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It’s June in Kansas, so that means temps in the mid-80s and sunny skies. It can be tempting to want to bask in the sun’s rays. After all, a little bit of sun is good for us, right? Well, that all depends.
Our bodies need Vitamin D, which we get from the sun, to help absorb calcium. The “sunshine vitamin” helps with bone health, boosts our immune systems and can have other benefits as well.
Low vitamin D levels have been connected with osteoporosis, muscle weakness, cancer and rickets, according to medical experts.
We know that Vitamin D comes from the sun and that we need it for our bones to stay strong. The CDC even recommends spending time outside to improve health and wellbeing and reduce stress. However, they point out that too much exposure to the sun could put you at risk for skin cancer.
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the US. And according to the American Cancer Society, about 5.4 million skin cancers are diagnosed each year.
“The number of these cancers has been increasing for many years. This is probably from a combination of better skin cancer detection, people getting more sun exposure, and people living longer,” said the American Cancer Society website.
Too much sun can also age skin faster and cause eye damage to the retina, sunburns and heat stroke.
Most skin cancers come from ultraviolent or UV light. Those UV rays come from the sun year round. So even on cloudy days, it’s important to protect your skin.
Look for broad spectrum sunscreen, which will protect you from both UVA and UVB rays with SPF 30 or higher. When looking at SPF, the higher the number, the higher the protection. The CDC reminds you to reapply after two hours, as sunscreen wears off. And don’t forget all areas of exposed skin like hands, backs, ears and feet.
Sunglasses that block both UVA and UVB rays help reduce your risk of cataracts and protect the skin around your eyes.
Remember that from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., UV rays are the strongest. Keep an eye on the UV index to see how strong the exposure is for the day.
Lastly, seek shade. Avoid direct sun by lounging under an umbrella or large tree.
So how do we safely get vitamin D if we need to avoid the sun?
“Just being outdoors you get a fair amount of sun exposure and some sun-related generation of vitamin D,” said Dr. Karl Insogna, Endocrinologist at the Yale School of Medicine. “It’s best to use sunblock when outdoors in strong sunlight for any prolonged length of time. Because this may limit the amount of vitamin D you get from sun exposure, make sure your diet includes sources of vitamin D from foods or supplements.”
Foods that provide Vitamin D include fish like salmon, mackerel and tuna, fortified milk, yogurt, orange juice and tofu, and egg yolks.
Supplements are another option. “These are generally recommended for people with lactose intolerance, milk allergies, as well as for people with darker skin tones or with certain medical conditions that prevent them from going outdoors,” according to the Yale School of Medicine.
At Advena Living, we encourage residents to get outside and get fresh air. However, we want residents to be safe. We’re mindful of all extreme temperatures and shaded areas for relief.
Advena Living specializes in skilled nursing, rehabilitation and long-term care throughout seven locations in Kansas. Two of our locations offer assisted living as well.
Our name “Advena” means newcomer. We welcome newcomers seeking a senior living environment where they may continue to enjoy a full life.
It has been a long three years. The Covid pandemic changed virtually everything in our lives. Now the WHO has declared that Covid is no longer considered a global health emergency as of May 11.
In a statement, the WHO’s general director said, “Covid-19 is now an established and ongoing health issue which no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.”
But that doesn’t mean Covid is over or that it didn’t leave long-lasting effects on the long-term care industry and its residents.
For those working in senior living, the threat of Covid coming into your building became overwhelmingly stressful and often heartbreaking.
Communities took extreme precautions to avoid outbreaks. Healthcare workers donned N95 face masks, shields, gowns and gloves, with a fine coating of disinfectant spray on top. Doors were locked and visitors were banned. Isolation protocols and social distancing measures were put in place for the safety of the residents.
Activities sometimes stopped for periods of time. Residents ate meals alone in their rooms or spaced out in dining rooms, preventing connection with others. And when they got sick, the community staff sat by residents’ sides while their family members watched outside through windows.
The overall culture of long-term care changed. For long-term care communities focused on person-centered care to improve residents’ quality of life, Covid set facilities back. In turn, it affected the residents the most.
Experts say the isolation caused from social distancing and sequestering in small rooms had long-lasting effects even after the height of the pandemic.
Researchers argue that “isolating nursing home residents caused more deaths than it prevented.” Research from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University say that a lack of in-person contact with loved ones only lead to increased feelings of depression and loneliness.
A poll found that during Covid 28% of adults among ages 50 to 80 reported increased anxiety, with 20% saying they had increased sadness or depression.
This and similar studies like it suggest it’s important to consider the mental health effects caused by isolation when looking at ways to curb the spread of infectious diseases in the future.
While many seniors reported increased loneliness, anxiety and depression during Covid, there’s some good news.
A National Poll on Healthy Aging through the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation found some seniors tried to improve their mental health after the Covid lockdowns.
Thirteen percent talked about mental health with their primary care provider, 29% reported making a lifestyle change and 5% started talking to a counselor.
The trend showed a whopping 89% older adults felt more comfortable talking about mental health than ever before.
As of May 11, Covid will no longer be considered a worldwide health emergency. But that doesn’t mean Covid has disappeared.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the coronavirus continues to evolve with new variants, and it’s still causing deaths. Vaccines, tests and drugs are important to help prevent the spread of Covid.
While we may see a loss of access to free testing, there aren’t any plans to impact access to vaccines and antiviral treatments. However we could see a change in cost for vaccines and it may come down to what insurance you have.
Research will continue into new Covid vaccines and treatments. But the CDC’s ability to collect and share data will likely change.
Once the Public Health Emergency (PHE) ends, there will be changes to nursing home care. Certain waivers that were put in place by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will go away, if they haven’t already.
“CMS used a combination of emergency authority waivers, regulations and sub regulatory guidance to ensure and expand access to care, and to give health care providers the flexibilities to keep people safe,” according to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
To be eligible for a skilled nursing facility, patients will once again have to spend three consecutive days in a hospital. Those rules were waived by CMS during the pandemic.
With the PHE ending, the benefit period waiver will stop and beneficiaries will again be limited to 100 days maximum of skilled care per benefit period.
Pre-admission screening for nursing homes and discharge planning rules for hospitals are also going to change.
To learn more about other changes, visit CMS or HHS.
At Advena Living, we provide care to those who need skilled nursing, long-term care, or assisted living. Our goal is to help our residents live their best lives.
Part of our guiding philosophy is that we honor choice. We believe that residents should always have a say in how they live their lives. We will work hard to accommodate what you want your schedule to be every day.
Advena Living has seven locations throughout Kansas in Bonner Springs, Cherryvale, Clay Center, Clearwater, Rose Hill, Topeka, and Wichita.
Our name “Advena” means newcomer. We welcome newcomers seeking a senior living environment where they may continue to enjoy a full life.
You’ve probably heard it before from self-help gurus: there’s power in positive thinking. That optimistic mindset may help you embrace new opportunities, conquer a challenge, or deal with some bad news.
The Mayo Clinic says, “having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body.” Other theories imply that optimistic people often live healthier lifestyles.
Researchers have studied the effects of positivity as a response to major health issues, such as a cancer diagnosis or recovery from a heart attack. Now a new study out of the Yale School of Public Health looks at positive thinking and cognitive impairment.
Research suggests individuals with mild cognitive impairment who think positively about aging may be able to recover memory.
“It is widely assumed that individuals who develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) will not recover. Yet nearly half of older persons with MCI regain normal cognition,” according to the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study looked at nearly 2000 participants of men and women with an average age of 78 years old.
The results of the study confirmed the researchers’ hypothesis. The group who had a positive mindset on aging had a 30% greater likelihood of recovering their memory, than those in the negative belief group.
The study did not provide any recommendations as to how to apply this new insight. However, it did propose that “age-belief interventions at the individual and societal levels could increase the number of people who experience cognitive recovery.”
For many people, moving to a long-term care or assisted living community can be daunting. It can be difficult to think positively about that transition. However, facilities across the country are embracing new methods of person-centered care and models that feel less like an institution, and more like a home.
At Advena Living, we want to help our residents live their best lives. Part of our guiding philosophy is that we honor choice. We believe that residents should always have a say in how they live their lives. We will work hard to accommodate what you want your schedule to be every day.
Advena Living specializes in skilled nursing, long-term care, rehabilitation and assisted living services throughout the state. We have locations in Bonner Springs, Cherryvale, Clay Center, Clearwater, Rose Hill, Topeka, and Wichita.
Our name “Advena” means newcomer. We welcome newcomers seeking a senior living environment where they may continue to enjoy a full life.
