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The Journey Out
The Journey Out Podcast is a podcast designed to be the helping hand for everyday people who are on their Exodus Journey!
You were designed for a purpose and many times, just like Moses, we need a burning bush or sign from God that it is time to leave, or journey out, from what we are used to, to be propelled to where we are called to be.
Join us for engaging, informative and resourceful conversation ranging from healthcare to entrepreneurship to family values.
The Journey Out
Healthy Aging: Living Well at Every Stage Episode 1: How to Stay Active & Independent as You Age
What's the secret to maintaining your independence as you age? It's simpler than you might think. Mobility equals freedom, and in this kickoff episode of our "Healthy Aging: Living Well at Every Stage" series, we dive deep into practical strategies for staying active, independent, and safe throughout the aging process.
Did you know that adults lose 3-5% of muscle mass each decade after age 30? This gradual decline makes movement increasingly essential as we grow older. The good news? Just 15 minutes of daily physical activity can dramatically reduce mortality rates, extend life expectancy, and even cut Alzheimer's risk by up to 50%. Whether through chair exercises, gentle resistance training, or simple walking, consistent movement builds the strength and balance necessary to prevent falls and maintain independence.
We debunk the harmful myth that falls are an inevitable part of aging. One in four adults over 65 falls each year, but most of these incidents are preventable with proper strength training and home safety modifications. Falls often become devastating turning points that dramatically reduce quality of life and independence, making prevention absolutely crucial. We share practical home safety tips like removing clutter, installing grab bars, improving lighting, and wearing proper footwear – small changes that make big differences.
For caregivers struggling to support aging loved ones who resist help, we offer strategies for encouraging movement and independence while ensuring safety. Remember that adaptive tools like walkers and canes aren't signs of weakness – they're powerful tools that extend independence. Being proactive rather than reactive about aging allows for early intervention and better outcomes. Start small today with just one positive change, and join us for our next episode on brain health and preventing memory loss!
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Hello everybody and welcome back to the Journey Out podcast. Today we have a new series that we want to get into, so let's just hop right in. What is home care? How do I navigate health care?
Speaker 2:What do I do when I feel down and depressed? I'm stressed. Am I enough? What?
Speaker 1:can I do? What is this going to cost? Okay, before we hop into our first series that we're going to present to you guys today, I want to make sure that you guys are following us on all social media platforms so you can get all of us on YouTube, facebook, instagram, wherever, at the Journey Out Podcast. On Instagram, it's the Journey Out Pod, but just be sure to follow us, like, comment, subscribe to our YouTube channel. That way, you don't miss anything that we talk about.
Speaker 2:And if the content is good, share it.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Share it. If you get value from everything that we talk about, please share it to someone who could benefit from it, because, again, the reason why we're doing this is because we are journeying out Exodus from one spot to the next, and so, in order to do that, we have to have a team, a community, and be able to kind of share content. That makes that journey a little bit easier. So, with that being said, we're going into our very first series, and this series is called Healthy Aging Living Well at Every Stage, and so, on this episode, what we want to talk about is how to stay active and independent as you age, and I know that is a really hard thing for a lot of caregivers right now who are caring for their loved one and they're aging and they're like girl, I'm not exercising or I'm not going outside, and so we have to remember that staying active keeps us independent as we age, but also mobility equals freedom.
Speaker 1:A lot of times we have families that come to us and, of course, we do the home care side. Of times, we have families that come to us and, of course, we do the home care side, and so we have families like I don't need nobody here Five hours a day or every single day. I don't need anybody here, I can do it on my own. I've done it on my own all this time. But as we age, we tend to realize that we get weakness. Statistics show that after age 30, that you know we get weakness. Uh, statistics show that after age 30, adults lose three to five percent of muscle mass per decade, making making movement just more essential to our everyday life. So, with that being said, if you don't want anyone in your home and you want to be able to care for yourself and be as independent as possible, we have to start moving well, I'm guilty.
Speaker 2:All right, I need to exercise. Um, it's, it's, it's. I guess you need to be. Uh, what's the word? Right, I'm looking for proactive proactive, intentional and disciplined that's the word you have to be disciplined on your day-to-day and what you need want to do yeah, to make your make longevity in your life, to make you healthier right right like you said, a lot of people that we take care of and serve they say, hey, I don't need help, right, five hours a day, four hours a day, what they gonna do during this time.
Speaker 2:Well, that helped for that. Four hours a day, what that does. We're not trying to take away your independent right.
Speaker 2:No, we're trying to enhance the quality of life. Yeah, and we're trying to keep you independent as long as possible, with that assistance of serving you on a daily basis. Right, with that being said, there's no need to be afraid, there's no need to be ashamed, right, there's no need to worry about it, right? These things that we're going to tell you today, according and also with this series, is going to help you in the long run.
Speaker 1:It will. It's important that, as a caregiver, you're encouraging your loved one to continue to have movement because if they can grow stronger bones and stronger muscles which lower the risk of falls and fractures. A lot of times when we're coming into the homes, we're coming in because of those instances Mom or dad had a fall, mom or dad broke their hip or whatever that may have been. Well, what kind of seems to go in one ear and out the other is, if something like that happens, your independence has been taken away from you. You're no longer able to live that quality of life that you had before that incident. Right, and so, because of that, if you have, be preventative, be proactive. We can increase your likelihood of lowering those risk of falls, because falls does not don't happen because of your age. Everybody does not fall just because they're 65 and older.
Speaker 2:And you just said uh, 30 percent uh yeah uh, 30. Adults over 30, yeah, lose three to five percent of their muscle mass exactly so it's it's, it's something that's is inevitable.
Speaker 1:You can't really control it, uh, but there's things you can do. Getting moving, getting active, that can reduce that also. You have better cardiovascular health so it can reduce the risk of heart disease if you get out and start to move. I know a lot of our seniors today are dealing with copd and and heart disease and just all of these different other things that can combine into one, uh, and so it's really important to just get out and start moving. It also improves flexibility and balance, so better posture and coordination oh, that's one of the big things that falls well, this is from on me right now, you know, I cannot even cross my legs any.
Speaker 1:Instead, yeah, because again you lose you get stiff.
Speaker 2:And you, if you say kind of sedentary yeah, you get, and if you don't, if you don't use it, you lose it.
Speaker 1:That is true, uh, we do see that a lot of times with our bed bound clients, right right If they're in the bed, and so let's talk about this, since I'm bringing that up. A fall occurs, right. So say, for instance, you didn't break anything, just lethal, right, it's okay, you're fine. But you have a fall in and now you're in a position where you're at the hospital. Where are you? In a hospital bed.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:You're in there, probably about a week, maybe two weeks, depending on the severity of that fall, and then they say you need to go to rehab, right, and go to rehab and exercise. Okay, now you're in the. And then they say you need to get, go to rehab and go to rehab and exercise Okay.
Speaker 2:Now you're in the rehab, where are you?
Speaker 1:Where are you again? You're in the hospital.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're in the hospital bed and rehab. They try to get you up and be more active, but you're in the hospital bed.
Speaker 1:Sometimes what we have seen is after that fall after that rehab stint it is so much harder for them to get their quality of life back and get that strength back that they are now confined in some cases right, and so because of that, with that they're not, it's hard for them to sit up on their own, so now they aren't able to get into a sitting position like the laying position.
Speaker 1:It works best because they're not strong enough to sit up on their own so it really is important that we are exercising and improving our flexibility and balance, because, one you know, for the balance piece, it'll stop those falls, but also in the in the event something were to happen, you can spring back a little faster right and shout out to those uh rehabs and hospitals that that's doing a wonderful job.
Speaker 2:yeah, but in this, in this case, like she's saying, hey, one thing happened that can change your quality of life Right One fall. It don't have to be major, but it can change your quality of life to where you're not as independent as you once was.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. And then the last thing it can do is improve your mental health. So you get a big mental health boost. You lower your risk of depression and dementia. So there is a fact that regular physical activity can reduce the risk of alzheimer's by 50 and extend life expectancy by several years. And so again, that's just simply doing what chair exercises but check this out.
Speaker 2:So it you said with the alzheimer's piece. So it also say just 15 minutes a day can reduce immortality and increase your odds of living longer with the health of your life.
Speaker 1:Exactly.
Speaker 2:Especially after 60.
Speaker 1:That's good, and it's really. And it's not like we're asking you to go run a marathon or encouraging your loved one to go out and jog up and down the street. No, like, literally, as you age age, you aren't able to do certain things. So there's things that you can incorporate, or simple exercises that can maintain the mobility and the strength of your loved one, uh, rather than just like exhausting them, you know so one of those would be chair uh chair exercises, especially those who have limited mobility, like it's super important to meet them where they're at.
Speaker 1:Like I can't tell my 83 year old grandmother let's go sprint around the track.
Speaker 2:Let's go bench press 350 like we can't do that, so you have to meet them where they're at, so with our grandma.
Speaker 1:What we do is chair exercises, so seated leg lifts, or the arm circles you know that they do or like marching in place, things like that. You just keep your body going and trying to maintain their mobility and strength.
Speaker 2:And also that can help your balance, especially with your core. Right, that helps you Right.
Speaker 1:But say, for instance, you have a loved one that is kind of a little bit more active. They're able to get around, able to move. Maybe now they can do some body weight strength training. So maybe there are some squats to a chair, so they're like standing up and they're squatting into a chair, or maybe they can just push off the wall and do some wall push-ups, or maybe they're even some resistant band uh exercise. They can do like have the band and just go like this and move it around, and things like that. That's super important.
Speaker 2:Um again, building mobility and building the strength and let's go from here just say, for instance god forbid, you have had a fall, you can get physical therapy right to come in home health physical therapy to come in and assist you with some physical therapy at home, where they start their exercises and help your loved one on their day-to-day to strengthen themselves, to get back to uh some uh level of independence right also, let's go to the home care side.
Speaker 2:The home care side when you have uh caregivers, come in to help and assist you with activities a day to live in. They can also do some exercises with you, like this chair exercises could be great yeah uh.
Speaker 2:Also, if you didn't know, it's apps out there, right, if you're at home, it's apps out there that can help you with your daily exercises. One is muscle build booster app, uh. Then another one is workoutout for Older Adults. These apps are great for you. Please do your own research on them to see which one benefits you the best, yeah, and then even like YouTube too.
Speaker 1:They have wonderful senior exercises and stuff like that, so you can always find something. But speaking of like when physical therapy or home care is coming in to assist with this.
Speaker 1:they can help with things with balance and stability. So maybe that's like standing on one foot or the heel to wall or Tai Chi or something If they're able to do it, they can do that or stretching flexibility. So just make sure they have a good stretching routine and things like that, just so they can still be nimble limber. What is the word Limber right, is it?
Speaker 2:limber, nimble, nimble. That's the word, one of the words. You know what I'm trying to say. You know what we're saying. We're trying to be flexible. Okay, that's what we're trying to say More flexible.
Speaker 1:So, again, doing it about 10 to 15 minutes a day can have big impact on them, and so it, and that we're continuing to do that. But I think one of the big things that we face in general is avoiding falls and injuries. I think that's something big that we see all the time. A lot of times when we're coming to a situation, a fall has happened and so we're kind of behind the eight ball now. So now we're trying to repair what already has happened, and so for that I want to give some safety tips for our family, caregivers and for the loved ones who are listening, that could help kind of avoid those falls and injuries.
Speaker 1:Do you or your loved one know of someone who needs a home safety assessment? Well, look no further. Pc Home Health is here for you. Do you want to stay at home and age in place safely? We got just the thing for you. Our safety evaluation includes inside, outside the home, laundry rooms, bedrooms, attics, kitchens, lighting, fire safety you name it. We can do it. So please give us a call at 214-991-5619 and get your home safety assessment scheduled today. Again, your loved one needs to be safe in their home, and if they want to age in place we can help them do it safely.
Speaker 1:Be proactive, not reactive um, so for home safety, uh, I would definitely want to remove clutter first, uh, and also tack down any loose rugs, if the roads can be tacked down. I know it's just part of the decor, but you want to give it, get, uh, get it up because it's, you know, decor, when we want the home to look nice but at the same time we want it to be safe for them. And if it's just safer to get the rug up, then do that if it can be tacked down. And, you know, flush, uh, flush with the floor that's good.
Speaker 1:Uh. Also, installing grab bars are like just a huge game changer. It's something so small. Uh, you can get the ones um from like the walgreens cvs walmart, or you can get them um installed by like a construction team or something like that either way, but they're.
Speaker 2:You have those, uh, sticky lights. Yeah, you can probably stick on the wall, put a battery in it and it's a motion detection light that lights as well.
Speaker 1:That's perfect, um, but with those grab bars, you want them to be in areas where they'll need it the most.
Speaker 2:Where they were falling is going to be, you know, it's where falling it happens the most, so bathrooms yeah, yeah, bathrooms, uh hallways, If, if you're loving this, getting up at nighttime, going to the kitchen or to the bathroom or something like that, Uh, those uh a good place to have those. I like the motion lights, you know uh accessible to where. If they walking by, they give them some light so they can see where they're going.
Speaker 1:Right, right, right and then also wearing the right shoes. So non-slip, supportive footwear for stability is super important. We don't want I don't know, some shoes are made different but there's some shoes where I'll walk on towel and I'm like about to slip and I'm like I know I have traction, but it's just not suitable for this floor type, right? So just making sure that the shoes are non-slip and are supportive of their feet if their feet are hurting. We don't want to want to put them in shoes that you know make their feet hurt or cramp or whatever you want to make them feel comfortable, right, but then we don't want too big of a shoe as well right, and some people do have a bigger size shoe because of swelling in the ankles and the feet Right, understandable Right.
Speaker 2:But you don't want them too big to where they flopping off because that could be a tripping hazard as well.
Speaker 1:As well. And then the last thing I want to kind of cover that's super important is that if there is a fall, your loved one should know how to get up the correct way, right, right, because it's a really tricky task. Sometimes they fall and they're like, oh, I'm okay, and then they get up, but they're not getting up in a proper way and can fall again, or at that time they can't actually injure themselves in the process. So if there is a fall, it's important to remind your loved ones to stay calm.
Speaker 2:Some seniors have as calm as possible.
Speaker 1:yes, yes, calm as possible. Some seniors have those life alert necklaces and things like that. Some carry their phone on them, but if they're in a position where they cannot contact anybody, what they want to do is make sure they roll into their side If they're not injured, roll into your side and then use furniture for support to get you up. Now, not just not the little uh, you know tray tables that you put your food on. That's not sturdy. But if there's some good, sturdy furniture that's next to them, they can get up using that with support. But if you do know that your loved one deals with falls kind of frequently and they're not able to, you know they're kind of weak, they're not able to kind of get up on their own and things like that to kind of get up on their own and things like that. It is very important to have those like life alert buttons or something around that can assist them and someone that can get to them as quickly as possible possible to get them off the floor.
Speaker 2:Is there some like a life alert? Watch too, yeah, wristband or something.
Speaker 1:Technology has come a long way, so there's like watches and rings and like, but like just different things that you can get impressed. So, but like just different things that you can get impressed.
Speaker 2:So you know they can. Someone can get alerted that they are on the floor and get them up safely. And if push comes to shove, let a caregiver be your eyes and ears Right To assist them and be there to watch them for you.
Speaker 1:Right, and it's just important to know. Like one in four adults over 65 fall each year, but most falls are preventable with strength training and safety precautions in place year. But most falls are preventable with strength, training and safety precautions in place. And so, again, just because they're older does not mean they're going to fall or they're supposed to fall. That is a myth. That's not true. If falls are occurring, there is a problem there, and so we got to make sure that we're looking at, uh, medication, possibly vision, possibly the safety, uh, the safety of the home, like we have to look at all those different things to make sure that they're being safe and that we can prevent those falls as much as possible. So, final tips, any takeaways that you want, want to give them.
Speaker 2:Be proactive, yeah, be proactive in your loved ones care, right, we all get old, right, we all get old. Right, we all get forgetful, we all lose muscle, they say.
Speaker 2:But muscle mass three to five percent once we get over the age of 30. So, for us, being proactive is starting to exercise Right, taking that 10 to 15 minutes a day to do something that's going to help your body gain its muscle or keep its muscle, so it won't if you lose it. If you don't use it, you won't lose it in that way. Also, again, keep an eye on your loved ones, on your, on your, on your grandmothers, on your mothers and your fathers and your grandfathers, because as they do age, things get a little complicated balance it could be off a little bit. So keep them active also so they can do things, encourage them to be active so they can do things to keep their independence.
Speaker 2:But you, as someone that is watching that or taking care of your loved one, you need to be proactive and watch them to say, ok, hey, is mom and dad doing better? I hear what they say on the phone. I know they went to the grocery store the other day and they drove, but have you gotten in the car with them and watched them drive Right? Have you came in to see them how they put up the groceries? All this? You have to be proactive because it's options out there to help them. Right, you can have somebody come in your home and assist them with these things, drive with them to get care, I mean to get groceries, uh, to help them put the groceries up meal prep, medication, man, the whole gambit. But you, as uh a son or a daughter that's taking care of a loved one, you have to be active as well right and and also I would just say, to start small, I mean you don't.
Speaker 1:you don't have to give them a whole exercise regimen and get the. But you know, start small, start small. Just hey, let's just go on a walk me and you, or you know time where you guys can bond, but also you can kind of get a feel of what you were saying, like what is their day-to-day? Like when do you see that they may need help? But I also say, embrace adaptive tools, which is a really hard thing for our seniors because again, sometimes they're like I'm okay.
Speaker 1:I don't want my friends to see me with a walker. I don't want my friends to see me with a cane. I don't want. But we have to embrace those adaptive tools because they're there to keep us safe. They're not a sign of weakness. They're not a sign that you're different from your peers. They're not a sign of anything. What it is is you can't get your life back Right, and so I might have to use this cane around here, but at least I'm walking.
Speaker 2:At least you're still independent. At least I'm still standing Right, At least you're still yes.
Speaker 1:So that's super important. So I know a lot of families do deal with them saying that, and so we have to remind them. Hey, your life is worth more than the potential shame that you might feel using that tool, but we the potential shame that you might feel using that tool, but we care about you and we want you here and you don't want to.
Speaker 2:I would rather you use the Walker or cane. Uh, because you don't want to have another fall again, because that next fall can put you further back.
Speaker 1:And they really are a tool of independence. They that they keep you independent, and so that's super important to remember. But I think overall, we just want to make sure that what y'all take away from this is to stay active, make sure that your loved ones are moving. You're encouraging your loved ones to move. Remind them that movement is medicine. Also, making sure that we're focused on balance and strength training to prevent falls, to make sure that people are staying strong and healthy as they age as best as we can. Make sure that people are staying strong and healthy as they age as best as we can. Also, that it's important to make your home as safe as possible for your loved ones tacking down rugs, adding those grab bars, adding some improved lighting to kind of make the space look bigger and they can see visually. And just to get started today, do one small thing today. Go on a walk or do something like that. That can just encourage that movement today.
Speaker 2:And I know this is a lot of information that you probably get In this series. You will have more information that we're going to be tagging along. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. Also, home safety tips that's a great thing. Tell them about the home safety tips where, hey, if you feel like, hey, I want to be proactive, let me make sure my loved one is living, the home is not cluttered, the lighting is right for them, they have a grab bar. Tell them a little bit about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so there are home safety assessments that you can have done on your home, where there is someone coming in and they can do a full 240 point inspection of the home. They're done by home safety advisors. Antwana and myself are some home safety advisors and if you're in the area or you need something, reach out. We can definitely kind of point you to in the direction of some. But, yes, they can come in and do a whole 240 point inspection of your home to ensure it's safety for your loved ones and from there you know you'll get a full breakdown and kind of work through the process of what's needed, what, what can I get right now? What can I get started and then kind of go from there.
Speaker 1:But, yeah, so that is a great tool that you want to make sure that you're utilizing for your loved ones. But we have more to go in this series. Next episode we'll be talking about brain health and preventing memory loss. So please, please, please, stick around, stay tuned, like, follow, subscribe and share so that you don't miss any of the good tips that we have for you guys.
Speaker 2:And with that, I hope this information was valuable to you. I hope this you now can become a resource to your family and to your community. We thank you all. We out Bye.
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