Answers For Elders Radio Network

Allyson Schrier, founder and CEO of Zinnia TV, joins Suzanne to talk about how those with dementia and Alzheimer's are affected by different colors in their environment. Environmental wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, a focus of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Allyson says, "We'll talk about specific colors. We'll also talk about colors in general. People who are living with dementia have challenges seeing contrast. An example, the bathroom at my house has a white floor, white walls, and white toilet. My husband [who had dementia] would go into the bathroom and he would shut the door and he would urinate on the wall. Why couldn't he see the toilet? Because it's the same color as the floor, same color as the walls. So what do we do? We replace the toilet seat with a bright-colored toilet seat.

"As far as colors themselves go, red is a color that's associated with warmth. And it's also an appetite enhancer. It is the most common color of a plate that is used in long-term care settings – it creates contrast, and because it enhances appetite. So if I give somebody a white plate and on that I put some white pasta or rice, it's very hard for them to actually see the rice or the pasta or the plate. Therefore, a contrasting color is really helpful. 

"Blue by comparison is considered an appetite suppressant. So maybe I wouldn't want to have blue plates. Blue is also a color that promotes peace and calm, and can lower blood pressure and anxiety. So if I'm going to have a snuggly blanket that I'm going to cover somebody with, if it's a red blanket, that kind of promotes thoughts about warmth. If it's a blue blanket, then maybe that would promote a sense of ease and calm.

"Which is something that the color green also does. And I think that it has to do with the fact that these are the colors in nature, right? If somebody runs to high anxiety, maybe I want to dress them in colors that will promote calm and soothing. Maybe a green top, for instance, with patterns. Lime green green is a color that draws lots of attention. If I'm going to put labels on cabinets, for instance, or I want to put instructions next to the coffee maker, maybe I use lime green paper or lime green sticky notes."

Learn more about
* Zinnia TV subscriptions, with a two-week free trial: https://www.zinniatv.com/
* Allyson Schrier: https://www.zinniatv.com/about
* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
* Humana: https://www.humana.com/
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Hear more
* Podcasts with Allyson Schrier at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/allyson-schrier/
* Articles and podcasts about Environmental Wellness: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/environmental-wellness/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Allyson Schrier, founder and CEO of Zinnia TV, joins Suzanne to talk about things in an environment that we should be mindful of if we have someone with dementia in our lives. Environmental wellness is one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, a focus of the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Allyson says, "I guess I'll start with clutter. It becomes increasingly difficult for people to find things when they are living with dementia, and also decision-making becomes very, very challenging. So when I'm talking about clutter, I am talking about things like tripping hazards, of course... Obvious things that people could trip over... throw rugs are a very, very bad idea, especially when we have people who are maybe using a walker. 

"Also make it easier for people to find things. So if for instance, the things that my mom really uses all the time are maybe her TV remote and cell phone, for instance, then on the table next to where she sits should just be those two things.

"Similarly, I think about a person's closet. In your mind, go into your own closet. I want people to be really, really successful in what they set out to do when they have dementia. And I want them to do as much as they can for themselves as long as possible. Maybe what I do, I just leave in the closet the four shirts that they most love, two pairs of pants that they most love. And as their dementia progresses, maybe I change that up, so there's just one shirt and one pants. So when I say, 'hey, why don't you go get dressed?' they can easily find the things that they need."

Allyson cites a number of other helpful tips involving the kitchen, floors, and yards.

Learn more about
* Zinnia TV subscriptions, with a two-week free trial: https://www.zinniatv.com/
* Allyson Schrier: https://www.zinniatv.com/about
* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
* Humana: https://www.humana.com/
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Hear more
* Podcasts with Allyson Schrier at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/allyson-schrier/
* Articles and podcasts about Environmental Wellness: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/environmental-wellness/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Allyson Schrier joins Suzanne to talk about how a brain with dementia works differently, and how to change our approach for communicating with someone with dementia. Allyson realized that slower-paced visuals, with music instead of words, or with the words captioned, would be easier for those with Alzheimer's to engage with.

This led to her cofounding Zinnia TV, an app for mobile devices and connected TVs for people with Alzheimer's and dementia that creates engagement, reduces challenging behaviors, and encourages adherence to activities of daily living. Creating an environment that supports us is part of environmental wellness, one of the 8 foundational principles of wellness, a focus this month for the Vitality Revolution podcast series sponsored by Humana.

Allyson says, "What's really relevant for today's conversation is the changes that impact the way that I experience the world. So, as we know, our brains are our computers, right? They're input/output devices, and there are like 86 billion neurons that are constantly interacting with my entire body. In a very simplistic way, we can think about it such that when I am taking data in, there's a whole bunch of communication that's happening within my brain. Many, many, many neurons that are involved. Same thing when I am doing output, when I'm speaking, and the same thing when I'm thinking. One of the things that happens with all dementias is that those neurons, and the connections between the neurons, start to die. The brain is still going to try and have this communication, neuron to neuron to neuron. But what's going to happen is it's gonna go over here, and it's gonna go 'Ahh, bridge out, let me go this way.' 'Yikes, that bridge is out, this way.' And so the result is that our processing speed slows way down. It's not unusual for a person very early on in dementia to miss four or five words that's spoken to them. Because I'm working so hard to process word number one, I eventually start falling behind."

"At a time when they're experiencing hearing loss anyway, when they're experiencing things like macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts... And so you add to that the visual and the auditory processing changes, and other visual changes that occur as a result of dementia. So it means that, to create a an environment that is friendly, that takes these changes into account, I want to avoid visual and auditory clutter. So I'm going to be successful having a conversation with somebody where there isn't a lot of competing noise. So, busy restaurants? No. While we're shopping at Target? Not necessarily. In a room where the TV is going and there are people talking? No. 

"I want to give people plenty of time. It can take somebody up to 20 seconds to respond to a question when they have dementia. So I want to make sure that I give somebody adequate time to respond. I want to slow down the way that I ask my questions, maybe use fewer words. The hearing range that we loose first is the highest range. So therefore, rather than using my high voice, I want to maybe use a lower voice when I'm talking."

Learn more about
* Zinnia TV subscriptions, with a two-week free trial: https://www.zinniatv.com/
* Allyson Schrier: https://www.zinniatv.com/about
* The Vitality Revolution podcast series: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/
* Humana: https://www.humana.com/
* Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/welcome-to-answers-for-elders/

Hear more
* Podcasts with Allyson Schrier at Answers for Elders: https://answersforelders.com/tag/allyson-schrier/
* Articles and podcasts about Environmental Wellness: https://answersforelders.com/vitality-revolution/environmental-wellness/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Courtesy of Athira Pharma, Psychiatrist and Medical Director Bernardo Ng of the Sun Valley Research Center joins Suzanne to talk about how they reach out to the community to find people to participate in Alzheimer's clinical trials, particularly in underserved groups such as Latino populations in the United States.

Dr. Ng says, "We've done a lot of different things and we've learned as we go. What we do constantly is to participate in what's called health fairs. So the health department, some federal clinics, some schools, and the local community college periodically put together health fairs, and some of my people go there. It's old fashioned, mouth to mouth. And we do what we call a free memory test, which is a pen and pen paper test with questions.

"We have a few long-term retirement homes. If the owners or the administrative team allow us, we go visit them and give them a talk and say what we do. That has been it is very hard to predict. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. 

"And then we suddenly discovered that Facebook works, and that this population likes Facebook. So we hired a firm that manages our social media, we run ads in English and in Spanish. So the same message we put it one day in English the other day in Spanish. If you click, it asks you, do you agree to be called by a prescreening team. There's these young people who are very good on the phone, and bilingual, and they're very kind and patient, and they talk to the people that have clicked. Those calls can get very long, and more times than not, they're very well received. The moment they hear the word 'research,' there is like a pause. So we, we've turned our people to be more informative about it. You know, you participate voluntarily, you can get out of the trial any time you want. Little by little, we're getting people to contact us that way."

Contact the Sun Valley Research Center in southern California at (760) 545-0123.

Learn more:
* Sun Valley Research Center: https://sunvalleyb.com/
* Athira Pharma: https://www.athira.com/
* Bernardo Ng: https://sunvalleyr.com/ourteam/bernardo-ng-md/
* Hear more Alzheimer's-related podcasts from Athira Pharma: https://answersforelders.com/athira-pharma/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Courtesy of Athira Pharma, Psychiatrist and Medical Director Bernardo Ng of the Sun Valley Research Center joins Suzanne to talk about why Latinos are often hesitant to participate in Alzheimer's clinical trials.

Dr. Ng says, "We were talking about access earlier on, and that's one of the things that we're trying to overcome, by settling in an area that has little services. Other highly populated Hispanic areas may not have clinical sites like that.

"The other one is certainly the stigma that we have talked about. The fear of, or just the thought of, being a subject in the research trial, because that sounds wrong or sounds fishy. 

"And the other one is the denial, or fear of being diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Many people prefer to say that is normal aging, and a normal dementia for older people, which for years now, we know that that term does not exist anymore. I try to compare it with conditions like osteoporosis. You know, the bones become thin, it's normal that they become thin. Now, there is a point when the bones are just too thin, that's not normal, and requires treatment, because it carries health risks. So the same thing, being not able to memorize things, or to speak. Well, that's manifestations of the deterioration of the brain, and that's illness, and we call it Alzheimer's."

"I think [eventually] society is gonna look at this a different way. It's not such a sentence now for, you know, people with cancer, right? Especially, for example, with breast cancer. The progress has been humongous. So I look forward to the day we're gonna get there with Alzheimer's."

But there is a health care gap. Dr. Ng says, "The community I'm at is very peculiar, because it is 80% Latino, so it's very hard to compare how faster are the other 20% services. But I can tell you that a lot of these people that we're talking about don't have private insurance. Some of them are Medicare and Medicaid, and getting approved for surgery, for example for a knee replacement, they have to wait four or six months to get approved. I can't imagine now, with these antibody treatments that we have, how long it's gonna be to even get them approved. Which underscores the greater opportunity that it is to participate in a clinical trial, and will be sooner and faster than getting one of the approved treatments."

Contact the Sun Valley Research Center in southern California at (760) 545-0123.

Learn more:
* Sun Valley Research Center: https://sunvalleyb.com/
* Athira Pharma: https://www.athira.com/
* Bernardo Ng: https://sunvalleyr.com/ourteam/bernardo-ng-md/
* Hear more Alzheimer's-related podcasts from Athira Pharma: https://answersforelders.com/athira-pharma/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Courtesy of Athira Pharma, Psychiatrist and Medical Director Bernardo Ng of the Sun Valley Research Center joins Suzanne to talk about specific challenges for the Latino community in signing up for Alzheimer's clinical trials.

What are the specific challenges for Alzheimer's in the Latino community? Dr. Ng says, "One of the things about the Latino community is that they trust their doctors blindly, I'll trust whatever he or she tells me to do. And then when you put on the table, the option that we don't have any more treatments for you, or you keep on getting worse, or we detected that this is going on, this would be a good time for you to participate in a clinical trial, to confirm that you do have or don't have Alzheimer's. At that point they say, well, but why aren't you treating me with the usual things? Why a research trial? And the word research is very heavy, right?

"We need to make a greater effort to communicate the fact that, if anything, clinical trials are even more strict. When a molecule has passed so many tests already, that it's proven to be safe. You're in a clinical trial. You're observed, supervised, your blood test or urine tests are done more frequently. Brain scans if necessary. But then it feels like it's too invasive, and it's hard. [It was just] until a couple of years ago that the first antibody was approved for Alzheimer's, and just this year, another one. Before that, we've been prescribing the same medications for about 20 years. So we're so excited and so optimists think about the fact that there are more trials going on. They have to prove that they work or not work, but there will be more options for our patients."

"Let's say the medication doesn't work for you, or maybe we find out later on that you were on placebo, right? Whatever you did is already adding to the information, to the data, so that other people can benefit in the future. And you know what, the Latino population likes that they are able to help others. And that has helped us overcome some of the fears. And the people that do participate, they said, look, I'm gonna do whatever. I know this may not help me right now, but unless we do this, we're not gonna be able to help other people."

Dr. Ng explains how a treatment gets developed to the point of being ready for a clinical trial. "This perfect chain of events that has to happen. Yes, some people in a laboratory somewhere, working with rats, figure out that there's this molecule. They are super genius people, right, they come up with these formulas, tested with electronic microscopes. And then they start pushing that molecule forward, right? Then [it's tested] with humans who are healthy and ok, well, you know, it's fine, it's safe. Let's move forward. By the time we participate, these are usually phase 3 studies, sometimes phase 2, but usually phase 3, molecules have walked a long pathway already. So at that moment, we know a lot about their safety, that it's tolerable, and maybe we participate in studies where they're trying to figure out the right dose.

"And another thing I wanna mention about placebo, more and more the placebo phases of the studies have become shorter. That's only prove the concept. But from then on, most of the studies now have an open label section, where everybody sooner or later will receive the benefit of being on the active medication. And that also allow us to be able to see safety in the long run. So by the time I'm offering this to my patients. I'm very confident. A lot of molecules don't make it to phase 3 and, and the ones that do are worth moving forward and completing the whole process."

Contact the Sun Valley Research Center in southern California at (760) 545-0123.

Learn more:
* Sun Valley Research Center: https://sunvalleyb.com/
* Athira Pharma: https://www.athira.com/
* Bernardo Ng: https://sunvalleyr.com/ourteam/bernardo-ng-md/
* Hear more Alzheimer's-related podcasts from Athira Pharma: https://answersforelders.com/athira-pharma/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Courtesy of Athira Pharma, Psychiatrist and Medical Director Bernardo Ng of the Sun Valley Research Center joins Suzanne to talk about Alzheimer's clinical trials, particularly in underserved groups such as Latino populations in the United States.

Dr. Ng is a Mexicali native who started his private practice in Imperial County in 1994. He became a Medical Doctor at the University of Nuevo Leon in 1987. After completing his year of social service in the city of Monterrey in 1988, he entered specialized training in Psychiatry, in El Paso Texas in 1989 and continued in San Diego California in 1992. Dr. Ng is currently the principal investigator for Sun Valley Research Center.

Dr. Ng says, "Clinical trials are the core of progress in pharmaceutical treatments. Most medical conditions do not get treated only with medications. There are many other forms of treatment, but in the particular case of medications, it is only with medical clinical trials that prove or not prove that the medication actually works. And the problem with the the lack or the insufficient participation of Latinos in clinical trials, specifically in dementia, is impressive. As you know, Latinx are the largest minority in the US — 16 to 18% of the population. Participation of Latinos in clinical trials for Alzheimer's is anywhere from 1 to 2%. So that tells you how hard it is to ascertain that whatever is approved under those conditions will work the same both for efficacy and safety in the Latino population.

“Participating in clinical trials has a component of not enough information, not knowing the importance of why it is to participate, and fear. Thought of participating in a clinical trial and voluntarily putting yourself through a medication that has not been approved may sound scary, but the reality is that that's how, number one: progress occurs, and number two: you can actually access a treatment years before it's available in regular pharmacies. The Latino population in this country feel distant to that."

Suzanne says, "You hear the stories of decades ago ,when there were trials going on, a lot of the placebos and stuff went to people of color, which really is unfair."

D. Ng replies, "I'm very glad that you mentioned that because any of us interested in participating in the execution of clinical trials have to go through rigorous training, even before being approved or hired for any of them, which is called Good Clinical Practices. And it speaks a lot about this history that you're talking about, how trials in the 20th century happened unethically, right? And how they put people of color through tests without having received their consent, without informing them of what was gonna happen. And yes, I think that has left a scar in our minority populations in the country. I think it's very useful that media like this can inform people of how much that has changed, evolved. Every single step is supervised by an ethical review committee, any step is approved by the FDA."

"Alzheimer's is my passion. I've been treating older people for a long time, and there's some peculiar peculiarities about the Latino or Hispanic population in this country that they live longer, which is interesting. Some time ago, it was called the Hispanic Paradox or the Latino paradox. With less access to care, they live longer — how is that possible? But it turns out that when you look into the detail, they may live longer on average, but also with less quality of life, or more morbidity, with more level of disease, and among other things, lack of access. But then also lack of knowledge that some things can be treated earlier. In the case of Alzheimer's, many times they say, well, you know, it's part of aging that he or she starts forgetting things. And transmitting the message that what we're talking about is a disease that early on starts to cause some changes that can be manifested. Very subtle changes may already be announcing a disease. A lot of people of my ethnic background look at it as, if you don't ask, if you don't know, it's better. It's part of a cultural thing that has gone for the different generations and we're trying to change it. That's part of our mission, educate the community, bring services, bring trials to their door."

Contact the Sun Valley Research Center in southern California at (760) 545-0123.

Learn more:
* Sun Valley Research Center: https://sunvalleyb.com/
* Athira Pharma: https://www.athira.com/
* Bernardo Ng: https://sunvalleyr.com/ourteam/bernardo-ng-md/
* Hear more Alzheimer's-related podcasts from Athira Pharma: https://answersforelders.com/athira-pharma/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Founder and CEO of Real Estate 55 Plus Juli Anne Gibson joins Suzanne to talk about the unique services that her company provides for people over 55.

Juli Anne says, "We know that in real estate, it's really about the relationships with the people. It really is not about the house, because it doesn't become a home until the people reside in and create the space that they want. So we come from a place of proactivity. The primary focus is to find out what the seniors' goals are. And then we create a road map for how they're going to age, and where they're going to live. And for the most of the people that we work with, they're gonna be selling their current home, and they're gonna be right-sizing. So they may move from a large home to a condominium. They may might move into multi-generational living. They may be exploring assisted living, retirement communities. 

"But one thing people don't know about what we do, is there are about 72 potential services that we can recommend and refer to a family and for seniors, so that they can make really good decisions. One of the examples is, as a necessity with COVID, we started offering estate sale services. It's not for profit. We just charge for the labor and the dump fees, and marketing promotion. Any proceeds we make go back to the family. We've created a system so we have realtors that are in different states, they can actually access that program and provide estate sell services to clients in their areas, or we're gonna tell them how they can partner within an estate sale company.

"Oftentimes, what prevents a senior from moving forward is lack of funding. Some people want to move to a retirement community, but all of their assets are tied up into the equity of their home real estate. 55 Plus will pay that gap funding to the retirement community at no interest. And we get reimbursed from the sale of the proceeds from the house. So our goal is to get the person settled where they need to be. We will go as far as getting the whole place set up for them, and hiring the movers, and getting it all set up for that. It's not just a real estate piece of it, it has to do with the housing, and aging, and making sure people are in really good spaces."

Learn more:
* Real Estate 55 Plus: https://realestate55plus.com/
* Juli Anne Gibson: https://realestate55plus.com/team/
* Call 800-964-1553 to speak to a live person

Hear more shows with Juli Anne Gibson: https://answersforelders.com/tag/juli-anne-gibson/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Juli Anne Gibson joins Suzanne to talk about home maintenance, which not only keeps a senior safe, it can defer expenses, or increase the value of our home. Maintaining a home can help seniors aging in place in their homes for as long as they can. Juli Anne is the founder and CEO of Real Estate 55 Plus.

About maintenance, Juli Anne says, "It not only keeps the senior safe, but it also can defer expenses, or it can increase the value of your home. Oftentimes if we're coming in, doing an assessment, there's been lack of maintenance on systems and the property itself, which are gonna cost a lot more money than it would have had they been preventative. And as we age, we don't see smell or hear things that we might have when we were younger. They're giving us clues that there's an issue in our home. 

"The furnace is probably first, because we're going into the fall right now. Having your furnace checked is super important. You make sure that it, it's working properly, so you have adequate heat coming on. But you also want to make sure that you have your air ducts cleaned out, for two reasons. One is if your air ducts get clogged, especially your dryer, that can start a fire. Number two is, if you have allergies at all, and it's clogged in your air ducts or in your vents in your bathrooms, that can cause all kinds of havoc on your breathing.

"With the roof, if you have an area that has a lot of moss, it's just ugly to look at, but it expands and contracts, and that's what causes the shingles to deteriorate. So having moss removed, having someone inspect your roof, looking for either cracked shingles, or flashing, or a rain cap that's missing. So that helps with any leak prevention, coming into your home. They can also take a look at your gutters and make sure that they're not full. Full gutters cause water spills. What do water spills do? They wreck havoc on siding and windows and intrusion into basements.

"As far as walking with moss, it becomes very, very slippery and slick when it's wet. So making sure that someone's coming in and removing the moss from your sidewalks, and your stairs, and your decks, is super important to make sure that you have a clean space to be able to walk."

Learn more:
* Real Estate 55 Plus: https://realestate55plus.com/
* Juli Anne Gibson: https://realestate55plus.com/team/
* Call 800-964-1553 to speak to a live person

Hear more shows with Juli Anne Gibson: https://answersforelders.com/tag/juli-anne-gibson/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Juli Anne Gibson joins Suzanne to talk about home safety, and a key aspect of this for seniors is fall prevention. Being injured in a fall is the number one reason seniors aren't able to go back their homes and live independently. 75% of home falls are preventable. It's the simple things that cause falls or tripping, there are easy things to do to prevent them. Juli Anne, founder and CEO of Real Estate 55 Plus, talks about how to assess your home for the future to "age in place" and "right-size" your living domain.

Juli Anne says, "We work a lot with the Red Cross. The Red Cross actually has a Fall Prevention program, and they will come in and assess your home. So we follow their guidelines on what we can recommend to a senior, and we're teaching workshops, we will provide that information to them.

"When we age, our sight changes, our hearing changes, our sense of smell, our balance, and our touch. So what we used to be able to see in front of us, now oftentimes it will look like a black hole. And so, walking through your home, you’re saying, am I seeing this as a continuation, or does it look like a stair to myself? So if you have carpets, rugs that are a darker or lighter color than your other flooring, you may want to consider removing those. Because at some point, you may think that's a hole, and you're gonna try to step over it, and you're gonna fall. We see that happen quite a bit. 

"Getting out of their bathtubs, you have all kinds of grab bars that come in permanent or semi-permanent installation, a whole package in a movement called Universal Design. So you can retrofit your home, so that you can age successfully as possible... If you have chronic arthritis and it's going to get worse, or you have a flare up, you want to make sure that doors and handles are easy for you to maneuver. So not a round handle, but a lever-style handle.

"If you can spend five or 10 minutes a day on balance, there are some chair exercises that you can download online, or get a video for. You can also go to a local YMCA or gym that's going to focus on balance, and also your core. For many of us, when we start getting tipsy, if we have really good balance, it's gonna prevent a fall. And with our core, if we can have that strength, and we're back, it's gonna have a huge, huge impact on our being able to regain balance."

Learn more:
* Real Estate 55 Plus: https://realestate55plus.com/
* Juli Anne Gibson: https://realestate55plus.com/team/
* Call 800-964-1553 to speak to a live person

Hear more shows with Juli Anne Gibson: https://answersforelders.com/tag/juli-anne-gibson/

Answers for Elders is part of the SeniorResource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.