Daily Routine for Healthy Aging

 

A daily routine supports mind and body wellbeing by giving more control of life, help regulate hormonal levels and coping with stress. Setting a routine is a great way to start and maintain healthy habits, as well as build in time for daily self-care.

Key elements of a basic daily routine including sleep hygiene, healthy eating, exercises, mental and physical activities, and self-care. To learn more details and tips for success, go to

https://qualitylifeforum.weebly.com/2022-july-daily-routine-for-healthy-aging.html

A healthy routine is simple tasks and should become habits naturally with daily performance. Knowledge is power and enables us to make educated choices for healthy living. Behavior is the end result that is the only way knowledge can be beneficial. It doesn’t happen magically but requires significant time and effort. Bridging the gap between "knowing" and "doing" is a common struggle. You know it well. Do it now. Don’t wait. Action is what it counts. Be confident that results will sustain with continued efforts.

Invest in your health is worth of it. Health is priceless and most valuable, especially in your golden years. In each successful life story, you see the mentoring, coaching, guidance, and support in it. Feel free to contact qualitylifeforum@outlook.com for your health coaching needs. 

Making Transition from A Patient To An Educated Healthcare Customer

 

A health care consumer is anyone who uses health services. From newborn care at delivery to long-term care later in life, everyone has healthcare needs which changes during lifespan. What differs from the traditional patient role is that a consumer who is a self-empowered decision maker, vs. the patient who is a passive receiver of care. Patients are vulnerable and have no choices. A patient is also a healthcare consumer, but a consumer is not necessarily a patient. People today believe they have that capacity to make informed health decisions, in a similar vein to how they make other decisions. People would like to empower themselves to move from the passive experience of being a patient to the engaged and powerful experience of being a consumer.   Most importantly, we are accountable for our own wellness and should take an important role in health care or care giving decision making.

What matters most to the healthcare customers are quality, cost, and coverage. These are inextricably linked and that all must be addressed for meeting health care needs. Overall, older age group uses more healthcare services and spending more for healthcare needs. Consumers are increasingly requiring personalized care; transparency in network coverage, medical prices, and bills; convenience; and more engaging in active participation of care.

Healthcare is different from other services because it is not clearly defined. In most industries, the product or service can be standardized to improve efficiency and quality, but healthcare provide services for personalized needs. In reality, it is challenging to making a role transition from a patient to an educated health care consumer, especially when getting older becoming more vulnerable. It is important to know your rights and empower yourself with health literacy. Learn how to transition from a patient to an educated customer for health and dental care, go to https://qualitylifeforum.weebly.com/2022-june-making-transition-from-a-patient-to-an-educated-healthcare-customer.html and https://qualitylifeforum.weebly.com/2021-nov-navigation-for-healthcare-needs.html   

To be an educated healthcare customer,

•        ​Recognize that you could pay very different amounts for healthcare services depending on where you go.
•         Shop around when you can, but don’t sacrifice quality for price.
•         Don’t make the mistake of assuming that a high price translates into high quality.
•         Seek out information on the quality of care as well as the out-of-pocket expenses you can expect.
•         Most importantly, always review your medical/dental billing statements carefully and verify each charge is correct or take actions to resolve billing issues before making a payment.

Health coaching supports you to make health a priority and take actions to make good things happen.  Everyone faces challenges; consider seeking support from Qualitylifeforum trustworthy resources and engage with positive influences. Health coaching can help you to be an educated healthcare customer. Contact Qualitylifeforum@outlook.com for your health coaching needs.

Aging Skin and Sun Safety

Aging skin is normal part of life. It is natural for skin to go through changes during lifespan. Wrinkles, fine lines, age spots, sagging skin and dry areas are all commonly seen associated with inevitable ageing. Many people experience some benign skin growth, such as skin tags, cysts, seborrheic keratosis, cherry angiomas, moles, or age spots as getting older. To learn more about each of these benign conditions, go to https://qualitylifeforum.weebly.com/2022-may-aging-skin-and-sun-safety.html

What skin lesions may be cancerous? It is recommended to see a dermatologist for a full body skin cancer screening and evaluation for existing lesions, then re-evaluate for new development.

Excessive sun exposures contribute to skin aging and skin cancer.  Sunlight contains two forms of radiant energy, ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB). UVB provides the energy your skin needs to make vitamin D, but that energy can burn the skin and increase the cell damage that leads to cancer. UVA also contributes to skin damage and premature aging.

Sun exposures provide significant health benefits – improve mood and cognition, regulate sleep and immune functions, and the skin uses sunlight to help manufacture vitamin D, which is important for normal bone formation. However, there is no scientifically validated safe threshold level of UV exposure from the sun that allows for maximal vitamin D synthesis without increasing your skin cancer risk. The Ultraviolet (UV) Index is a valuable forecasting tool designed to help us make informed decisions for sun damage protection. To learn about the UV index, skin protection, outdoor swimming tips, and more, go to https://qualitylifeforum.weebly.com/2022-may-aging-skin-and-sun-safety.html

Stay connected with Quality Life Forum. Everyone faces challenges; consider seeking support from trustworthy resources and engage with positive influences. A health coach can keep you motivated for goal achievement and help you to be the best of yourself and deal with setbacks. Contact Qualitylifeforum@outlook.com for your healthy aging needs.

Aging and Oral Health

Aging is a complex phenomenon that, partially due to the occurrence of chronic diseases, can result in frailty, limited mobility, and other aspects of physical and cognitive decline. Major concerns for older people are poor general health and poor nutrition.

The association between nutritional status and oral health in older people seems evident. Poor oral health can cause oral pain, chewing problems, periodontal disease, and tooth loss, which have a negative impact on nutritional intake, leading to poor nutritional status and risk of malnutrition. Inadequate intake of micronutrients and macronutrients can, in turn, lead to an increased risk of oral health problems such as gum disease, caries, and hyposalivation. There are evidence indicating a negative association between malnutrition and oral health. Prevention of malnutrition and optimizing oral health conditions in older people can result in better overall health, increased self-dependency, and higher quality of life.

As the years go by, teeth and gum require an increasing amount of care. Dental pain and sensitivity, tooth decay, crowns and root canals; may eventually needing dentures or implant. Oral health problems can become very serious quickly.

Older adults are at an increased risk of malnutrition and poor oral health. Older Americans face many challenges, a very important but often overlooked, is the ability to maintain a healthy mouth and a healthy diet. Generally, dentists recommend having at least 20 teeth that have occlusion with one another to chew properly. This includes at least 4 pairs of molars that can help you chew on difficult food items, and the rest are anterior teeth to help you grip and tear on food. Correct issues with poorly fitting dentures and missing tooth will enable older adults for healthy dietary selections, eat better, enjoy food and enhance appetite.

To learn dos and don’ts in good oral care practice, go to https://qualitylifeforum.weebly.com/2022-april-aging-and-oral-health.html

Other factors related to oral health including Cognitive impairment, Vitamin D deficiency, Dietary choices, Cost concerns, and Motivation.

Keeping motivated for best oral self-care, remind yourself that: 

• Food is the fuel for lifeline and nutrition start from oral intake. Dental and masticatory function is essential for survival. Aging is not a reason to compromise oral health. • You are accountable for your oral hygiene, more importantly when aging as it requires better care. Wellbeing is priceless. • Dining experiences are enjoyable when you can eat without dental pain or limitations. • Good taste of food is rewarding. • Oral health enhances self-confidence and quality of life.

Feel free to contact qualitylifeform@outlook.com for healthy aging support and coaching needs.

Age-Related Hearing Loss

 

Hearing loss is the third most common chronic condition reported by elderly people. The estimated prevalence of significant hearing impairment among people over the age of 65 is approximately 40 to 45 percent and among people over the age of 70 exceeds 83 percent. Hearing sensitivity declines gradually and progressively with aging. It may not be noticeable until lost ability to hear in advanced stage. It seems to run in families and may occur because of changes in the inner ear and auditory nerve. Age-related hearing loss, or Presbycusis, usually occurs in both ears, affecting them equally and permanently.

In general, the average hearing thresholds of men are typically poorer than those of women in the high frequencies, with men exhibiting a sharply sloping hearing loss in the moderately severe range in the high frequencies, and the women exhibiting a more gradual sloping hearing loss in the moderate range in the high frequencies. Perhaps the most important consequence of the decline in hearing sensitivity with aging is difficulty understanding speech. Multiple sources are thought to contribute to the communication deficits of elderly people, including hearing loss, cognitive decline, and slowed temporal processing. Processing brief changes in stimulus duration and presentation rate for signals embedded in sequences are notably difficult for elderly people, which suggests that auditory temporal processing deficits may relate to the observed problems in understanding rapid speech and accented English.

To learn about signs of hearing loss, hearing loss and dementia, hearing loss and physical function, and What to do about Age-Related Hearing Loss, go to https://qualitylifeforum.weebly.com/2022-mar-age-related-hearing-loss.html . Follow QualityLifeForum.net for more topics on healthy aging and health coaching support.

Aging Eye Facts

 

Vision changes occur as you get older, but these changes don't have to affect your lifestyle. Knowing what to expect and when to seek professional care can help you safeguard your vision. As you reach your 60s and beyond, you need to be aware of the warning signs of age-related eye health problems that could cause vision loss.

Many eye diseases have no early symptoms. They may develop painlessly, and you may not notice the changes to your vision until the condition is quite advanced. Healthy lifestyle choices, regular eye exams and early detection of disease can significantly improve your chances of maintaining good eye health and vision as you age.

If you are 60 or older, driving may be more challenging. Age-related vision changes and eye conditions may increase driving risks, as you may not even aware of any symptoms.

To learn more about age-related vision changes, driving safety after 60, and age-related eye diseases may result in vision loss, go to https://qualitylifeforum.weebly.com/2022-feb-aging-eye-facts.html

Eye fatigue and dryness are common age-related problems as well. To learn how toreduce aging eye fatigue, follow the link.

Regular comprehensive eye exam is essential. A comprehensive eye exam is recommended at least annually for age 65 and older by the AOA. It is more than a visual acuity check for glasses purpose.

• A comprehensive adult eye examination includes:
• Patient and family health history.
• Visual acuity measurement.
• Preliminary tests of visual function and eye health, including depth perception, color vision, peripheral (side) vision and the response of the pupils to light.
• Assessment of refractive status to determine the presence of nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism.
• Evaluation of eye focusing, eye teaming and eye movement abilities.
• Eye health examination.
• Additional tests as needed.

Having a complete eye exam with an eye doctor is important because most eye diseases can be treated if they are found early. The doctor will also test your eyesight and check for glaucoma. Pupil dilation will enable your eye doctor to get a clear view of the optic nerve and check for early signs of eye disease.

Choosing an eye doctor (Ophthalmologist vs. optometrist): in short, Ophthalmologist and optometrist both can prescribe medications and treat eye diseases. Optometrists can handle nearly all the medical aspects of ophthalmology. But they do not perform surgery. Ophthalmologists are surgeons and can treat your medical needs as well. If you have a serious condition, such as severe macular degeneration or cataract, you’ll typically see a specialist (ophthalmologist). If you don’t have any serious eye problems, the choice is really up to you.

Eyesight is the most precious gift of life. Make eye health a priority and take actions for proactive eye care. Everyone faces aging challenges. Contact Qualitylifeforum@outlook.com for help and support of your health needs.

Health: the Cornerstone for Quality of Life

 

Quality of life (QoL) is a broad concept, which can be measured in terms of living conditions, physical health, mental health, social relationships, level of independence, economic security, safety, or basic human rights.

Health-related quality of life (HRQL) focuses on the impact of health on a person’s ability to live a fulfilling life. HRQL has a focus on the effects of illness and is connected to an individual’s wellness status, which is the cornerstone of QoL. HRQL measures are multidimensional, profile instruments focusing on several aspects of daily functioning. Typically, HRQL measures evaluate four core domains: (1) disease state and physical symptoms, (2) functional status (e.g., performing daily activities), (3) psychological and emotional functioning, and (4) social functioning.

Life expectancy measures how long a person can expect to live, which has its significance in HRQL. At personal level, in fact, most people would agree it is more important to stay healthy than just alive. The secret to a happy life appears to be not measured by years lived, but by the quality of those years.

How do we live longer but maintain an active, healthy lifestyle free of chronic illness? Evidence-based studies indicate that longevity is based on two major factors, genetics and lifestyle choices. While genetics we can’t change, lifestyle is our choice. There were common themes that kept repeating across all research. For more details and learn habits linked to a long life. 

While everyone gets older, not everyone feels their age. For aging perception, feeling young and free of pain and physical limitations are associated with a wide variety of benefits for health and well-being. In many ways, life improves with age, even after came through the youthful years.

Making your health for top priority and taking actions for health improvements in the new year. Maximize your total health from health coaching of Quality Life Forum - go to QLF health coaching programs. Feel free to reach out for QualityLifeForum@outlook.com and stay connected with QualityLifeForum.weebly.com  on your wellness journey.