Archive for June, 2017

Keeping seniors healthy and active is a top priority for caregivers, but finding a way that also keeps loved ones engaged and safe can be challenging. An innovative solution to this problem is sweeping across senior communities and public parks everywhere. Motion Wellness Systems by Xccent Fitness allows seniors to be socially and physically active, while working on fitness and balance.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Guy Chaham, Director of Sales of Outdoor Fitness at Xccent, Inc. to discuss senior mobility and the Motion Wellness System, which promises to improve senior mobility through a playground-like environment. Learn what it is doing for seniors across the globe.

The Importance of Senior Mobility to Healthy Aging

Maintaining and strengthening senior mobility is a key component of healthy aging. According to the World Health Organization, one third of seniors over the age of 65 fall at least once a year and about 50% of all admissions to long-term care communities are related to a fall.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham also took a closer look at the importance of senior mobility. Researcher Kellie Flood, M.D., of the UAB Division of Gerontology, said that: “Increased mobility limitations are the edge of that slippery slope that leads to loss of function.” In short, keeping seniors mobile increases strength, balance and coordination, which all work together to ultimately prevent falls.

In addition to fall prevention, keeping seniors active has a wide range of benefits. Physical activity can increase overall fitness and help seniors burn calories to maintain a healthy weight, in addition to improving cardiovascular health. Many activities are also done in a group setting which can help seniors avoid social isolation, a risk factor for dementia and depression.

Preventing Falls and Maintaining Mobility Using the Motion Wellness Systems

A new tool from Xccent Fitness called the Motion Wellness System, is helping seniors around the world stay strong and social, while improving balance and enhancing their overall health.

Similar to the nostalgic playgrounds of our youth, the Motion Wellness Tool has over 20 different activities ranging from fitness steps and ramps, to balance beams, chin up bars and a stretching board. Activities can be modified to adapt to the physical fitness level of seniors. While many Motion Wellness Systems are found within assisted living communities, some are located in public parks. The systems located in public parks have the benefit of multi-generational play and allow grandparents to actively play with grandchildren, which has many health and physical benefits.

In addition to creative play and exercise for seniors, the Motion Wellness System can also be used as a tool for nurses and therapists to evaluate the fitness level of a patient. Upon implementation, staff undergoes a program called “Train the Trainer” which shows how the tool can be used and adapted for specific therapy needs of the patient. From there, trainers and therapists can develop a specific training program to improve a senior’s fitness, balance and coordination.

An Expert on the Topic of Senior Mobility

Xccent Fitness was founded in 1976 and began in the commercial playground industry developing innovative and safe playgrounds for children. Chaham says that after working closely with a developer in Finland, the Motion Wellness System was developed following six years of research and many hours of senior movement observation. He adds:

“For years it has been recognized that there is a need for standardized interventions in primary care for seniors to avoid missed opportunities to reduce the risk of falls and fractures.”

In addition, Carole Lewis, a well known geriatric rehabilitation specialist, will be conducting an independent study on the system. She is currently conducting case studies in the Washington, D.C. area with George Washington University and Howard University. The company is eagerly awaiting data in the next six months for more information on how the tool is engaging people and improving balance.

A Global Movement Toward Senior Health and Mobility

The Motion Wellness System is currently located in assisted living communities, senior centers and public parks across the world. There are over 800 systems installed throughout Europe and the tool is currently gaining momentum in the United States and Canada.

While the product is still new, feedback from communities who have the product shows that it has been very successful in maintaining mobility and engaging seniors at all health levels.

Many seniors miss the camaraderie and challenges of competitive sports. While there are exceptions, most of us find that our bodies can no longer physically keep up with the sports we once enjoyed when we were younger.

As baby boomers retire and move into senior living, many communities are providing access to low-impact sports so that everyone can enjoy the health and social benefits that being a part of a team provides.

Low-Impact Sports for Seniors

Join in on the fun by participating in one of these popular sports for seniors:

Bocce Ball

Bocce ball is a game with ancient roots, that was adopted by the Romans who viewed it as a sport of rulers and statesmen. The sport is now played across the globe in individual backyards, national leagues and in the Special Olympics.

Bocce ball is a popular choice at senior living communities due to its many health and social benefits for residents. It is a simple game, yet provides seniors a mental challenge as they learn strategies to improve their sport. The game also provides low-impact exercise, which can be enjoyed by those with disabilities through the use of ramps and other adaptations. Bocce Ball is a social activity as well, and allows players to enjoy friendly competition and learn new skills from others.

While the sport is traditionally played on a hard surface, it can easily be played on a lawn as long as the surface is level. To begin a game of bocce ball, a small ball is rolled onto the court and then each team takes turns tossing larger balls as close to the smaller ball as possible, the team with the most balls near the small ball wins.

Pickleball

Pickleball combines the best of badminton, ping pong and tennis into a sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and athletic abilities. Pickleball was born in the mid-60’s when three friends from Bainbridge Island, Washington, were unable to find their badminton equipment so they improvised with the equipment at hand. Although the name is odd, the game has nothing to do with pickles but was named after pickle boats in crew racing. The game uses a paddle comparable to a large ping pong paddle and a ball that is similar to a whiffle ball.

The game has become very popular with seniors, since it is a low-impact sport that can be played indoors or outdoors and with or without teams. I spoke with Andy Nelson from Pickleball Experts, and asked why pickleball has become so popular with seniors:

“First, it is a great low-impact form of exercise that has a ton of health benefits. It is a great alternative to tennis for those who no longer feel they can cover that much court or deal with the injuries. Second, pickleball is a great social game that has formed countless friendships and brought communities of people together.”

Getting started with pickleball is simple even if you are not near a league or in a senior community with a pickleball court. Both existing tennis courts and badminton courts can easily be modified for pickleball and the only gear you need is a paddle and a ball.

As Andy explains, “Pickleballs are similar to whiffle balls, but slightly smaller, with unique varieties for indoor and outdoor play. Paddles come in all sorts of materials, shapes and sizes, and there is now a huge variety available from a number of manufacturers. It can be intimidating to find the right paddle, so we’ve created a pickleball paddle guide that makes the process easy.”

Shuffleboard

Shuffleboard had its beginnings in 15^th century England within a game called shove groat, which eventually evolved into shuffleboard and came to America with the colonists. Shuffleboard soon became popular in the U.S. and tournaments were held throughout the colonies and eagerly attended by fans.

The game can be played on an indoor table or an outdoor court, which makes it a popular amenity for senior living communities. The game provides low-impact exercise, mental stimulation and socialization for seniors of all abilities and skill levels. Shuffleboard is another game where the basic rules can be learned in a few minutes but skill and strategies can continually be improved.

Getting started with shuffleboard can be easily done by joining a group at a local senior center, shuffleboard league or by participating in your community’s shuffleboard activities if you live in a senior community.

This article only touches on a few of the possibilities for seniors to continue their lifelong enjoyment of competition. Whichever sport you choose to enjoy, you will continue to reap the benefits of healthy exercise for brain and body.

The Internet is many things to many people, including an accessible source of information, a great place to shop, an easy way to bank and, most importantly, a place to connect with friends and family. Surfing the Internet from the safety of your home can give a false sense of security. The fact is, it can be easy for anyone to fall victim to online scams, fake news, fraud, identify theft and even abuse. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reports that “many of the crimes that occur in real life are now done – or at least facilitated – through the Internet. Theft, abuse, and more can be and are being done online.”

Although people of all ages are at risk, statistics show that when it comes to online safety, seniors are more vulnerable. In fact, according to the DHS, “seniors are defrauded at twice the rate of the rest of the population.”

How Seniors Are Targeted Online

Popular ways that scammers or thieves target seniors online include emails or websites for:

• Dating services: The scammer becomes close with the victim and once they gain trust the scammer asks for money or personal information.
• Charitable donations and requests for help: Often the charity isn’t legitimate or the request for help is a lie. The scammer is out to steal money or personal and financial information.
• Health care offers: The old snakeskin salesperson scam, this one is as old as time. The scammer promises to heal or treat conditions using medical breakthroughs that don’t exist. Again the goal here is to steal money or obtain personal and financial information. The treatment simply doesn’t work or is never received.
• Affordable prescription medication: There are legitimate online pharmacy sites, but there are others that are out to scam seniors. They either send medication that isn’t FDA approved, don’t send medication at all or simply steal the senior’s financial or personal information. This scam can be deadly if it results in a senior taking the wrong medication.
• Online auctions and community buy and sell sites: An item is purchased but not received, a lesser quality item is received or the senior is abused or robbed when they meet up to trade the item with the seller.
• Fake news stories: These stories report untrue news that creates a sense of urgency. These fake news articles often end with a request for a donation to “help the cause.”

Lock Down

Just because these dangers exist online doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go online. Study after study reports that seniors who are active online are happier and better connected with family, friends and the world around them. Instead, a shift in awareness is important to stay safe online. Just like you would lock your house and your car, there are safeguards that you can put in place to protect yourself and those you love.

Although these scams require some sort of interaction between the scammer and the senior, whether chatting through an online dating site or believing a fake news story, there are instances where no interaction is needed. For example, a store you shop at (online or in person) could have information stolen that is then used to hack into your bank account, steal your identity or even access your email.

The first step to online safety is to ensure you have secure passwords that are changed frequently and to have a different password for every site or asset that requires one, including your home computer. This is like having a different key for every room in your home, instead of just one key for the front door. With strong, unique passwords you’ll be less vulnerable should your password be stolen. If you use one password for everything, a stolen password means that the thief has access to everything.

How can you remember all these passwords?

When your web browser asks you to save passwords or credit card information, don’t! That’s the equivalent to putting your key under your doormat. Instead, use a secure password management software service such as Passpack.

These types of services require a complicated phrase plus a very secure password to access and, as long as you have that information, you can then login to see all your passwords across sites. Because this software’s business is keeping passwords safe, they have the best security out there. And some of them, like Passpack, are free to use.

A password management system is a great tool for anyone who frequently forgets their online passwords. It means that all the information and access you need is available in one place.

Common Sense

The DHS points out that the common sense rules that you’d apply in the real world apply online. These include:

• Don’t overshare. Cybercriminals and identity thieves don’t have to connect with you to see the information you post. Don’t reveal any personal information to strangers or in public forums. This includes your name, address, age, phone number, birthday, email address, social security number, insurance policy numbers, bank information, doctor’s name, name of your children or grandchildren and the school your grandchildren go to.
• Don’t talk to strangers. Be very careful of people who approach you online. It’s okay to chat with someone you don’t know but be very conscious of the information you share. Don’t open attachments or respond to email messages from people or companies that you don’t know.
• Don’t take candy from a stranger. Be careful of entering contests or joining groups that require you to share your personal information. Don’t accept a trip or prize for something that you didn’t enter. Nothing is free, and emails that say you have a long lost relative who left you a fortune or want to contact you to give you a trip around the world are scamming you. Most legitimate companies don’t ask for personal information over email, and that includes requests to confirm or update your personal information. Don’t do it! Your bank and the government will never communicate with you in this way.
• Be careful who you trust. Make sure the site is legitimate. Sites that end in .edu (education) or .gov (government) are trustworthy. When you’re using an online bank be sure that you’re on the right page (look for https://). It’s important to type the bank address directly in the address bar; don’t follow links to your bank (or other sites where you will need to put in personal information like a password). Your bank must have a padlock icon and any online shopping you do should also have the padlock icon, which means that the site is secure.
• Check your credit card statements. If you bank or shop online then you need to check your credit card and bank statements on a regular basis to ensure that there is no suspicious activity. If there is, then you should report it right away.
• Do your business at home. You wouldn’t go to a friend’s house to do your banking, so don’t bank or shop on a public computer (like at the library) or over WiFi. It’s simply not as secure as your home computer.

What’s Real and What’s Fake?

A recent study showed that 64% of U.S. adults felt that “made-up news caused a great deal of confusion about basic facts of current events.” Before you can determine what type of stories out there are real and which ones are fake, you first have to know what fake news is. According to the Globe and Mail, fake news is disinformation for profit, political gain or crime; viral pranks; or unethically reporting a hoax or fake news story as fact.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to figure out what type of news, stories and websites are real and which ones are fake. Think it’s easy to spot fake news? Take this fun quiz from the Globe and Mail and see how well you’re able to spot the fake news story!

When it comes to news, here are some tips to help you figure out what information you can trust:

• Trust your intuition. If your first reaction is “this can’t be real,” then listen to your gut and do some further digging.
• What is the motive? Legitimate news should be unbiased. If the motive is to sell a product, service or idea, or to push a political ideology then you could be dealing with fake news, or news that is being reported in a questionable way.
• Look at the source. Do you trust the source of the news story? Legitimate news stories source their information, usually with a hyperlink or a list of their sources at the bottom of the story. Check out the author’s sources to see if they are also legitimate. A news story without legitimate sources requires further digging before you should trust it.
• Dig deeper. Some news outlets like The New Yorker are trustworthy because they have been reporting legitimately for years. But that doesn’t mean that you should automatically believe them. Even with sources you trust you should still:
  • Look at how the story is written. Is it written in a different or strange way? Is the grammar poor? It’s possible you’ve landed on a fake site masquerading as a legitimate one.
  • Check the URL. Is there a typo or country code you don’t recognize? Look for subtle changes, like an l being written as a 1.
  • Verify the social media account. Do they have a large following?
  • Verify the webpage. Do the other pages on the website look legitimate? What about the About Us page?
  • Double-check email. Is the sender’s address correct?
• Get a second opinion. If the story is real news then it’s probably being reported by other legitimate news outlets. Take a look and see who else is covering the story, and how they are covering it.
• Are you being asked to do something? If you receive a request for money or your personal information, don’t give it. Legitimate news sites don’t ask for your contact information or financial support.

When it comes to staying safe online, it’s important to use security measures, your common sense and to dig deeper for the truth. Sure, this takes some time and diligence on your part, but these are critical steps to keeping you safe, no matter what your age.

Have you or a loved one fallen victim to an online scam, fraud or fake news story? Share your experiences to help others avoid the same online traps.

While finances are a hot senior living topic, multiple research studies have shown that financial well-being and material wealth are not the most important factors in living well. So, when the United States of Aging Survey asked seniors “what is most important to maintaining a high quality of life?” it’s no surprise that staying connected to family and friends was the most popular choice for four in 10 seniors.

Searching for Happiness

The problem with determining what makes a life well-lived is that the definition of happiness changes depending on the individual and their values, goals and cultural beliefs. This year, U.S. News rated the countries they believe offer the best quality of life to their citizens. Citizens in Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Australia and Norway have, according to this report, the best quality of life.

According to Business Insider, “if you regularly remark about how happy, safe and satisfied you feel in your personal and professional lives, you most likely have a pretty high quality of life.” Based on these factors, Business Insider has rated the following U.S. cities tops for their quality of life: Bellevue, Washington, Alexandria, Virginia, and Plano, Texas.

However, whether these cities offer the best quality of life for seniors is another matter —the United States of Aging Survey compared a nationally representative sample of adults aged 18-59 with 4,000 U.S. adults who were 60 and older, and the results showed that each demographic had very different ideas on aging and quality of life.

Ultimately, where you live doesn’t necessarily impact your quality of life, nor does your financial situation (although the United States of Aging Survey did note that low income seniors had a more difficult time in some important areas like connecting through technology and health).

So, what’s the biggest factor to a senior’s quality of life?

Family Is Everything

Seniors in America are driven by a desire to be close to their families, the United States of Aging Survey found. “More than half of seniors (53 percent) nationally indicate that being close to friends and family is important.” Technology, rather than physical proximity, is an important element in staying connected with family. “Eighty-four percent of seniors nationally cite technology as important to their ability to connect with the world around them,” the survey showed.

In fact, with seniors living longer, they’re using their “‘bonus years” (defined as the years they live beyond the average U.S. life expectancy of 78) to spend time with family, the survey found. Of the senior respondents in the survey:

• “41 percent say seeing their children and grandchildren grow up is the most exciting prospect of living a longer life”
• “One-fifth say spending time with friends and family will be the best part of their bonus years”
• “18 percent say they are excited to have more time to do the things they enjoy”

Health an Important Factor

It’s not surprising that the survey found that health was a greater factor to a senior’s quality of life than money, but it is surprising to see how optimistic seniors are about their health. Sixty percent of seniors “expect their health to stay the same during the next five to 10 years (compared with 53 percent of adults aged 18-59).” This optimism prevails despite the survey findings, which showed that:

• “65 percent of seniors report having at least two chronic health conditions”
• “Less than one in five seniors has received guidance in the past year to develop an action plan for managing their health”
• “26 percent of seniors nationally indicate they exercise less than once a week for 30 minutes or more”
• “74 percent of low-income seniors report at least one barrier to managing their health condition, such as lack of energy or money”

So, while seniors in America may feel their quality of life is high (and that health plays an important role in their quality of life), the reality is that many seniors are overly optimistic about their health situation. While senior living experts have focused of late on the financial situation of American seniors, the results of the United States of Aging Survey show that seniors may also be overly optimistic about their health, a factor that ranks higher in their perceived quality of life.

You can access the full United States of Aging Survey here.