By Teresa Carr
Adams County Senior Council
What a wonderful time we had at the Adams County Fair’s Senior Citizens Day event. Thank you to the Adams County Regional Medical Center for hosting the event and booking local entertainment. Everyone had a great time!
Please join us for the Ribbon Cutting of our Pickleball Court on Friday, July 24 at 11 a.m. The “Pickle Patch” will be free and open to all ages in the community from dawn to dusk. Thank you to the private donations and funding from Creating Healthy Communities and the Adams County Health & Wellness Coalition, that this vision has become a reality.
Taking Care of Yourself – Laughter for Good Health – Laughter clubs offer laughter yoga which is a combination of yogic breathing and laughter, as a mind-body approach to wellness. Laughing is a natural cleansing process. You don’t have to be genuinely happy to reap the physical and psychological benefits of laughter. Even in the saddest situations, it will enable the body to deal with emotional pain better because unexpressed emotions are released, rather than keeping them bottled up inside. Its core premise is that your body can and knows how to laugh, regardless of what your mind has to say.
Because it follows a body-mind approach to laughter, participants do not need to have a sense of humor, know jokes, or even be happy. The invitation is to “laugh for no reason”, faking it until it becomes real. Laughing is an easy way to strengthen immune functions, bring more oxygen to the body and brain, foster positive feelings, and improve interpersonal skills. Visit www.laughteryoga.org
From the National Institute on Aging – Healthy Aging Highlights: Osteoporosis
Although osteoporosis can strike at any age, it is most common among older people, especially older women. White and Asian women are most likely to have osteoporosis. Other women at great risk include those who:
• Have a family history of broken bones or osteoporosis
• Have broken a bone after age 50
• Had surgery to remove their ovaries before their periods stopped
• Had early menopause
• Have not gotten enough calcium and/or vitamin D throughout their lives
• Had extended bed rest or were physically inactive
• Smoke (smokers may absorb less calcium from their diets)
• Take certain medications, including medicines for arthritis and asthma and some cancer drugs
• Used certain medicines for a long time
• Have a small body frame
The risk of osteoporosis grows as you get older. At the time of menopause, women may lose bone quickly for several years. After that, the loss slows down but continues.
Also, some men may get osteoporosis. In men, the loss of bone mass is slower. But, by age 65 or 70, men and women are losing bone at the same rate.
State HEAP applications are still available at our agency for the 2017-2018 winter season. We have an aide to assist any senior 60+ with filling out the applications for State assistance only. Please call the agency if you have any questions or to schedule an appointment.
Just A Thought: “The sun himself is weak when he first rises, and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on.” — Charles Dickens