Tammie's Take~

Sharing The Best/Worst Of My World and Pittsburgh, Too

You are here: Home / Home

Age Well With These Life-Loving Tips

Reviews · 

Pexels

No one wants to get any older but, unfortunately, it is something that we can’t ever escape from. There’s no way you can stop the clock from ticking! Getting older is something that most people dread, all because it means they will lose their youth, vitality and good looks. I’m sure you already know that there are ways you can hold onto your looks for a little bit longer, thanks to the likes of Botox and other cosmetic procedures, but that can hardly be described as aging gracefully. In fact, it can be all too easy to become reliant on these kinds of procedures. Before you know it, you might end up looking like a walking Barbie doll! So, if at all possible, it is always best to try and age gracefully.

Don’t forget that your looks shouldn’t be the only focus of aging gracefully, though. There are also a few other practical considerations to take as well, which can help you enjoy a happy and financially independent life later on.

So, ready to age well? These tips that will encourage you to love your life can really help.

Pexels

Think About Retirement

Have you already thought about your retirement? Of course, this point isn’t to do with any anti-aging tips – it is one of the more practical steps that you need to take to help you age! It is crucial that you start saving well in advance for your retirement so that you are in a better position to continue enjoying a comfortable life once you stop working. You will probably already be aware that the best way to do this is to set yourself up with a pension. If you are in full-time employment, then your employer should offer you a workplace pension. It’s also a good idea to find yourself a private one as well so that you have as many savings to dip into as possible.

Consider Your Future Care Options

As well as getting your financial situation all ready for your later years, it’s a good idea to put a few plans in place regarding any care that you might need. Bear in mind that you might get to the point where you are unable to live on your own, so it’s a good idea to have something organized. Otherwise, you might not be able to make the decision for yourself, and might get placed somewhere against your original wishes. Spend some time looking at the likes of McKnight Place and similar care homes so that you know the kinds of options open to you. Once you have an idea of the kind of care you would like to receive after retirement, it’s worth letting all your family know your wishes.

Always Wear Sun Cream

Do you want to try and hold on to your youthful skin a little while longer? If so, the best thing you can do is to always apply sun block. Hopefully, you already apply it on very sunny days when the level of UV is very high. That way, you can reduce your risk of developing skin cancer. That’s not the only reason you should wear plenty of sun cream, though. Blocking all that bright sun from your skin will reduce the development of wrinkles and age lines too. Don’t just reach for the sun block in the summer – be sure to wear it on days that don’t seem that sunny as well. That’s because UV can still be in the atmosphere even when the sun is blocked by clouds. It’s a good idea to find a moisturizer or makeup products that contain SPF and that way, you don’t have to wear any sun cream as well.

Pexels

Use Face Creams That Contain Retinol

One of the best anti-aging tips that I have ever received off anyone is to use face creams and serums that contain some levels of retinol. There has been lots of dermatological research carried out that shows retinol can actually reduce the appearance of very fine age lines and wrinkles. They can also stop them from forming in the first place as well. In fact, many dermatologists believe that retinol is so important in women’s skincare, that most of them should start using it once they hit thirty. That way, they don’t have to be too worried about any wrinkles from developing prematurely. So, if you have recently been thinking about getting some new face creams, it’s worth looking at the label to see if they contain retinol!

Pexels

Get To Know Your Family Doctor

Can you remember when the last time you visited your doctor was? If it was a long time ago or you can’t even remember, then it’s worth booking yourself in for a checkup. This gives your doctor the chance to examine you and speak to you about any unusual symptoms that you might have been experiencing lately. Once you hit middle age, it is crucial that you have an annual check-up. You will find that the more often you go to your doctor, the better relationship you will have with them. You’ll be able to quickly trust them and won’t be too embarrassed about discussing your symptoms. That’s super important when it comes to your health because going to the doctor’s about a symptom early on will give you the best chance of getting an early diagnosis for any potentially dangerous health conditions. And that should improve your chances of a full recovery.

Get Into The Habit Of Walking

It is always necessary to lead an active lifestyle. Not only will this help you maintain a healthy weight loss, but it can also be the best way to bring down your blood pressure and control your blood sugar levels. Don’t worry if you aren’t the fittest person there ever was, and you don’t fancy doing any strenuous exercise or sports. There is a different way to get active – you just need to start incorporating plenty of walking into your daily routine. Walking is a great way to increase your activity. It doesn’t matter if you have no fitness experience, as walking is gentle enough for everyone. Plus, you won’t need to buy any expensive gear or equipment to do it. If you live quite close to your place of work, why not try walking to it? That will save you the long traffic jams or smelly public transport you usually experience on your long commute!

Pexels

Keep Topping Up Your Liquids

Everyone needs to keep on drinking plenty of water, especially in hot weather, but this is a really important point the older you get. As we get older, our body can lose fluids a lot easier than when we are younger. So be sure to keep sipping on water through the day. This will provide you with plenty of energy and it can also reduce any feelings of fatigue and tiredness as the day wears on. Not only that, though, but you need as much water in you as possible to help your skin stay plump and supple. It can help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and will also keep bags under your eyes at bay.

Treat Others How You Would Want To Be Treated

Once you get to a certain age, you’ll realize that there is no point in holding grudges. We are all just people after all, and it is much better to try and be civil to people even if we can’t be friendly with them. One good way to help you live like this is to remember that you should treat others how you would want to be treated. You will find that doing so can help you live a happier life too as it won’t be filled with so much anger and bitterness. It also means you won’t be frowning so much, and that’s good for reducing the effect of wrinkles!

Keep An Eye On Your Diet

It’s always important to have a healthy diet, and this is especially the case as we age. Make sure that you don’t touch any processed foods as many of them can actually speed up the aging process. Instead, you need to be filling your diet with lots of healthy whole grains, fresh fruit, and lean proteins. Once you hit middle age, you might want to focus on foods that promote a healthy heart as well.

Pexels

Use Your Brain

Let’s not forget about your brain! The older we get, it often feels like some of our brain functions start to decline, such as our memory and the ability to concentrate. In some worst-case scenarios, these issues can often be the first symptoms of dementia. Many health experts believe that the best way to protect our brain throughout old age is to keep it as active as possible. There are various ways you can do this, but a daily crossword or Sudoku puzzle should help. Learning new skills, such as a second language, can also be a brilliant brain boost!

Make sure you aren’t caught out by the aging process!

How to Support Elderly Parents without Taking Away Their Independence

Reviews · 

If you would like to help your elderly parent without interfering with their life, still making sure that they are safe at home and can manage everyday tasks, there are a couple of ways you can provide support without invading their space. The worst thing you can do is making them to go to a nursing home and lose the freedom and independence their current lifestyle gives them. Below you’ll find a few tips on how to keep them safe, but let them enjoy independent living.

Image via Public Domain Pictures

Day Care and Activities

It is a good idea to give your older relative a chance to socialize, especially if they are living alone. You can sign up for an elderly day care center that will pick them up a couple of days a week and take them out to the local park or community center. Remember that they will need a purpose in life, despite their reduced mobility.

Home Visits

If your older parent can do most of the things alone, but struggles with cooking and cleaning, you can get a home visitor to come and check on them every day. They can do their shopping, get their food cooked, and have a chat, breaking down the long days. A home visitor can also arrange home maintenance jobs and talk to contractors, so your parent will feel safe and doesn’t have to worry about being cheated or forgetting about something. Check out nursing care options from Riddle to find out more about the personalized packages available for elderly people.   

Granny Annex

If you feel like you’d rather keep an eye on your older relative, you can build a prefabricated home for them on your property. They will be independent, but you can simply walk over or send the kids there to check on them. They can stay independent and feel safe knowing that you are only a few minutes away. If you work from home most of the time, you can also save money on nursing and care costs.

Home Modifications

Image via Pixnio

Sometimes mobility aids and security improvements in the home will make a huge difference in older people’s lives. If you want to help them, get the bathroom and kitchen adjusted to their needs. Don’t forget to install warning bells around the house, if they have a health condition that can cause seizures.

Regular Checkups

It is also crucial that your parent gets regular checkups and their health is monitored by medical staff. They can either visit them every week to take their blood pressure and carry out tests, or you will have to visit a specialist department at your local hospital. No matter which option you choose, you need to take responsibility for keeping the appointments.

If you have started worrying about the health and safety of your older parent, you can help them in a way that you don’t take away their independence and purpose in life. Sit down to discuss their options, and be understanding of their needs.

Ways to Live a Cleaner Healthier Life

Reviews · 

Everyone strives to live a life that is healthy for both the body and the mind, which helps an individual achieve their goals, be productive, and enjoy living to the fullest. However, sometimes, sticking to these aspirations can be difficult when caught up in the whirlwind of modern life. Work, socializing, and family responsibilities can make it hard to take a deep breath and put yourself first, leaving your health as a low priority as you deal with the trials and tribulations of the everyday. This useful guide is packed with helpful ideas on how to make positive changes in your life to have a healthier body and a clearer mind with methods that don’t require a huge amount of effort. By trying out these ideas, you are on the way to creating a happier version of yourself and changing your life for the better.

Getting rid of bad chemicals

A common way of coping with the stresses modern life throws at people is to turn to a relaxing but not very healthy vice, such as smoking or drinking. Smoking, in particular, introduces harmful chemicals into your system, and these can have bad side effects. One solution to this is to try instead vaping, which is not only a cheaper alternative to smoking but also beneficial in the way that it can replace the addictive habit of reaching for your cigarettes but still allows you to relax. There is a lot of research being done into vaping that can be found on sites such as Soupwire which help to dispel a lot of the misconceptions and myths about vaping for those looking to make the switch. Pleasantly as well, vaping also stops the bad smells that occur from smoking staying on your clothes or in your home furnishings and instead, vape juice can come in a huge amount of different flavors that make for a far better experience.

Eating raw

It is often said that we are what we eat and, in this fast-paced world, eating fast food or prepared meals from the supermarket is a tempting and convenient choice for many, but this does not mean it is the best choice. One way of living a healthier life is to consider starting a raw food diet that comes with many unexpected benefits. When cooking, much of foods natural nutrients and goodness is removed, leaving you with only a small percentage of the vitamins and minerals you thought you were eating and, coupled with this, things such as ready meals come with a high content of salt and preservatives that can be damaging to your body. Aside from the obvious physical benefits, a raw diet can be helpful to your mind as well. When you remove something such as excessive alcohol, gluten, or sugar, your mind become clearer and functions better, giving you a mental advantage as you begin to take on the day.

Taking care of your mind

As mentioned above, taking care of your mind is just as important as taking care of your body, but it can be hard to find time to do this. At the end of a long day, there is nothing most people want to do more than sit in front of the television, just like when you haul yourself out of bed in the early morning, you will most likely just want a big cup of coffee, rather than take some time to focus on your mind. An easy way of overcoming this is to begin meditating. Learning how to meditate is incredibly easy and does not take a huge amount of time. Either at the beginning or the end of the day, sit down and clear your mind, take some deep breaths and relax. Allow yourself to feel the stresses of the day wear off as you take five minutes to unwind and reflect upon the day you have just had.

Keeping hydrated

One very easy change everyone can make is to drink more water. It may seem like one of the most obvious changes you can make, and it is, but it is also one of the most important too. There are many reasons to drink more water as it helps both your body and your mind. For example, one such benefit is the multitude of bodily functions drinking more water can positively affect, such as circulation, digestion, and the self-regulation of body temperature, with other benefits including better skin and energizing your muscles. Keeping hydrated with water instead of soft drinks or coffee helps keep the levels of caffeine in your body low as well which limits the chances of headaches and dependency. An easy way to achieve this goal is by buying a two-liter bottle of water and filling it up every day before work and trying to finish it before you get home that evening. Doing so will mean you can clearly see your progress as the day goes on.

Showering every day

Yet another easy way to live a healthier life is to make sure you shower every day. There are many reasons to take frequent showers that can help to improve your health a little bit every single day. One of these reasons is that showers, especially hot ones, help to reduce muscle tension, where most people will physically hold their stress. It will also improve your skin and hair by keeping them hygienic from day to day. The main reason for taking the time to shower every day, however, is to give you some time to reflect by yourself. Of course, as mentioned before, meditation is a great way to do this, but nothing is stopping you doing both! The more time you can dedicate to keeping your mind healthy, the better, and having a long shower every day will give you the chance to both physically and mentally unwind.

This guide will have provided you with some starting points of leading a cleaner, healthier life that benefits both your body and your mind so you can go out and enjoy life to the full.

4 Items You Need To Take With You When Going Hiking

Reviews · 

Hiking involves traversing over a variety of different terrains, so it’s vital that you’re aware of what to expect on each and every route you take, and that you wear comfortable footwear first and foremost. Since you’ll be wearing a backpack for the entire duration of your hike, you’ll have to emit some items and choose only the ones that are going to be the most useful to you. You should ensure that possessions you decide to pack are lightweight so as not to slow you down and tire you out before you’ve finished. Hiking can be treacherous if you’re not experienced, so you must stay as safe as possible and take the recommended essential items with you.

Experience

That’s right, you should take your thinking hat with you when approaching the prospect of hiking, especially if you’re going alone. You will need to think logically, and use your common sense to help you navigate getting around. You should be familiar (through map reading and research) with the paths you’re planning to take, and have a head full of suggestions, recommendations, and advice from experienced walkers and hikers. If you’re relatively new to hiking, then be sure to begin with the simple climbs and work up from there. Hiking in Bryce Canyon, for example, allows you to choose from five trails starting with Navajo Loop and increasing up to the more challenging hikes like Peekaboo Loop and Fairyland Loop.

Maps

If you’ve decided to go off grid for a while, then you’ll have to rely on the guidance of an area map and a compass. Before departing, always make sure that the map you’re using is the newest one to date, and that the compass you’re using is reliable. Track your route as you go, so that you know how far you’ve walked and how many more meters you have to go before you finish or find a camp. This way, you can figure out where you’ll be come sunset, and how to ration food and water if necessary. Keep the maps you use in a waterproof sleeve to ensure that you can use them come rain or shine.

A Safety Box

Inside this box, you should include matches, a windup torch, a whistle, and a first aid kit. Safety is paramount when you’re hiking, and you have to remember that you could potentially run into danger at any time. To signal distress, you should give three short blows on your whistle, and consider starting a fire to alert others to your need for assistance. Ensure that the box itself is robust enough to survive a fall from a height should it be knocked out of your bag and down a rock face, while still being lightweight and waterproof.

Calorie Dense Foods 

Always remember to pack high-calorie foods with you when you set off in search of a hiking and trekking adventure. Routes and trails don’t always go exactly to plan, and you might find yourself lost, or accidentally having added many more miles onto your journey. Pack your bags with enough energy bars to last you for the entire trip, and preferably with ones that contain the likes of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, oats, honey, and dark chocolate.

How to Plan a Successful Hiking Trip

Reviews · 

Nature has so much to offer. Not only does it offer some of the most beautiful landscapes we can enjoy, it is also imperative for our health and happiness. Getting out into wildlife and away from the city is the best medicine for everyone, which is why hiking trips can be so beneficial to our physical and mental health. Planning a successful hiking trip, however, requires planning. The last thing you want to do is go out into the wilderness without adequate preparation, which is why you need to follow these four steps to ensure your next trip is a huge success:

Choose the Best People to Go With

The first thing to planning a successful hiking trip is to go with the right people. The last thing you want is to bring an inexperienced hiker with you, for example, on a multi-day long hike. There are two ways you can choose people to go with you. One, by choosing the hike or hikes you want to do. That way you can go with people who are experienced enough and interested enough to go with you. The other way is to choose the hike based on who is going, so that everyone can enjoy it. Communication is key here, so everyone knows that they are getting into before they go.

Choose The Best Trail for You

Choosing the best trail will depend on many different factors, including:

  1. How long you want to hike for
  2. Your experience level
  3. Where you are hiking

If you are hiking in a national park like Bryce Canyon, for example, it is wise to find the closest lodging in Bryce Canyon to use as your base camp. That way you can enjoy several different routes and enjoy the park as much as you can. If you are hiking in a local area near you, however, choosing one hike can be more than enough. 

Know Where and How to Get a Hiking Permit or to Pay Admission

Depending on the type of park there may or may not be an admission fee or permit you will need to pay for. What this fee does is it pays for the maintenance for the paths you use, and is therefore very important. Sometimes you will need to pay for this pass at the park entrance, other times you will need to pick it up from elsewhere and display it on your vehicle dashboard. Know in advance, so you don’t end up being fined.

Get Your Hiking Gear

Next, all that is left is to bring the right gear and equipment. Good shoes you have broken in are a great place to start. If you don’t have specific hiking clothes, wear layers so you can adjust to the temperature, and bring other necessities like sunscreen, bug spray, and plenty of water and protein snacks to keep you going.

Hiking is a great way to get exercise, experience the most beautiful sights in nature, and bond with your friends or family. By preparing in advance and ensuring everyone going knows what to expect, you can minimize issues and enjoy a successful hiking trip.