“Change your words into truths and then change that truth into love.”
“As,” by Stevie Wonder
Healthy Fall Harvest Meals
Fall is here and the harvest has begun. It’s a wonderful time to enjoy all the delicious vegetables the season has to offer. The following from the Cooking Channel offers some of the most enjoyable, healthy and easy to make fall recipes. Try one today!
How to Conquer “Sitting Disease”
The negative health effects of sitting for extended periods of time, coined as “sitting disease” has been a hot topic recently. Studies show that sitting for extended periods of time, as many of us do at work, while commuting, and even while watching television or reading, can lead to increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and a decreased lifespan. But while we need to work, commute, and enjoy our down time, how do we combat these negative effects? Here are our top 5 tips to conquer sitting disease:
1. Take Regular Breaks: Taking a regular break can help boost productivity, reduce stress and benefit your physical health. Once an hour make sure you stand up, walk around the office, stretch or do some simple exercises like squats or lunges.
2. Stand While You Work: Standing workstations are becoming an increasingly popular choice in offices across the globe. These workstations allow you to adjust your desk from sitting to standing so you can have both options during the day.
3. Switch Your Seat: If you must sit while working, think about changing your seating options! From exercise ball chairs to desks with pedals, there are many options to help you increase your health while sitting.
4. Perfect Your Posture: While you are seated ensure you are not slouching, leaning or bending over to access your workspace. Sitting up straight and ensuring proper posture will go a long way for your physical health!
5. Make it a Mobile Meeting: If you’re meeting with a colleague see if you can have your meeting on the go. Take a walk around the block while you discuss or walk to your favourite coffee shop where you can continue your discussions there.
Check out the following article from The Guardian for more information on “Sitting Disease” and be sure to speak with your employer or an occupational therapist about ways your workspace can be accommodated.
Inspired
credit: www.movemequotes.com
Community Safety for Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive Impairment
Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)
In recognition of World Alzheimer’s Day, I wanted to touch on the important topic of helping people with Alzheimer’s disease (or cognitive impairment) to be safe in the community.
A few months back I received an email from a friend. She wanted to “pick my brain” about a problem they were encountering with her father who has Alzheimer’s disease. She mentioned that he enjoys spending time in the community on his own, but the family was growing increasingly concerned about his safety. She was wondering if I had any suggestions on how they could monitor his community activities, and be able to locate him should he not return home when expected.
My experience working in brain injury has had me looking for such solutions in the past. Some people, with behavioral or cognitive impairment, are at risk in the community because they become disoriented, confused, lose track of time, or are not attentive to traffic. There is such a loss of independence for people to be told they cannot leave the home alone, and some become agitated or angry when people try to supervise their activities. Yet, even a familiar route can become a problem for people if their cognitive status changes or deteriorates, and what is manageable one day may become problematic the next. Part of my role as an occupational therapist when dealing with cognitive impairment is to problem solve with the client and family the ways we can help them to pursue their goal of independence outside the home, while also ensuring their safety and easing the mind of the care provider. There are several ways to do this, and the list below is not exhaustive by any means.
1. Consider the local Police Departments. These often have programs and ways to track people at risk of wandering. It is also helpful to notify the police about a potential wanderer so this is in their records should their help be needed.
2. The S-911 bracelet has multiple features that allows health care workers and families to GPS locate anyone that may have wandered off, or who is in the community unsupervised. There is a monthly and yearly fee for this device.
3. The Loc8tor is another option and notifies a care giver (or parent of a child for that matter) if the person wearing the device has wandered up to a certain distance away. The Loc8tor is also useful for helping people to find those items that tend to get misplaced – such as keys, wallets and cell phones.
4. Smartphones have GPS detection capabilities such as the “Find my Friends” application for the iPhone. With this, both users can locate the other person, but it does require the person to be carrying the phone, and the phone to be charged and on. This can be a problem for people with cognitive impairment as they may not always remember to take the phone with them when out, may not understand how to turn this on and / or to check and see if it is charged.
5. There are home monitoring systems that can notify family when people are coming or going, or even bed alarms if people leave the bed at night. Motion sensors in the home can also help to notify family if someone is wandering or moving between locations indoors. While these don’t work to locate or ensure someone’s safety outside the home, they are a way to give family members piece of mind to go about business inside the home without always needing to provide the person with cognitive impairment constant supervision.
Remember that Occupational Therapy is about helping people to solve the problems that arise when physical, emotional or cognitive abilities change rendering daily activities to become a struggle. In all cases, because disability is experienced differently by everyone, the solution for one person may not be the solution for another – even when dealing with the same diagnosis. So, consult an OT if you have a functional problem to solve!
Inspired
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
Arthur Ashe
Weekly Mind Bender
Brothers and sisters I have none but this man’s father is my father’s son.
Who is the man?
Answer
The man is my son
Laughter Therapy
Back to…Healthy Meals
The “lazy days” of summer are over, vacations are done, the kids are back to school, and it’s time to get back to routine. As a mom of four, believe me that I understand the stress of September and how parents can easily lose themselves with the focus on getting the kids back to a manageable routine. So, this September, we wanted to provide a series of ideas and strategies to make sure you are going “back to school” while also getting “back to you!”
We’ve shown you ways to get “Back to” both fitness and a healthier mind. Now, in the third week of our series, we will focus on getting back to a healthy diet! Summertime can be a time of indulgence, filled with barbeques, parties and eating out. Now that fall has come, it’s time to refocus on healthy meals and we know these are most likely to happen at home. With proper planning and preparation, creating healthy home cooked meals can be simple every day. Check out our top 5 ways to save you time and to boost your nutrition at dinner time!
1. Plan Ahead: Planning and posting your weekly meal plan in advance each week will save you time and keep your organized! From this, create your list and hit the grocery store for all you need for the week. Post clearly on your fridge so you remember to pull what you need out of the freezer each day.
2. Shop Only Once: Going to the grocery store multiple times per week eats away at your time and your pocket book. Although you may have only gone in for a bag of milk, often you come out with things you don’t really need. With proper meal planning you should be able to shop for the entire week.
3. Make Ahead: Once you have your meals planned, your ingredients purchased, and your fridge stocked, start cooking! Prepare your vegetables and meats for your next meal ahead of time or, better yet, create some of the many healthy make-ahead meals you can freeze to eat later in the week.
4. Make Friends With Your Slow Cooker: A slow cooker or crock pot can become a busy cooks’ best friend! Simply toss in your pre-prepped ingredients before you leave in the morning and come home to a delicious healthy meal ready and waiting for you when you walk through the door!
5. Eat As a Family: Although schedules are busy and time is tight, make an effort to sit down and eat together as a family. Doing so is beneficial for your mental and physical health and helps to maintain that family togetherness. If this just can’t work during the week, make an effort to connect as a family over meals on the weekends. Check out our previous post, “Make Time for Family Dinner Time.”
Inspired
With the recent release of “Dolphin Tale 2” we wanted to once again put the spotlight on an animal who has inspired the world: Winter, the dolphin. Winter lost her tail due to injuries sustained from a crab trap and now uses a prosthetic tail to help her swim properly. Thousands flock to Florida every year to visit winter and gain hope and inspiration from this amazing animal. Such is the case for Maja Kazazic, who lost her leg as a child due to war. See this amazing story here and check out our previous article spotlighting Winter: “A Splash of Inspiration.”