Getting older brings a lot of changes and surprises, and not all of them are pleasant, by any means. The discomforts of getting a little older, a little stiffer here and there, can often be felt more in the dead of night, when you’re trying, and failing, to get to sleep. Your body might need a little more support resting, so here are a few tips that you should consider.

 

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Make Sure Your Body’s Getting The Right Support

As we get older, our bodies change and become a lot more sensitive to changes in pressure, our joints can get stiffer, and even temperature fluctuations can become a lot more bothersome. A high-quality mattress tailored to your needs can make a world of difference not just in your sleep, but it can even help lessen back pain when you’re awake. If you’re waking up sore or tossing and turning all night, it might be time for an upgrade. Look for medium-firm support, cooling technology, and materials that contour to your body without sagging.

The Right Sleepwear Makes A Huge Difference

What you wear to bed can impact your sleep just as much as what you’re lying on. As mentioned, temperature fluctuations can be a major complaint, especially during and after menopause. As such, choosing nighties for older ladies means you’re a lot more likely to get sleepwear that provides comfort while allowing enough breathability so that you don’t become overheated at night. This means you’re also a lot less likely to wake up frequently.

Make Sure You’re Winding Down Right

If you’re like a lot of people, then you might find yourself with the phone screen lighting up inches away from your face even after you’ve turned off the lights and settled down for the night. That can make it a lot harder to go to sleep than you might realize. Establishing a calming pre-sleep ritual can help signal your brain that it’s time to shut down. Try dimming the lights an hour before bed, turning off screens, and doing something gentle, such as reading or stretching, to help you wind down and calm your mind, making it easier ot drift off to a full night’s rest.

Tackle Discomfort At The Source

If you feel uncomfortable lying in bed at night, it’s worth taking the time to note down precisely where it’s coming from. Joint pain, nighttime hot flashes, and frequent urination are just a few common causes of sleep interruptions for older women at night. There are solutions, however, such as orthopedic pillows for neck or back support, cooling pads for hot sleepers, and even medications that can help address some of the hormonal imbalances that can keep us up at night.

Having a good night’s rest can get tougher as we get older, which, in turn, can make us more tired and have low energy throughout the day. The tips above can not only help you get the sleep you need, but also improve your quality of life throughout the day, too.

If you want to make sure that you are keeping on top of your health, there are all sorts of approaches you can take, and ways you can look into this, that are really going to help. The truth is that it’s the kind of thing that you are likely to want to work on, and as long as you have thought about that you should find that you are much more likely to really notice a difference. In this post, we’ll look at some of the best ways to make it easier to keep on top of your health.

 

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Get The Basics Down First

If you have the basics down first, it means that you have a pretty good basis on which you can start building better health habits, so this is something that you are certainly going to find useful to consider. For instance, you should aim to sleep around 8 hours a night, get plenty of water throughout the day, and make sure that you are moving around plenty. If you do those basic things, you are already going to be in a much better position, and the rest of what you need to do will be quite easy to get right.

Keep An Eye On The Numbers

It can help to regularly and consistently track your key health metrics – and this is something that is now easier than ever to do. Something like blood pressure is quick to check, can be done from home with a cheap BP machine, and gives you a lot of information about your heart health. You can also keep checking on your weight, and once a year you should consider getting your blood test done, even if you feel fine. It could literally save your life.

 

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Make Health Part Of Your Routine

This is another thing that is simple enough but really helps you to keep on top of your health. If you can make health part of your daily routine, it is probably going to mean that you are much more likely to be healthier, and that you are really going to be able to keep on top of it with ease. This includes going for runs, eating well, getting routine private vaccinations, and anything else that might be necessary in order to have a healthy routine. All of that should be made into a routine that you can then easily follow.

Remember The Mental Side

If at all possible, make sure not to skip over the mental side of health, which is just as important as the physical stuff, and affects it considerably as well. You need to watch out for stress, anxiety, burnout and so on, as these hit your body just as much as your mind. Ensure you are building in moments to decompress and de-stress, and check-in yourself on a regular basis – sometimes rest is the healthiest move you can make, and it’s good to know when that is true.

 

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The back is one of the most important parts of the body, and something that you are always going to have to keep up with if you want to make sure you are caring for your body as well as possible. As long as you look after your back properly, it should mean that you are going to have much better health overall and that you will feel a lot better in yourself. As such, this is something to pay attention to regardless of your age. Here are some of the useful ways you can care for your back as well as you would hope.

Move Around Regularly

This is obviously good for you in a lot of ways, but it’s definitely the kind of thing that you are going to want to think about if you are trying to improve your back overall. Sitting or standing in one position for too long puts stress on your spine that you would rather do without, so it’s important that you remember to take regular breaks – every hour at the very least – to stand up, stretch, walk around and so on. That is a simple thing that will really help you to look after your back a lot more effectively.

Strengthen Your Core

If you feel that you might need to work on your core, then that is something that is also going to be really helpful for your back too. The core muscles – the abs, lower back and hips – support your spine, so strengthening them can reduce the strain on your back quite significantly. Planks, bridges, controlled exercise like yoga and more can all help with this, so it’s something that you should definitely think about if you want to have a healthy back and body.

See An Osteopath

You might think that osteopathy is just for when you are in pain, but actually it’s something that you can find useful at any time, including when you are trying to improve your approach towards your back and trying to ensure you are caring for it as well as possible generally. So you might want to consider going to see an osteopath if you are trying to improve your back, as this can be one of the simplest and yet most powerful ways to really improve the way your back moves and how your spine is being cared for on the whole.

Learn To Lift Properly

It’s hugely important in all this that you are learning to lift properly, as that is the kind of thing that is really going to make a world of difference to your back too. If you have to lift something heavy, make sure you bend your knees, not your back. This ensures that the core does the work, not the spine, and reduces the chance of injury considerably. Similarly, keep the object close to your body and use your legs to lift – and avoid twisting while carrying too if you can help it.

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ADHD is remarkably common and often goes undiagnosed – especially in adults. If you weren’t diagnosed with ADHD as a child, then the chances are you’ve been living with it for years, which might explain your constant lack of concentration and failure to focus on daily tasks. 

It’s something that eats into your productivity and makes it hard to do normal things. As a result, you end up with a lot of stress and anxiety because things keep piling on your plate. You can’t cure ADHD, but you can take steps to try and remain more focused and attentive every day. Learn how to manage your condition, and it no longer becomes a burden – here are some ideas to start: 

Try ADHD Medication

If you have ADHD, then you’ll qualify for different medications designed to help you stay calm and focused during the day. Adderall is the most common option out there, though many people with ADHD are trying out medical cannabis because it’s showing great promise in treating this condition. You may need to try several medications before figuring out which one works the best for you, but it can really help to manage your symptoms and encourage more focus in your life. 

Break Your Daily Tasks Down

You struggle to remain productive because every task feels like climbing a mountain. You’ll spend a few minutes working on something, only to feel like you’ve achieved nothing. It leads to constant distractions as your brain goes everywhere and focuses on anything but the task. 

Make life easier by breaking down your daily tasks into manageable chunks. Set small goals to aim for that’ll help you work towards the larger task at hand. These smaller targets seem more achievable, which makes them easier to focus on. 

Incorporate Breaks Into Your Schedule

Likewise, don’t be afraid to incorporate breaks into your schedule to improve your focus. You can’t work for hours on end without getting distracted, so don’t bother. Manage your schedule by splitting your working periods into bursts of work with rests after. 

The Pomodoro Technique is a brilliant productivity method to follow if you have ADHD. In essence, you work for 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break, and then work again. After every 4 lots of 25 minutes of work, you schedule a longer 15-30 minute break. It splits up your working day by giving you periods of intense focus mixed with downtime to stop you from trying to stay attentive for too long. 

Find A Good Fidget Toy

Research shows that students with ADHD perform better and focus more when they have fidget toys. This applies to anyone with ADHD; you can be better at work when you’ve got something to fidget with. It can be anything you like – the gist is that you’re fidgeting with it subconsciously, so it almost gives your brain something to be distracted by while also helping you focus on your tasks. 

Managing life with ADHD will never be easy – and you’ll have plenty of bad days along with the good ones. Nevertheless, you can try different things to control your symptoms and find more focus and productivity while doing your usual daily tasks.

You may already know that the incidence of accidents tends to increase as we age. However, what you may not understand is that the process of ageing impacts how well we heal and recover from accidents as well. Indeed, there is a range of things that can happen as we get older that can affect how fast we heal. However, the good news is there are some things we can do to optimize our healing after an accident. just read on to find out what they are. 

 

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Get the medical help you need ASAP

If you want your recovery process to be as short as possible, you must get the medical help you need as soon as possible after the accident has occurred. Often, people delay this step because they are worried about the costs involved.

However, it’s important to remember that a good lawyer will be able to help you with any personal injury claims you have resulting from the accident if it was not your fault. This means you may be able to claim back a proportion of your medical costs, as well as damages, which can help alleviate the financial burden of getting fast treatment. 

Manage your chronic conditions 

While it’s only natural to focus on an injury when it’s just happened, it’s also important that you do not forget to tend to any chronic conditions you have while you are recovering. Indeed, continuing to treat any chronic conditions will ensure you stay in as good overall health as possible which should help support your systems for optimal healing, as well as make it easier to pick up your life where you left off once you are healed. 

Do what the doctor says 

Yes, I know it’s your body and no one knows it as well as you. However, the doctor is an expert in their field, and they will always know the best way to heal after an accident. If you do have doubts about your course of treatment or feel you are in too much pain to complete the treatments, which means you should speak to your doctor or get a second opinion. 

Keep active 

Staying mobile is one of the ways you can help aid accident recovery. However, you must listen to what your doctor tells you on this point, as there may be a need for some rest before you start moving again. 

Generally, keeping active as an older person can help you increase your chances of a quick recovery should you suffer a fall or trip. This is because your body will work more effectively when it’s mobile and active, as it helps keep your muscles and bones strong and provides oxygenated blood to all your organs. 

Be mindful of medications 

Older folks are more likely to be on medications before their accident, and this means it’s important to be mindful of them during treatment. This is because some medications may have negative interactions with the ones you are currently on, and some could even affect the rate of healing you can expect. With this in mind, you must tell your medical staff, including ambulance drivers and paramedics, about any medications you are on. It’s also a good idea to ask your doctor about any interactions whenever you are prescribed a new medicine, but only when you are given one because of an injury. 

 

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It’s natural to want to maintain independence as we get older. And, in many cases, this independence is good for us – it keeps us happy and forces us to be active. However, it’s also important to consider how health problems may limit our independence as we get older. Pushing yourself too hard could cause further injury or illness. Therefore, you need to be willing to give up some independence in exchange for safety. This post delves more into how you can strike the perfect balance between independence and safety in order to stay happy and healthy in your senior years.

Adapt your living environment

Making your living environment easier to navigate could be important if you start to experience mobility issues. This could include keeping walkways free of clutter, installing grab bars in certain places and keeping useful items in easy reach of chairs and beds. You could even consider adding ramps or lifts to negotiate stairs. These modifications could allow you to stay in your current home instead of having to move to a new home. 

Embrace technology

There are many ways in which modern technology can benefit older people with mobility issues. Smart technology can allow many parts of our home to be controlled remotely using a smartphone app. This includes installing video doorbells and smart locks to allow entry to people outside, smart HVAC to operate heating and cooling remotely, and smart lighting to control lights remotely. Meanwhile, solutions like online banking and online shopping can prevent one from having to leave the house. 

Work with the right caregivers

Hiring caregivers doesn’t have to result in a loss of control. Some services like Happiest @ Home provide support for tasks like cleaning or self-care while helping you to maintain independence. It’s possible to also hire transportation companies to take you on days out and provide you with more freedom. Some of these services may even be free if you have a registered disability and earn under a certain income threshold. 

Keep contact with friends and family

It’s important that you stay social – especially if you are living alone. If something happens to you, you need people who will be willing to check in on you. Get into the habit of carrying out regular phone calls and schedule meetups. You could even consider joining clubs to stay social and make friends if you don’t know too many people in your area.

Address health concerns

Don’t ignore early signs of health problems. Seeing a doctor early could allow you to get treatment before things get too serious. In some cases, you may be able to make lifestyle changes early to delay health problems from getting worse. By slowing down the progression of health issues, you could find that you’re able to maintain independence longer. Examples include quitting smoking to slow down the progression of COPD, losing weight to manage arthritis pain, investing in a hearing aid to combat hearing loss and getting cataract surgery early to prevent further vision loss. 

When it gets time to start thinking about your home and how making small changes could improve mobility in your surroundings, there are a lot of important considerations that you might want to be aware of. It’s important that you can be mobile in your own home, as far as possible anyway, and that’s something that becomes increasingly important as you get older of course. As it happens, there are quite a few things you can focus on to ensure that you are easily improving mobility around the home, so let’s take a look at some of those right now.

 

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Creating Space

You can often make the home easier to get around simply by creating a little more space. This is the kind of thing that you are going to want to think about and which you can easily achieve. Mostly it is a case of ensuring that the layout of the furniture and so on is in such a way that you are not blocked to get to any part of the home. If you can create a little more space between items, that is always going to make a huge difference here, so that’s a simple but effective thing that you can think about.

Installing Lifts & Aids

There are a number of aids you can think about installing in the home which are designed specifically to help with moving around it more easily. For instance, you might be in need of a stairlift, or maybe some platform lifts, in order to be able to access every part of your home easily enough. So this is something to look into when the time comes, and to make sure that you are making room for as well. It could make living in your home a lot easier.

 

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Keeping Clutter-Free

As well as creating some space, as we saw above was important, you should make sure that you are doing all you can to remove and reduce any clutter in the home too. This is the kind of thing that is going to be really important for you to consider, and you’ll find that you are going to have a much easier home to move around if you have thought about this. So it’s a simple but quite powerful process that you might want to bear in mind and which should make quite a difference all in all.

Getting Help

From time to time, it may be that you require some help from someone else with some of this – perhaps to install a mobility aid or something else entirely. So you should make sure that you are asking for that help when you need it. This is going to ensure that you are much more mobile around the home too, and that you are in a much better position on the whole. It’s amazing what this can do for you, and it’s something you should certainly bear in mind.

 

Exploring Vitamins in the UK

Hello, health buddies! Today, we’re exploring the world of vitamin supplements, specifically looking at what’s available in the UK. The aim? Helping you to step towards better health and feeling your best. So, let’s dive into the must-knows about some top vitamin supplements you can easily grab in the UK and discover how they can be your secret weapon for good health.

The Must-Have Vitamin Supplements in the UK

 

• Vitamin C: A real friend to our immune system and skin, Vitamin C helps us stay healthy and look our best. From tasty chewables to fizzy drinks, there’s a Vitamin C supplement for everyone in the UK.
• Vitamin D: Known as the sunshine vitamin, Vitamin D keeps our bones and immune system strong. Vitamin D supplements, available as capsules or sprays, are useful in the UK, where we might not always get enough sunlight.
• Our body create energy and keep our nervous system healthy. You can find them in individual or combined forms as B-complex supplements in the UK, readily available through Vitamins UK. These supplements provide a convenient way to ensure you’re getting all the essential B vitamins your body needs for optimal health.
• Vitamin A: Key for our vision, immune system, and skin health, Vitamin A supplements come in forms like capsules and soft gels for easy use.
• Vitamin E: A protector of our cells thanks to its antioxidant properties, Vitamin E can be found in the UK as oils or capsules to help you maintain your overall health.

Finding the Right Vitamin Supplement for You

 When choosing a vitamin supplement, consider quality, how much you need to take, and in what form. It’s always a good idea to talk to a healthcare professional to get advice for your health goals and needs. Choosing well-known brands also helps ensure you get safe and effective supplements.

Conclusion: Unlocking the Power of Vitamins in the UK

 Including vitamin supplements in your daily routine can give your body a real health boost. Whether you’re looking to improve your immune system, get more energy, or support particular areas of your body, the wide range of vitamin supplements available in the UK has something for everyone. So, get ready to unlock the power of vitamins and step towards a healthier, more vibrant you!

 

 

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Is there such a thing as a ‘healthy’ cocktail? You could argue that any cocktail with alcohol in it can never be healthy. That said, some cocktails are clearly much healthier than others due to their choice of mixers. In fact, some mixers are so low in calories and high in nutrients that they can help to counterbalance much of the potential damage caused by alcohol. All in all, if you’re looking for a tipple and want to keep it relatively healthy, these are some of the best cocktails that you can choose.

Bloody Mary

The primary ingredients of Bloody Mary are tomato juice and vodka. The tomato juice is what makes this cocktail so healthy – it’s packed with vitamins A, B, and C. At only 95 calories, it’s also one of the lowest-calorie cocktails you can make. It’s become traditional to add other ingredients to Bloody Mary to give it some spice including tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and horseradish (which can add extra nutrients). Try this Bloody Mary for a tasty full-bodied version of this cocktail. 

Screwdriver

‘Screwdriver’ is a fancy name for what many commonly refer to as Vodka and orange juice. When containing a single shot of vodka, this cocktail contains only 121 calories, making it a great option if you’re trying to watch your waistline. A screwdriver is also full of nutrients due to its orange juice mixer, which is one of the richest sources of vitamin C. Make sure to use fresh orange juice to keep your screwdriver completely healthy. 

Greyhound

A greyhound is made up of two ingredients: vodka and grapefruit juice. It’s pretty much like a screwdriver but with grapefruit juice instead of orange. Containing 134 calories, a greyhound has slightly more calories than a screwdriver but is still 30 calories less than a vodka and coke. It’s similarly high in vitamins and is particularly rich in vitamin A, which is great for our vision. All in all, it’s a great choice when you’re looking for a refreshing summer cocktail.

Pomegranate martini

Pomegranate juice is often hailed as the healthiest of all fruit juices. It is densely packed with a range of nutrients which give it superior antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s believed to be particularly good for the heart and cardiovascular system. A simple way to incorporate pomegranate juice with alcohol is in a pomegranate martini – which contains pomegranate juice, vodka, Cointreau, and a dash of lemon juice (removing the Cointreau will make it healthier by reducing the sugar content). 

Whisky beet

Beetroot juice is very good at lowering blood pressure due to its unique mix of nutrients. It’s particularly high in vitamin C and folate as well as containing plenty of potassium and iron. It doesn’t work well with many spirits (which is why you rarely see it in cocktails), however, it does seem to work very well with whisky. Because whisky can be quite calorific, this may not be the best drink for those counting calories. However, it is a good option for those wanting to pack some nutrients into their cocktail. In fact, beetroot juice is so dense in nutrients like iron and potassium that it can actually provide too much if you drink it too often  – so don’t go overboard on this cocktail. Check out this whisky beet recipe to try this cocktail.

Mulled wine

Mulled wine is a popular winter cocktail made from red wine, brandy, orange, cloves, cinnamon, and sugar. It’s relatively healthy compared to other cocktails because it uses red wine as its main ingredient – which contains powerful antioxidants. Mulled wine does pack a lot of calories, however, it’s possible to lower this calorie content by taking out the sugar and choosing lower-calorie red wines. It’s worth keeping spices like cinnamon as these can provide an extra antioxidant punch. 

Gin and tonic

Gin and tonic contain fewer calories than any other cocktail – a single dry gin shot served with skinny tonic water can result in a cocktail that contains as little as 55 calories. While this does mean you can drink gin and tonic without worrying about piling on the pounds, it is worth noting that gin and tonic don’t really have any nutrients to counterbalance its alcohol content and is therefore not as healthy as other cocktails in this respect. It’s also important to avoid flavoured gins, as these typically contain more sugar. Some flavoured gins use more natural fruit flavourings, which can mean extra vitamins – these could be better than regular flavoured gins. 

Aging is a natural fact of life, and we all have to go through it. That said, it’s important to recognize that doing so is the most natural thing in the world, and while time can take some things away, it can also enrich your inner world, grant you the wisdom that you’ve always wanted, and help you see what really matters in life and why it’s important to understand how self care changes as you get older. 

I’ve found that as I age, priorities shift, and needs differ. All of a sudden, that which seems so important in youth and middle age isn’t as pressing as you had imagined, and more than ever, family, connections, and being positive are everything.

This can have a deeply restorative effect, and anyone who has felt that sense of authenticity develops knows exactly what I’m talking about. So, in this post, I hope to discuss how self-care and cultivating your best outlook on the world changes as you get older, hopefully helping some people who are embracing aging into their golden years:

Social Events Become Fewer, But More Enjoyable

As you get older, you can still party and have fun. After all, age is just a number. However, often you do focus on spending time with those who are most important, from close friends to your beloved relatives and family, and as such who you spend time with tends to become more important to you, and that time also feels deeply cherished.

You begin to prize the little things, such as relaxing and laughing with your grandchildren, heading on slow walks along the beach with your sibling, or taking some time to reminisce with a school friend. You may even make new friends at this time, such as by joining new hobby groups or by meeting new people at Prestwick Care. Big social events reduce in number, but the simple pleasures are those you look forward to most – and for good reason.

You Stop Having “Guilty Pleasures,” They’re Just Pleasures

When you get older, you start to realize that you don’t have to justify anything to anyone, provided you’re not causing harm. The guilty pleasures you enjoy? Those are just pleasures, and if you need them to feel happy and conduct self-care, that’s wonderful. This might involve salsa dancing as a novice taking lessons for the first time, singing your heart out to Adele or whatever other singer you love, and reading pulpy, silly, but eternally interesting 

A Good Sleep Schedule Is Everything

Don’t worry, I know you’re not someone who falls asleep in the armchair six times a night, but it’s true that as we get older, sleep becomes much more necessary. That doesn’t mean you have to sleep or nap all the time, just ensure you’re keeping consistent with your bedtimes, unwinding well before bed (reading is always a lovely habit for this), and improving sleep hygiene by getting good ventilation and the right tog duvet. This self care, will help you retain your energy, help your body sustain itself thanks to getting the rest and recovery it needs, and over time, will keep you energized and positive. As anyone over sixty knows, a bad night of sleep can be very laborious to deal with, even if you’re in general good health.

With this insight, you don’t have to worry about being an uber-militant health nut in your progressing years. You can have fun, and focus on the simple things. Trust me when I say, you’ll thank yourself for practicing this kind of self-care.