The senior years should not restrict an able bodied person from undertaking activities such as driving a motor vehicle. Safe driving means being able to adequately utilize the senses, limbs and mental faculties, apart from the other factors like driving a roadworthy vehicle, not driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and maintaining the speed limit. The elderly are sometimes at a disadvantage as the host of chronic diseases that are seen with advancing age coupled with the age-related changes in the body can undermine the safe operation of a motor vehicle. However, with a clean bill of health there is no reason why a senior cannot drive daily or even for long distances.
Swimming Exercise Benefits for the Elderly
Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise and has additional benefits in relieving and often preventing some of the age-related changes in the body. Although it requires access to a pool, a 20 minute swimming session at least 3 times a week can make a significant difference in overall health and wellbeing. Swimming has both cardiovascular and weight training benefits, both of which are important for different purposes. It burns twice as much calories as walking, reduces the impact on joints and works out more muscle groups at once than almost any other form of physical activity. These are important factors to consider for the elderly who face a host of changes in their body which can reduce mobility, affect physical strength and lead to chronic pain.
Institutionalizing the Elderly – Reasons, Advantages and Disadvantages
The decision to institutionalize a parent, grandparent or other elderly relative is not an easy undertaking. There should be agreement between the caregiver and senior that it is the right decision for both parties and should be done in consultation with the senior’s doctor and a social worker. Sometimes institutionalization is necessary as is the case with certain physical and mental health ailments in the elderly. At other times it is a choice made by both parties for various social, economic and lifestyle factors. Irrespective of the reason, the decision to institutionalize the elderly should never be made in haste or when emotional.
Cigarette Smoking in the Elderly
Tobacco use, and in particular smoking, is associated with a range of negative health effects irrespective of the age of the user. Despite anti-smoking campaigns worldwide, many smokers are still ignorant or in denial about the health risks associated with cigarette smoking – not only to themselves but also their family members, pets and even co-workers. Cigarette smoking in the elderly is more likely to lead to a poor quality of life in the senior years, increases the chances of serious disease and decrease by one’s lifespan by about 10 years. The elderly have been found to be less likely to quit smoking but more successful when attempting to do so. Of greater interest, however, is the specific effects of smoking in terms of age-related changes in the body and diseases that are more common in the elderly and not always relevant to younger smokers.
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