By Suzanne Newman
Answers for Elders is the North Star in Navigating Senior Care. Our content is designed to Empower Seniors and their Families through the Daunting Journey of Aging.
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The podcast currently has 1,142 episodes available.
It's important to stimulate our brains in new ways as we grow older. A growth mindset means believing what you're doing, training yourself to believe that new tasks are possible and doable, and uses our brain's natural neuro-plasticity to continue to rewire itself and continue to grow. Cultivating a growth mindset is self-motivating and brings us a sense of accomplishment. Positive Wellness Coach Debra Kane joins Dr. Shawn Weiss to talk about what a growth mindset is, and how we can use it to become happier. This episode on emotional wellness: mindset over 50 is part of the Vitality Revolution summer podcast series on Answers for Elders.
Debra Kane is a certified life coach specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming with a goal to empower you to reclaim control of your life and unlock the joy that lies within. She offers one-on-one and small group sessions tailored to your unique needs and goals that focus on your overall well-being, integrating mental and physical fitness to help you thrive in every area of your life. She has online courses, webinars, and the "Lead to Succeed Masterclass." Check out her book, "Do You Parent With Leadership?" on Amazon.
* Debra Kane's website
* Schedule a call with Debra Kane
* Dr. Shawn Weiss
* Senior Health and Wellness website
* Hear more podcasts with Shawn Weiss
* Vitality Revolution podcast series
* More Podcasts on Emotional Wellness
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Liz Diehl and former NBA Seattle Supersonics center James Donaldson join Suzanne to talk about the benefits of using CBD as a sleep aid. Liz is the founder of Total Wellness Solutions. She is also a certified CBD physiology and health specialist who provides education and a premier product line. Contact Liz at 503-209-4997 or email [email protected].
James says, "CBD has some wonderful benefits towards sleep and helping you to get a better, deeper quality of sleep. More, more restful, more sound. I take it myself before I go to bed every night. Four years ago, I came down with some heart issues myself and they think that was due to sleep apnea, which I didn't know I had. So I went in, I got tested overnight at one of the hospitals. It found I had 29 events per hour. An event is where you stop breathing. Your body just pushes some adrenaline into you to get your heart jumped, and you start breathing again — 29 times an hour. 30 is super serious, and I was right at 29.
"I took melatonin and these things for years as well. But since I've been doing CBD oil and wearing my sleep apnea machine, my face mask, my events per hour have gone down to 1.2, 1.5 per hour. And my quality of sleep, I'm sleeping almost nine hours a night."
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Liz Diehl with Canaway and former NBA Seattle Supersonics center James Donaldson join Suzanne to talk about the benefits of CBD as it relates to senior health and wellness. Liz is the founder of Total Wellness Solutions. She is also a certified CBD physiology and health specialist who provides education and a premier product line. Contact Liz at 503-209-4997 or email [email protected].
James Donaldson joined the health and wellness field with an outpatient physical therapy clinic that worked with athletes, but also seniors at assisted living homes in the Seattle area.
Liz says, "Probably the first education piece that James and I do is just simply share with people that we have a hemp plant and we have a marijuana plant. They are two separate plants. A lot of people are still thinking that hemp is part of marijuana, and it's not, we're talking two separate things here... They really say that CBD brings our body into homeostasis. And an interesting fact is the first place that we actually experience CBD as human beings is that mothers produce it in their breast milk. So it's kind of fascinating that our bodies are meant to receive CBD."
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Everyone wants to plan ahead. Sometimes you have a parent trying to prevent a crisis, but if something happens, you want to be prepared. Though life care professionals like to help people prevent a crisis, helping families navigate a crisis is the nature of their work. Lisa Mayfield, CEO and founder of Aging Wisdom, joins Suzanne to talk about how life care professionals help.
Lisa says, "I think the first thing is knowing that there are people like us. And even though we love to help people prevent crisis, crisis is really the nature of our work. So that's what we're doing, day in and day out, is helping families navigate these situations and they're typically a fall. A parent falls, they end up in the hospital because they broke a hip. So families are needing help: how do I navigate the hospital? Hospital stays are so much more confusing these days. You might never see the doctor, the discharge planner is a different one every day... You don't know what to ask. You don't know who to ask... They'll make recommendations but they don't explain what it means. So, helping families navigate that whole hospital stay. But then also helping them figure out what happens next, if rehab is recommended. Why would that be a good thing? Why would you do it? How do you find one? What will happen then? And how much will your insurance pay?"
Lisa adds, "I'm working with a wife right now whose husband had just landed in the hospital. He's now in rehab. She really wants him to come home. He's not yet walking again after a significant fall, where he hit his head on the floor. At [home], they have a lot of stairs to navigate. So, is that going to be realistic? And if you really want to make that work, what are we gonna need to do to the home to get [him] more help? So [we're] helping her navigate those options and those difficult decisions. Because if you're at a point where your spouse or partner can't come home, that's devastating and heartbreaking, and the adult children might not agree. This is a family where there's stepchildren. Then you're dealing with stepchildren and the current wife, and they might be at odds at what should happen. So [we're] helping families really make tough choices and navigate when they're not on the same page."
Aging Life Care Association
Aging Wisdom website
More podcasts with Lisa Mayfield
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks
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Family members may spot changes in how a senior loved one starts behaving. Some are natural for age progression, while others could mean that they might need medical care or assistance. Aging life care professional Lisa Mayfield, CEO and founder of Aging Wisdom, joins Suzanne to list some of the top signs of uncharacteristic behaviors to keep in kind when visiting senior loved ones.
1) Changes in mail management: You'll see mail start piling up on the table. "When your memory is changing, you can't look through mail and [tell junk mail from] the electric bill. So the mail just piles up. They may not be paying their bills, they may be behind in their credit card or their electricity."
2) Changes in appearance. "Maybe your mom was just meticulously dressed all the time. Always had her lipstick on. Her hair was perfect. And you're just starting to notice that she's wearing that same shirt each time you visit, it's starting to have stains on it. Maybe her hair just isn't quite as nice as it used to be."
3) Repeating stories. Mom becomes confused about appointments, and starts repeating questions she asked two minutes ago.
4) Forgetting to take medication. "You're noticing that they aren't taking their medications, their pill bottles haven't changed. You're just noticing confusion with medications."
5) Changes in initiative. "There's lack of initiative when people's memory is changing. People just end up not doing much. You'll find your dad sitting on his recliner hour after hour and he seems perfectly content, where he used to be out playing with the car, mowing the grass, or playing golf."
For more signs that your parent may need help, get the resource guide at https://agingwisdom.com/
Aging Life Care Association
Aging Wisdom website
More podcasts with Lisa Mayfield
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Lisa Mayfield, CEO and founder of Aging Wisdom, joins Suzanne to talk about how aging life care professionals consult with individuals and families who are navigating changes in health and memory.
Lisa says, "The main thing we're doing with people that are planning ahead is teaching them the lay of the land. What does it look like if you stay at home, what's available? What do those resources look like? What does it cost? Where do you find those people? And then if you were to move, what's assisted living, what's memory care? What's a continuing care retirement community? Helping people understand here are all your options. Here's how they're different. Here's why you might pick one or the other. And then, most importantly, being able to strategize with people based on their own situation, which typically relates to their finances. What financial resources does this couple have for their future planning? And based on that, we can help them create plans that are realistic and sustainable financially."
Lisa adds, "I met with this couple 10 years ago, and they were 70 at the time. They had just retired and they were wanting to meet with me, asking: what should we be thinking about? At that point in time, the most important priority was getting their legal documents together, making sure they've done their power of attorney documents, and their advance directives. So they felt better. We made that connection. I heard from them five years later, and that point it was more, 'Okay, we know we want to stay home, but let's tour some retirement communities just so we see what they're like.' And so I identified a few and they toured, and they went on their way saying, 'We feel better. We've done some planning.'
"I just heard from them recently, and they're now 80. The husband was just diagnosed with dementia. So this story is helpful, because they were planning, they've been planning for 10 years. They had this relationship with me. So when that sort of change had happened, they knew who to call. We had a relationship, they could connect. Now it was much more real: what do we do now with this diagnosis? ... And really the big question is, do they want to stay at home or do they want to think about moving?"
Aging Life Care Association
Aging Wisdom website
More podcasts with Lisa Mayfield
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Geriatric care managers are essential advocates for navigating the path for senior loved ones with medical or mobility challenges. A geriatric care manager or aging life care professional consults with individuals and families who are navigating changes in health and memory. People are doing this work across the country to help navigate the complicated, overwhelming, confusing system that is long term care choices and memory changes, and what do people do while amid these changes. Lisa Mayfield, CEO and founder of Aging Wisdom, joins Suzanne to talk about how these consultants advocate for loved ones during these crossroads and transitions.
Suzanne says, "When I was navigating that world as a daughter, way back when, I listened a lot to my mom about what she wanted. And although there was a little voice in the back of my head saying this is probably not the right fit, I didn't have the toolbox to be able to guide her. So what ended up happening, I ended up moving my mother four times. And that is heartbreaking, because had I made the right decision in advance, she would have not had to move. I didn't know what I didn't know, and had I hired somebody like you, I can imagine my world would have been so much easier for on me as well as on her."
Lisa Mayfield says, "Once we're hired by the family to be their advocate, we're looking out for your best interest. Geriatric care managers are part of a professional association. We're certified, many are licensed and have master's degrees. We have a code of ethics, and so we don't take referral fees. So what that means is: when we're making recommendations to families, we're not getting anything back for making those referrals. We're not selling anything. And so we can really be an unbiased person to make recommendations, which I think is really important, that's hard to find in this industry as a neutral person to help you navigate."
Aging Life Care Association
Aging Wisdom website
More podcasts with Lisa Mayfield
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As you're listening, or watching on YouTube, sit up straight because we're going to talk about posture. Posture plays into overall health and our digestive system. It also lifts us up right, both emotionally and physically, there's so many things that posture plays into overall health. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about how good posture can improve our health, particularly as we age.
Dr. Shawn says, "If you look at people over 70 you might see the effects. Maybe they're slouched over, they're significantly rounded over. It takes years to get that way. That's why it's so important to start looking at your posture now. Spinal alignment – when you have good posture, then you're maintaining those natural curves of the spine. Sit up, have your hips square, put your feet on the ground. Maintaining spinal alignment is super, super important. If your spine is aligned, then your muscles are balanced. If you are somebody that sits on your couch, and you're leaning over all the time, and you've got one leg underneath you, and you do that all the time for years, it's going to have an effect on your structure. Keping your muscles balanced is super important because that's preventing pain, that's preventing injury. We want those muscles to be strong and working for you.
"So spinal alignment, muscle balance. The other big thing is breathing. The easiest way to explain that is if you are getting a little bit more rounded when you sit. What happens when you start getting more rounded is that is closing up your chest wall. All of those muscles are going to get tight. You're not getting good lung expansion. When you start to breathe in, you're not able to get full capacity and get good air exchange.
"As we get older as we start slouching more, we start seeing all of these muscles get tight, and then the muscles in the back get overly stretched. So they become weak. It's super important from a breathing standpoint that we're able to get good air exchange. I work with people that have COPD, that are on oxygen, or have other pulmonary issues. One of the first things I'm working on with them is posture to maximize airflow."
Learn more
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.
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As we age, sometimes we forget about a very important aspect of our health: our oral health. Once we get in our fifties and sixties, some of us think, it is what it is. It's expensive; senior on fixed incomes put tooth care last. But as we age, our teeth need more attention. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk about how oral health factors into overall health.
Dr. Shawn says, "Your mouth has its own kind of ecosystem and it really does affect your overall health. It's kind of the start of the whole gut canal, and there's a lot of indicators for that. People might be grossed out by this, but your mouth has over 800 types of bacteria, viruses, parasites, things like that. Some of them are beneficial, and you want to eliminate the ones that shouldn't be there.
"When you're looking at gut health, there's such a connection with gut health and oral health. Be mindful of that, outside of regular dentistry. When you get your teeth cleaned, you're trying to prevent gum disease and some people might have dentures as they get older, and you're trying to prevent tooth decay. But there's so much more to it. There's a lot of indicators that we can study in your mouth that are predictive of your overall health."
Learn more
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.
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Practical takeaways from global studies aim to reduce our risk for developing Alzheimer's and dementia. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne to talk more how to apply these recommendations to our everyday lives. One 20-week lifestyle plan was developed by the Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention Intervention and Care. The plan has four components that focus on diet, exercise, stress management, and support groups.
There's a 30% lower risk of developing cognitive impairment by changing to whole foods, lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, seeds and nuts. Break down the diet to 14% total fat, 16%-18% protein, 63-68% complex carbohydrates. A Mediterranean diet checks all the boxes: a lot of fish, a lot of nuts. Hydration is also important.
30 minutes of walking per day, even broken into chunks, is the best overall exercise you can do. Strength and resistance training three times per week is essential, even if you're just lifting soup cans from the pantry. Other whole exercises, such as stretching, flexibility, meditation, in a home exercise program is recommended.
Dr. Weiss says, "The last two things were: one, stress management and meditation, yoga, flexibility exercises, breathing strategies. And then the last one was the support groups, and they broke those support groups down into three times per week and they exercise together. They did stretch management techniques, they did straight support group talks, and lectures and education in those three times a week. At Senior Health and wellness.org, you can find some great information and other videos that I've done."
Learn more
Get a free guide for cognitive impairment strategies.
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.
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