FUN IN THE SUMMER…A FEW TIPS TO REMEMBER!
Summer has officially begun and with it, for some, opportunities to travel and visit fun places!
Check out these important tips to help make whatever experiences you’re planning happy and safe!
Category: Activities of Daily Living
WHEN WORRY IS OVERWHELMING…
Emotional and behavioral changes are common in people with chronic diseases, but these changes are even more common in PD. The same neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine) that regulate movement also regulate our mood. Therefore, the same processes in the brain that lead to the more classical symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can cause depression. When dopamine-producing cells in the brain die, movement AND mood can be affected. In this case, depression is actually a symptom of PD, not a reaction to the diagnosis.”The National Parkinson’s Foundation offers important insight into the many reasons for mood changes when coping with Parkinson’s. Their recent publication – “Mood: A Mind Guide to Parkinson’s Disease” – is available for on-line download and also in printed editions. Click here for details
THE DOCTOR IS IN…AND YOUR APPOINTMENT IS FREE!
The Michael J. Fox Foundation is well known for the vast amounts of information they make available for people diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Often we have questions to ask our personal physicians, but either forget to do it, the doctor seems over-scheduled and hurried during an appointment, or perhaps he or she simply doesn’t know the answer.
Take some time to visit this link to the Foundation’s “Ask the MD” video series, where answers to some of your concerns may be available. Be sure to click on the button labeled “load more posts” located under the first few videos before leaving the site.
MICHAEL J. FOX MESSAGE TO ALL PEOPLE WITH PARKINSON’S…
Whether you were diagnosed lately or a long while ago, the Michael J. Fox Foundation has created a wonderful guide for finding one’s way through the maze of changes produced by Parkinson’s. We encourage you to visit the site…
“MOUNTAIN POSE” – YOGA FOR IMPROVING POSTURE
Roy Alcalay, MD, assistant professor at Columbia University and medical adviser with the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, states, “For people with Parkinson’s disease, yoga has been shown to increase flexibility and posture, ease stiffness, and possibly improve balance.”
According to Kaitlyn Roland, PhD, and yoga teacher at the Parkingo Wellness Society in Victoria, BC, Canada: “Stooping is common in Parkinson’s disease due to changes in muscle strength and balance. Becoming more aware of posture and strengthening the muscles that hold the body upright improves walking, balance, and even digestion.”
To practice the yoga “mountain pose”:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your back to a wall. If your heels don’t easily reach the wall, keep them slightly forward.
- As you improve, move the heels toward the wall.
- Press into your toes and heels at the same time to engage the arches of your feet.
- Draw your belly button in toward your spine and slightly up toward your ribs.
- Gently press the backs of your hips, lower ribs, shoulder blades, and head into the wall.
- Keep your head in line with your spine and tuck your chin slightly.
WIDE AWAKE AGAIN AT NIGHT? SLEEP STRATEGIES THE EXPERTS RECOMMEND
The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7 to 9 hours of sleep for adults aged 18 to 64, and 7 to 8 hours for those older than 65.
An article in the February/March 2017 issue of Neurology Now magazine about the importance of getting adequate sleep and its affects on the brain relates that sleep “allows the brain a chance to do some much-needed housekeeping”. According to Jennifer Rose Molano, MD, FAAN, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, when we’re sleeping, our brain’s glymphatic system clears waste products that clog the brain by releasing cerebrospinal fluid that flushes toxins out.
So, overall, what can we do to promote better sleep?
The 2012 journal Sleep stated that people – especially women – with insomnia who exercise in the morning rather than in the evening averaged 70 percent better sleep. Dr. Beth Malow, professor of neurology and director of the Vanderbilt Sleep Division at Vanderbilt University in Nashville reports that researchers speculate that morning exercise sets the body’s clock for a day of activity and a night of sleep.
Avoid afternoon caffeine after 3 PM, whether from coffee, caffeinated teas, dark chocolate, or diet drinks.
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine recommends eating a light dinner high in fiber and low in saturated fat.
Cool the bedroom temperature. If the room is too warm, it can interfere with the body’s natural temperature dip and promote restlessness throughout the night. Setting the thermostat around 68 degrees helps create an optimum atmosphere.
Avoid watching television, using the computer, reading a back-lit e-book, or using the telephone for 90 minutes before going to bed. The blue light emitted from an e-book suppresses melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone. When lying wide awake or restless in bed for approximately 20 minutes, leave the bedroom and do another relaxing activity in another room such as reading or listening to soothing music until feeling sleepy again.
Avoid over-the-counter sleep aids that contain diphenhydramine and doxylamine. Older adults who regularly use these drugs show more memory problems and appear to have a higher risk of dementia, according to an Indiana University study published in JAMA Neurology last April. NEVER USE SOMEONE ELSE’S PRESCRIPTION SLEEP AID!
NOT DRESSED, BUT SOMEWHERE TO GO!
This post can be particularly helpful for those of you who are care partners.
The video link below offers tips for assisting a person with Parkinson’s with getting dressed. Hopefully, the suggestions will help readers understand the frustrations that performing activities of daily living can cause all parties involved, and how modifications to clothing and methods of assisting may create less stress.
http://caremap.parkinson.org/dressing
PROMISES, PROMISES…
Have you noticed that some of the hardest promises to keep are the ones we make to ourselves? Lots of those promises come bearing the title “New Year’s Resolutions”. Truth be known, most of us could use some strategies for creating the motivation to KEEP those promises/resolutions that we know are important.
Take heart and take a look at these helpful tips from the National Parkinson Foundation! As for me, at this moment, three cheers for the dog in the cartoon!
IS GETTING OUT OF BED A CHALLENGE??
“If people were meant to pop out of bed, we’d all sleep in toasters.”
– Jim Davis, Cartoonist (creator of “Garfield”)
Tips for getting out of bed: (http://www3.parkinson.org/site/DocServer/Practical_Pointers.pdf?docID=194)
1. Bend knees up, feet flat on the bed.
2. Roll onto your side toward the edge of the bed by letting the knees fall to that side. Reaching across with the top arm, turn your head and look in the direction you are rolling.
3. Lower feet from the bed as you push with your arms into a sitting position.
✦ A straight back chair anchored at the side of the bed or a bed rail can help you roll more easily.
A satin sheet or piece of satin material tucked across the middle of the bed can make it easier to turn over.
Flannel sheets and heavy blankets can make it more difficult to turn over.
Make sure the pathway from the bed to the bathroom is well-lit. A nightlight or a closet door left open with the light on works well.
Keep the bedroom floor clear of things that could cause tripping and falling. For example, don’t leave shoes, books or papers on the floor.
