Thanks to the advent of spring, we’re enjoying warmer days with more hours of daylight. Few things are more pleasant than heading outside for a few hours of relaxing in the sunshine.

While you enjoy the sunny afternoons, don’t let the sun catch you or the special senior in your life with your guard down. Protecting yourself from the sun is incredibly important. Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers, and overexposure to sunlight can increase your risk of developing cataracts. Even milder sun ailments like sunburn and dehydration can be unpleasant. Remember these tips to protect yourself and your loved ones from the sun and heat.

- Wear sunscreen and lip balm with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher that protects against UVA and UVB rays. As we age, our skin’s ability to repair sun damage declines, so this is incredibly important. Try to apply sunscreen about an hour before going out, and reapply every two hours.
- Cover your skin with hats and long sleeves. A hat with a broad brim and clothing that is closely-woven provides you with your own portable bit of shade.
- Wear sunglasses that have at least 99 percent UV absorption. This will protect your eyes from bright light and wind, in addition to protecting you from increased risk of developing cataracts. Sunglasses that wrap around protect your eyes from all angles.
- Protect yourself from the sun even on cloudy days. The sun doesn’t feel as hot when its cloudy, but the UVA and UVB rays still shine down and get absorbed by your skin.
- If you’re particularly sensitive to heat, avoid going outside during the hottest hours of the day, and seek out air-conditioned environments.
- Remember to drink plenty of water. Feeling thirsty isn’t actually a reliable indicator of dehydration—by the time your brain signals thirst, your body may already be dangerously dehydrated. Eating fresh fruit and vegetables can help you keep hydrated.

As long as you take protective measures, spending time in the sun can be a blast. Enjoy the warm weather!

When someone close to you requires memory care, it’s important to look for assistance that is family-centered. Memory loss and dementia are family illnesses—they affect the family, not just the senior resident. With this in mind, the best care will keep loved ones involved in the resident’s care.

Families play a vital role in the well-being of seniors with memory loss and dementia. Emotional, social and developmental support cannot be found just through dedicated and skilled care. Family-centered care helps maintain the dignity of both individuals and their families.

By ensuring that families stay involved in the care of their loved ones, family-centered care allows patient and family perspectives, including values, beliefs and cultural backgrounds to be incorporated into the planning and delivery of care. Family-centered care also enables a strong base for communication in which health care practitioners share information with both patients and their families. In the case of memory care, it’s incredibly important that families receive timely, accurate information about their loved ones.

If someone in your family has memory loss or dementia, you and the rest of your family also require compassionate care as your family changes. The best care is available when residents, their families, staff and the surrounding community work together to build a warm, intimate environment that celebrates the dignity and individuality of each resident, while upholding the family networks that love and care for them.

AlmaVia of San Francisco is proud to provide family-centered care, and strives to meet the needs of residents, families and staff. For more information about our programs, visit http://www.almaviaofsanfrancisco.org.

Osteoporosis, or the gradual thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density over time, is a disease that can lead to increased risk of fractures, particularly those that occur in situations where healthy people would otherwise not break a bone.

The National Osteoporosis Foundation uses the month of May to spread awareness about osteoporosis. The disease is often preventable and manageable, and information is the first step towards ensuring good bone health.

Although lifestyle changes can often prevent osteoporosis, it is still a common disease. Estimates suggest that half of all women and up to one in four men older than 50 will eventually break a bone because of osteoporosis. Breaking a bone, especially when you’re older, is serious and can be very painful.

Detecting osteoporosis is difficult without a bone density test. It is important, once you’re older, to have your bone density tested every few years, or more often if your tests score low in density.

Luckily, osteoporosis prevention has much in common with many things we consider important to our general health. Getting enough calcium, vitamin D and regular exercise is important for your bones. Eating fruits and vegetables, in addition to having many other health benefits, can also help prevent osteoporosis. Treatment for osteoporosis can vary based on sex and age, but medication and nutritional intervention have both been shown to be effective.

Bone health is important, no matter your age. This May, speak with the seniors in your life about the importance of good nutrition and bone density scans, and make sure to examine your own health habits to see how you can further prevent osteoporosis.

At AlmaVia of San Francisco, we provide residents in our Assisted Living program with reminders and transportation so they are able to keep their regular doctor’s appointments—critical to maintaining good health.  For more information on our Assisted Living program, please call us at (415) 508-5500, or by email at info@almaviaofsanfrancisco.org.

Anyone who’s ever had a bad night’s sleep can understand how vital sleep is to one’s overall health. Those who experience sleep insufficiency are more likely to have chronic diseases such as diabetes or depression, and continued lack of sleep is closely associated with anxiety, pain, and distress. A healthy adult should get seven to nine hours of sleep per night, but we often struggle with getting the right amount.

Sleep problems are common, especially among seniors and those who take care of them. As we age, the way we sleep changes. The deepest sleep, slow wave sleep, becomes shorter and more elusive. By the age of 70, nighttime sleep shrinks to an average of just 6.6 hours per night. Here are a few tips that might help seniors get a better night’s sleep—and can help you catch a few quality z’s as well.

First of all, if the senior in your life is able to exercise, keeping physically active is one of the best things people of all ages can do to help them sleep at night. Even taking a walk every day can help. Studies have shown that doing some light stretching before bed improves sleep as well.

When you’ve slept badly, it’s tempting to doze in the middle of the day. Especially among seniors who aren’t very active during the day, naps can steal sleeping hours away from the nighttime. Try and limit naps to no more than 30 minutes during the early afternoon.

Eating a light evening meal and cutting down on liquids during and after dinner can also help reduce middle-of-the-night trips to the bathroom. Coffee can help you feel alert during the day, but consuming too much can leave you wide-eyed when it’s time for bed. Comforting foods like bananas, toast, or oatmeal are actually beneficial as late-night snacks before bed—the carbohydrates and potassium help release sleep-inducing brain chemicals.

Troubled sleepers of all ages can benefit from developing a calming nighttime routine that is free from worrying tasks. Leave stressful tasks like filling out insurance forms or organizing schedules for other times of the day. When you try to move directly from an involved activity to sleeping, it’s no surprise that it takes a while for your mind to slow down! Instead, take some time to relax before bed, and create an environment that is slightly cool, quiet, dark and comfortable for the best sleep.

For more information about sleep disorders, sleep health and sleep safety, visit the National Sleep Foundation’s website at http://www.sleepfoundation.org/.