condition happens when the blood vessels in the retina are damaged by high blood sugar. Over time, the blood vessels can become inflamed and begin to leak. They can also close off completely, which prevents blood from passing through to the eye. All of these issues can affect your vision or cause total loss of sight.

Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy usually affect both eyes and may include poor night vision, an increasing number of “floaters,” or “washed-out” vision. It’s very important to see your eye doctor if you experience any of these symptoms so you can receive treatment.

Cataracts

Cataracts typically develop slowly over years and they can make it seem like you’re viewing the world through a cloudy window. Cataracts are characterized by a clouding of the eye lens. There are different types of cataracts, but fortunately, most can be removed with a simple surgery.

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