The ABC's of Dementia....

One of the things we worry about as we age is dementia. There are many different types and causes of dementia. Knowing the types and causes will help with the prevention of or slowing of symptoms of dementia. I want to educate and increase everyone's knowledge of dementia. Over the next few months I plan on breaking it down further for you in hopes that this will help you with your loved one.


Dementia  can be classified in a variety of ways and are often grouped by what they have in common, whether they worsen over time (progressive dementia) or are caused by a reaction to medications or an infection, which can reversible with treatment.


Here are a some of the risk factors that you need to be aware of, lets start off with the ones that CANNOT be changed. They are age, family history and Down Syndrome. Rick factors that CAN be changed are Alcohol consumption, Atherosclerosis, blood pressure, cholesterol, Diabetes. depression, estrogen levels being out of range, smoking, Homocysteine blood levels to name a few things. It goes without saying you must look at things that you can change to prevent problems you don't want. Not to say that you won't get it any ways but why help it. 


Some of the signs and symptoms that your love one might be having trouble. 


1) Memory loss that disrupts your daily living.


2) Having problems with solving problems or planning 


3) Difficulty with completing task that is normally done daily and that you are familiar with. 


4) Confusion with time and place. 


5) Problems with writing or speaking words. 


6) Misplacing of items and or not recalling what you did with the items. 


7) Poor or decreased judgement


8) With drawl from social activities or work


9) Changes in personality or mood, increase anger etc. 


10) Visual problems  


If you think your loved one is having problems please seek the advice of a MD or neurologist. Doctors  have been know to miss the early signs of dementia so don't be to hard on yourself if you don't notice them. Get help as soon as you can to help prevent the progression of dementia in your loved one. When you do take your loved one to the doctors be prepared to give an extensive medical history and have knowledge of the medication that they are currently taking.  The doctor may order cognitive test, neurological evaluations, scans both CAT or MRI, laboratory tests, Psychiatric evaluation to come up with the diagnosis for your loved one.  Don't give up until you are satisfied with the diagnosis and treatment of your loved one. Remember one day you might be in their shoes! 

Come on and Join Me For A Morning Workout!

I love waking up early in the morning with the sun rising and the house quite as a mouse running around  leaving it's poop poop behind! Quietly sitting in my chair sipping coffee with blinds open watching the beautiful sunrise. All nice right? Up until I see neighbor after neighbor go by walking, jogging or riding their bike. An instant motivation it is, as they are going by and you can hear their quiet remarks, "Get off your butt and move woman!" " I feel guilty if I don't get don't get out and exercise." Props to the neighbors who encourage me to get up and move.

Exercising in the morning has many benefits according to some experts. It clears my mind and allows me to think about things going on in life and biz. I love it when the kids or my biz partner comes with me.  I simply enjoy it because it gives me the motivation and determination to drive my day into a productive fun day. 

Some of the benefits of exercising in  the morning are: 

1) Speeds up your metabolism, gives you that "jump start" to burning calories all day long. I don't know about you but I need all the help I can get burning calories! 

2) Exercising has been shown to increase your mental acuity, clears the mind for up to 10 hours. Why do   that at night when you want to go to sleep and you don't care if your mind is all fuzzy! Don't loose optimal brainpower while you are sleeping, exercise in the morning so you can harness your productive day! 

3) When you excise the same time everyday it has positive affects in regulating your endocrine and  circadian rhythms. This helps your body get ready for the day several hours before you start! Hormones prepare your body for exercise, your metabolism increases while you are sleeping. Which will cause you to be more energized and ready to start the day! 

4) Morning workouts help you stay committed to your workout regime. No chance of having excuse that your day was long or kids have homework, or a black cat crossed your path. I like exercising first thing in the morning and I use to be a night time only exercise person. It has been stated that people are more successful with they're exercising routine if they knock it out first thing in the morning. 

5) People who do their exercise routine seemed to have regulated their appetite, eat less and choose healthier foods and portions. 

These are just a few reasons of why one should exercise in the morning. I was sold on increasing my metabolism and mental acuity. hahahaaha I need all the help I can get.  Whenever you choose to exercise just do it. Do it for yourself, toss out the excuse and the procrastination. Get moving your body and clear your mind. The benefits and rewards will last you a lifetime. 

 

The First Step To A Healthier You

We are working on my websites today...actually dusting some that have been sitting there in cyber space all by their lonesome self wanting to be worked on, made pretty, and to be visited by people. Anyways....one of the sites is Healthy Tips For A Better You...something very dear to my soul...something I wish all people actually believed in...so I am going to start from the beginning on how to create a healthy you.

As I have stated in the past,  it all starts with your frame of mind. Your mind, your thoughts all play a factor in your overall health, mood and your ability to handle stress. When you want to make changes in your life, it all needs to start with your mindset. Your mind needs to be healthy before you can make changes in your life from weight loss to job changes, and life in general. The way we think and feel plays a factor in our ability to achieve our goals and the outcomes from it. 

According to research performed at the Mayo clinic the health benefits of positive thinking vary from lowering depression and distress, to reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, increasing life span and better coping with stress. It is not sure why people who have positive thoughts have these benefits. Some of the theories are positive people have better coping skills dealing with stress which reduces the  harmful sides effects of stress on the body. Another thought is that people with positive thoughts have a healthier lifestyles.

This is all good and everyone would love to have these extra health benefits along with the rewards from positive thoughts attract positive things in the world but it takes work and can be done. Your first step is saying and believing it can be done. Your second step is to get rid of the negative things and people in your life. Yes, this can be done. Find positive people and start hanging out with them. You will be amazed at how your life will change.

Negative thinking and hanging around negative people will stop you from achieving your goals whether they are personal or financial.  Find the positive in every situation, don't tell me you can't find the positive because if you look hard and thoroughly you can always find the positive. I was having a conversation about the state of the economy with a friend. He was depressed and scared. I looked at him and I said I'm not worrying about it. He looked at me strangely. I said I can't do anything to change what is going on. It's out of my hands so I  looked for the positive when the economy started to tank. The positive I found was that families we starting to live together and are closer like years ago. He thought about and said you are right. He smiled and said that was very smartest thing he heard about the negative economy and he was going to think that way. Now this thought won't change Washington or the world but it will change the way you let the negative things in the world affect you.

One step closer to being deliriously happy!

The Best Birthday Gift Ever......

I wanted to share the story of the unique bond and love of two of my children. A bond that is so special and worthy of being shared.....

On July 29, 2000 my sweet baby girl Jem was born.  I will never forget the day she came home it is so vivid in my mind like it happened yesterday. The strongest bond I have ever seen between two siblings took place that day, right in front of my eyes.

 My daughter NaTasha drove me and Jem home from the hospital and my daughter Anessa was home watching Dewy. We arrived home in the afternoon of Aug 3, 2000 on my son Dewy's 2nd birthday. When we came through front door Dewy was so excited to see me and his baby sister. He sat on the couch and put his little arms out. He wanted to hold his baby sister. I put Jem in Dewy's arms, they looked at each other as if they were making an agreement at that moment that they would always take care of each. From that day on a special unique bond was formed and has grown stronger ever since.

From the time they were little they have been tight, where you found one the other was close by, each of them paying attention to the other to make sure they didn't need anything. They are able to communicate with one another in away that I cannot fully explain or understand. As they have grown the bond has gotten tighter but allowed each one to grow independently. Jem has always known that Dewy would need help around people and in certain situations. She has always invited him to be with her and her friends and looked out for him when they are away from home to make sure everyone was being good to him. Dewy has always made sure Jem had almost everything she's ever wanted. When he was little he would make sure Jem had her fruit snacks at bedtime, she was protected from any bugs going after her, and he even gave her his undies to wear. Now days he will record T.V. shows for her even though she didn't ask him to and have her favorite snacks saved in a secret spot so no one will eat them.

To me their bond is like that of fraternal twins born two years apart...a boy and a girl instead of two boys or two girls. We refer to beginning of this bond as Dewy's best birthday gift ever....and Jem smiles big and says proudly, "Yes, I'm."

 One step closer to being deliriously happy!