Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s
AGING NEWS
- Stay Safe This Winter
- 911 Telephone Available
- Senior Prom Air Dates
- Grocery Store Survey Scam
- Eat Mindfully This Holiday Season
- Music Classes at DCC
- More Aging News Online
Golden Living . . . News for Senior Citizens
Mary Kaye Dolan-Anderson, Director
Dutchess County Office for the Aging
STAY SAFE THIS WINTER
Winter officially begins Monday, so this is a great time to go over some of the tips for staying safe this winter. As we age, the body’s ability to respond to long periods of cold weather diminishes. This can sometimes be exacerbated in older adults by medications or chronic illness. Try to stay indoors during extreme cold and don’t ever use an oven or other open flames to heat your home. If you qualify, heating assistance is available through our office using the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP).
In conjunction with the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, the county offers a free program called “Are You Okay?” Once a senior signs up with the program, a computer will call their home at a time they designate each day. If no one answers, the computer will call their emergency contact. If that person does not answer, the Sheriff’s Office will dispatch a unit to check on the resident. Applications are available on our website or by calling our office.
911 TELEPHONE AVAILABLE
The Sherriff’s Office can also provide senior citizens with a free 911 cell phone that can be used both inside and outside the home in an emergency. These phones are only able to call 911 and will not work for other calls. Call (845) 486-3839 for more information about receiving a phone and how the program works.
Seniors who are homebound can receive telephone reassurance through the efforts of trained volunteers with the Friends of Seniors program. After an assessment of the client’s needs, the isolated senior is connected with a volunteer who makes telephone contact. Volunteers are always needed for this program and the transportation services provided by Friends of Seniors. Call them for more information at (845) 485-1277.
Seniors who live alone should also consider a Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) which can offer them peace of mind should an emergency occur. There are a variety of different options available, but the general idea is to have assistance standing by at the touch of a button 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Information about all of these programs can be found in our brochure “Staying Safe at Home” which you can find on our website, or request one be sent to you by calling (845) 486-2555.
SENIOR PROM AIR DATES
The Office for the Aging’s 20th annual Senior Prom will be broadcast on Time/Warner’s Poughkeepsie Public Access Channel 23 several times this month. Produced again this year by True Video Productions, the program runs two hours long and includes highlights from the October 19th event, including the crowning of the 2015 Duke & Duchess of Dutchess County. Airings will include today (Sunday, December 20th) at 11:00 a.m. and Monday, December 21st at 4:00 p.m. Watch the Channel 23 schedule for more airings over the next few weeks.
The Senior Prom will also be broadcast on Public Access of Northern Dutchess Area (PANDA) channel 23 during December and January. Air dates for January include:
1/16 @ 7AM
1/17 @ 4PM
1/19 @ 5AM
1/20 @ 10AM
1/23 @ 8AM
1/24 @ 1PM
It can also be live streamed from their website (www.pandatv23.org/ ).
Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, 27 High Street, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601, telephone 486-2555, email: agingservices@dutchessny.gov website:http://www.dutchessny.gov/CountyGov/Departments/Aging/AGIndex.htm
GROCERY STORE SURVEY SCAM
The Office for the Aging has become aware of another scam operating in the area targeting seniors. A local senior was approached inside a Poughkeepsie supermarket by a gentleman who offered her $40 to take a 20 minute survey of her shopping habits. He identified himself as working in conjunction with the store and told the senior to come out to the parking lot with him to take the survey in his car where they could sit. The senior was skeptical and declined the survey. She reported the incident to the manager of the grocery store who told her they were not working with any survey company. Seniors should be wary of anyone offering them money or prizes to take a survey. Report any suspicious activity immediately to the proper authorities.
This Holiday Season, Eat Mindfully
It’s the holidays and for most Americans, that means eating – lots of eating – followed by weight gain and a New Year’s resolution to lose weight. The American Heart Association recommends a healthier approach to eating during this holiday season and beyond by incorporating healthier food options into your routine, and avoiding mindless eating or eating when you’re not hungry. Recognizing and planning to avoid these common eating habits can help people manage their weight.
“The secret to mindful eating, and staying fit, is using your brain to plan, plan – and plan some more! Being mindful and planning for behaviors, thoughts, emotions and triggers related to your eating can allow you to maintain a healthy regimen for life,” said Lubna Somjee, PhD, Clinical and Clinical Health Psychologist and Executive Coach in the Hudson Valley.
Some people eat healthy meals three times per day with healthy snacks in between. But for many, habits like binge eating, emotional eating, nighttime eating and mindless eating can put people on a path to weight gain and obesity.
Binge eaters, who eat a lot of food in a short time period, are able to control portions sometimes but lose control at other times—it’s not a healthy habit especially if you have diabetes.
Emotional eaters eat when they feel upset, angry, sad, lonely or fearful. These emotional triggers lead to eating high fat, sugary or high calorie comfort foods. But learning healthier ways to react to your emotions, and time, can help. Emotions usually don’t last long — often just 10 minutes to an hour — so you only need to distract yourself from eating for a short time, until the emotion passes.
For many people, dinner is only the start of their nighttime eating. While there’s nothing wrong with a healthy snack such as fruit, plain popcorn or whole-wheat toast with a little jam a couple of hours after dinner. However, nighttime eating is a problem when you eat large amounts of food or foods high in fat, sodium and calories like cookies, chips, full-fat ice cream, sandwiches or leftovers.
Mindless Eating
Mindless eating is consuming food just because it’s there, eating while distracted – watching TV, working at a computer or texting on our smartphones. It’s eating for emotional comfort instead of for hunger. Simply put, it’s not paying attention to what we eat which can lead to being overweight and even obesity.
Awareness
When you pay attention to what you’re eating, you can make small changes that make a big difference. Here are some tips toward a more mindful approach:
- Control portions. Especially during the holidays, know that you’ll have more opportunities to eat festive snacks and desserts. You don’t have to deprive yourself, just eat smaller portions and less often.
- Eat when you’re hungry. Just because the clock says noon doesn’t mean you have to eat. If you’re not hungry, wait until you are – just don’t wait until you’re famished because you might overeat. Also, don’t eat just because the food is available. Learn more about why you might be eating when not hungry.
- Plan. Prepare healthy snacks throughout the day. If you tend to get hungry between meals, bring along a 200-calorie, whole grain, high-fiber snack. Fiber keeps you feeling full longer. Learn how a little planning helps your heart, and your budget.
- Slow down. Enjoy each bite and put your fork down while chewing, then take a drink between each bite. This gives your body enough time to trigger your brain that you are satisfied (not necessarily full).
- Pay attention. Do not eat in front of the TV or computer, or while standing in the kitchen or talking on the phone. When you do these things, you’re more likely to lose track of how much you’ve eaten.
- Use technology. As we continue to become increasingly distracted by modern technology, our focus on health can fall to the back burner. But it doesn’t have to be that way. “We can actually use our smartphones and other electronic devices to help us,” said Platt, a volunteer with the American Heart Association. “There are now apps that manage food records, count calories, help you track what you eat and even provide guidance on healthy food choices at the grocery store and restaurants.”
- Keep a food diary. Write down everything you eat, look at it, then identify why you ate it – was it hunger, stress, boredom? Then look for areas you can make adjustments and incorporate healthy changes. “Keeping a food diary is really key to awareness,” Platt said. “Most people are surprised at all they’ve consumed when they review what they’ve eaten.”
Eating healthier is just one lifestyle change you can make to live a heart healthy life. More than 80 percent of heart disease can be prevented by simply lifestyle changes. Learn more atwww.heart.org/gettinghealthy .
Music Classes for Seniors at Dutchess Community College
It’s never too late to enjoy learning a new musical instrument or return to an instrument studied years ago. Older adults find that music lessons are a great way to stay mentally active. Music is known to be therapeutic and a great way to keep one’s mind young!
The Music School at Dutchess Community College (DCC) offers a variety of music classes and lessons of interest to seniors beginning in January 2016. Most classes are held on the DCC campus in Poughkeepsie and St. Peter’s School Convent. Here are a few you may be interested in. Instruments are required!
- Introduction to Guitar Mondays, 2/8-4/18 Adults, Teens, Children
- Jazz Ensemble Mondays, 1/11-3/21 Adults and Teens
- Ukulele Beginners Fridays, 2/19-4/22 Ages 10 to Adult
- Mandolin Beginners Fridays, 2/19-4/22 Ages 10 to Adult
- Beginning Violin Tuesdays, 1/12-4/5 Adults 18 and Up
How about 10 sessions of family fun! Kindermusik is a music program for you and your young grandchildren up to age 3. Enjoy musical activities together. Classes are Fridays or Saturdays, 1/30-4/15. This class will also make a wonderful gift to your grandchild. Scholarships are available for eligible low-income families.
The Music School at DCC also offers individual lessons in all instruments and voice, group classes in guitar, violin, cello, mandolin, ukulele, and voice, and jazz and chamber groups. For the senior discount for ages 65 and above, a photo ID will be required. For more information on any of these programs, please call
(845) 431-8916 or go to
www.sunydutchess.edu/continuingeducation/musicschool
MORE AGING NEWS ONLINE:
Seniors Who Head Back to School May Reduce Dementia Risk
12/11/2015 12:00 PM EST
Mentally stimulating activity can enhance brain function, researchers say. Source: HealthDay
THE NEW OLD AGE
A Prescription for Confusion: When to Take All Those Pills
BY PAULA SPAN
Complicated drug regimens cause many older patients to throw up their hands. A few simple fixes could help solve the problem, experts say.
Study: Cancer is just not bad luck
| KRON4.com | – Dec 20, 2015 |
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That’s what the authors of a new study in the journal Nature argue. External factors such as exposure to toxins and radiation are a major risk factor in developing cancer, the new study says.
Spending time and having fun with Pets offers a lot of health benefits
| Echo Examiner | |
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Have you ever noticed that you tend to feel better after having a good time with your well-loved pets? Well, there are reasons behind this as a new conducted research points out that pets can actually enrich our well-being in a lot of ways.
Researchers find 4 Genes linked with extreme longevity
| Northern Californian | |
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Secret to longevity lies in your genes, says a new study. Researchers from Stanford University said that they have found four genes linked to longevity.
Regular Coffee consumption is linked to lower death risk
| West Texas News |
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Researchers conducted a decade long study in US and discovered that people who consumed coffee everyday showed less chances of dying due to many causes, like heart disease and diabetes, in comparison to the ones who didn’t consume coffee at all.
ALZHEIMER’S NEWSLETTER: http://act.alz.org/site/MessageViewer?autologin=true&em_id=205074.0&dlv_id=232967&utm_campaign=enews-2015-12-21&utm_medium=email&WT.mc_id=enews2015_12_21&utm_source=enews-aff-118
ARTHRITIS NEWSLETTER: http://view.em.arthritis.org/?j=fe831277716d077572&m=fe921570726c067f7c&ls=fdfd10707366057d74137672&l=fec015727c630c79&s=fe191174726601747c1376&jb=ff301573776d&ju=fe2e157273650274711474&r=0
Joseph A. Ryan
Outreach Coordinator
Dutchess County Office for the Aging
