Loneliness is Bad for Your Health

Here is a press release from the Association for Psychological Science about the negative effects of lonliness.  And this isn’t just for seniors – everyone can be impacted by isolation.

The press release, from the APS,  shows the importance of having a caregiver i the home for the elderly because being left alone for long periods of time can actually have a detrimental effect of their health.  Just another reason why the services of Home Instead Senior Care can help the elderly get well, and stay well.

Two University of Chicago psychologists, Louise Hawkley and John Cacioppo, have been trying to disentangle social isolation, loneliness, and the physical deterioration and diseases of aging, right down to the cellular level.

The researchers suspected that while the toll of loneliness may be mild and unremarkable in early life, it accumulates with time. To test this idea, the scientists studied a group of college-age individuals and continued an annual study of a group of people who joined when they were between 50 and 68 years old.

Their findings, reported in the August issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, are revealing. Consider stress, for example. The more years you live, the more stressful experiences you are going to have: new jobs, marriage and divorce, parenting, financial worries, illness. It’s inevitable.

However, when the psychologists looked at the lives of the middle-aged and old people in their study, they found that although the lonely ones reported the same number of stressful life events, they identified more sources of chronic stress and recalled more childhood adversity. Moreover, they differed in how they perceived their life experiences. Even when faced with similar challenges, the lonelier people appeared more helpless and threatened. And ironically, they were less apt to actively seek help when they are stressed out.

Hawkley and Cacioppo then took urine samples from both the lonely and the more contented volunteers, and found that the lonely ones had more of the hormone epinephrine flowing in their bodies. Epinephrine is one of the body’s “fight or flight” chemicals, and high levels indicate that lonely people go through life in a heightened state of arousal. As with blood pressure, this physiological toll likely becomes more apparent with aging. Since the body’s stress hormones are intricately involved in fighting inflammation and infection, it appears that loneliness contributes to the wear and tear of aging through this pathway as well.

There is more bad news. When we experience the depletion caused by stress, our bodies normally rely on restorative processes like sleep to shore us up. But when the researchers monitored the younger volunteers’ sleep, they found that the lonely nights were disturbed by many “micro awakenings.” That is, they appeared to sleep as much as the normal volunteers, but their sleep was of poorer quality. Not surprisingly, the lonelier people reported more daytime dysfunction. Since sleep tends to deteriorate with age anyway, the added hit from loneliness is probably compromising this natural restoration process even more.

Loneliness is not the same as solitude. Some people are just fine with being alone, and some even see solitude as an important path to spiritual growth. But for many, social isolation and physical aging make for a toxic cocktail.

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Author Contact: Louise Hawkley hawkley@uchicago.edu

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Your Senior Advisor: Tips Can Help Seniors At the Doctor’s Office

By Shannon Wygant, Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and owner of the Waterford and Walled Lake, Michigan franchises of Home Instead Senior Care. 

Q.    Since my wife died last year, I’ll be going to the doctor alone for my annual physical this year.  I’m nervous and don’t know what to ask.  And, at age 78, I’m hard of hearing.  Do you have any suggestions?      

We thought you might find the following information helpful.  U.S. Preventive Medicine, a private company that works with hospital and physicians groups, recently released tips to help consumers get the most from their annual physicals. 

Prioritize and verbalize personal concerns and goals.  Before you go to the visit, identify all of your concerns and what you expect, and write those down. 

Review family medical history.  Many diseases are hereditary.  Make sure you know your family history and provide a detailed outline to the doctor. 

Get an examination the old-fashioned way.  A thorough physical must include a thorough examination, no matter how uncomfortable, for early detection and prevention. 

Find out about metabolic syndrome.  Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease and is easily diagnosed through a cholesterol or lipid profile, blood glucose (sugar), blood pressure readings and measurement of waist circumference.  Metabolic syndrome is not routinely addressed by many doctors during a physical. Take the initiative and ask if you should be assessed. 

Ask about screening for chronic diseases.  Early detection leads to improved prognosis for many of the most common chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.  Talk to your doctor about a schedule of recommended preventive screenings. 

Review the list of prescription and over-the-counter medication you currently take. While medications and supplements may have life-saving benefits or provide symptom relief, all may induce detrimental side effects in some individuals under certain circumstances.  Provide your doctor with a complete list of all prescription and over-the-counter medications, vitamins, herbs or other supplements that you are taking or have   recently taken. 

Another suggestion, from the non-medical caregiving company Home Instead Senior Care, is to take a trusted friend or family member with you to the doctor’s appointment.  That individual can help you understand what the doctor is saying if you can’t hear his/her comments and instructions.  If you don’t have anyone like that, consider hiring a professional caregiver, who not only can accompany you to doctor’s visits but help you maintain a healthy lifestyle as well. 

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care, contact Shannon Wygant at 866-922-1400 or visit www.homeinstead.com. 

—Editor’s Note:  This is the second in a weekly series which will be emailed every Monday to regional press affiliates to help promote health, welfare, and advocacy for our senior population.  Bert Copple, Director of Community Relations, can be reached via email at dcrcommerce@inspireseniors.com, or via cell at 248-953-9916.

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Living With Alzheimer’s: Daily Activity Options

I have always been amazed at the effect Alzheimer’s and dementia have on people.  Many are able to still function within the role of daily activities, but are lacking the context within which those activities exist.  I found this most interesting when I first visited a memory care unit of an assisted living facility in Bingham Farms, Michigan.  There was one section of the building’s courtyard where there sat a pile of unfolded clothes, a clothes basket, and a bench.  The sign sitting nearby on a table read PLEASE FOLD THESE CLOTHES.  Moments later a beautiful silver-haired women with advanced dementia strolled into the room, sat down, and began to hum to herself while she folded the clothes and placed them in the basket.  She took her time, making sure each item was folded nicely, and placed them gingerly into the basket.  When all the clothes were done, she rose to leave, greeted me with a smile, and continued her walk.

A few minutes later a facility employee came by, dumped the clothes back onto the bench, and tussled them with her hands.  She, too, left the room greeting me with a smile.  I, to be honest, was dumbfounded.  Why on earth wold she do that right after the nice old lady folded all of the clothes?

Well, I am smarter now, and understand that when dealing with dementia, repetitive activities can actually be a soothing and comforting way to keep one with dementia etertained and free from boredom.  Sure enough, just a few minutes later, the nice old lady with the silver hair returned and folded the clothes, as if it was something new and exciting for her to do.  In a way, I’m sure she felt important in the fact that she was able to accomplish something that day.  Even if it was the same thing, over and over, it was something new and exciting for her each and every time.

What other activities can we find for the with dementia to engage each day?

The following activities are suggested in the book, Practical Guide for Caregivers:

Art
Clay: Use modeling clay and make objects or animals.

Water colors or crayons: Free-style water-color/crayons

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Your Senior Advisor: Sore Feet One Problem of Aging

By Shannon Wygant, Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and owner of the Waterford and Walled Lake, Michigan franchises of Home Instead Senior Care. 

1. My 83-year-old mother, who lives alone, complains that her feet hurt more.  Is this a common problem for seniors and something we should be worried about?

The wear and tear that comes with aging can indeed cause foot problems for seniors, according to experts.  “Signs of foot trouble may include pain; excessively dry skin; thickened or discolored nails; swelling; redness; and unusual sensations,” reported Joshua Kaye, D.P.M, a podiatrist in Los Angeles, in an article written last year by Michelle Meadows for the FDA Consumer Magazine. What’s worse, foot pain can trigger other problems such as pain in the legs, hips and back, according to the article “Taking Care of Your Feet.”  Because foot problems may be potentially serious for seniors, the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) suggests that people take their socks off when they go to their primary care physician for a regular checkup. In a recent APMA survey of more than 600 people, 73 percent said their feet were not routinely inspected at doctor visits. 

Following are common foot ailments:

• Fungal nails—Infections that can quickly spread to other nails.
• Ingrown toenails—These can be caused by a variety of problems including improper nail trimming.
• Bunions—Misaligned big toe joints that can become swollen and tender.
• Hammertoes—Toes that are bent like claws, often caused by muscle imbalance or tight socks and shoes.
• Corns and calluses—Calluses appear on the soles and corns on the top, often caused by skin rubbing against shoes.
• Plantar Fascitis—Stretching or tearing of the plantar fascia, which runs along the bottom of the foot and supports the arch of the foot.

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