Driving Safely - How to Know When It's Time to Turn in the Car Keys

As the bulk of our country's population is getting older, that means the drivers on the road are too. First of all, it is important to draw attention to the fact that just because you are older, does not mean that your driving skills deteriorate. Many people still are great drivers in their 70's and 80's. However, there are some elements that can affect driving skills that you should be aware of as you age.

Physical Changes

Getting older means that your muscles and joints also are older this translates to more muscle and joint aches and pains. If you feel stiff, this could hinder your reaction time behind the wheel. Just think about what would happen if your knee is stiff and slows your braking time. How about a stiff neck or elbows interfering with checking traffic or turning the wheels of your car? Reflexes also get slower as you age, no matter how good a shape you are.

Hearing and eye sight are also physical changes that can make a difference in driving. Some older adults have a hard time with seeing at night while others have trouble with bright lights and sunshine hurting their eyes. Peripheral vision becomes less focused and if you are suffering from any type of eye condition, you could run into problems.

Any number of health conditions that are normally treatable can become problems. A defibrillator could cause your heart to skip a beat or two and cause dizziness just like low blood sugar in a diabetic. Adverse reactions to medications can also trigger health issues. Any number of physical or medical changes can turn an innocuous trip to the corner grocery into a huge accident.

Savvy Driving Advice

Before you leave on a trip, even if it is a quick one, plan your route in advance along with a back-up in case of road construction or other road problems. Avoid highway driving if possible and always add extra time to get where you are going in case of any problems. In addition, only drive when you are fully rested.

During the drive, always wear a seat belt and do not drive with distractions like talking on a cell phone. If you must make or take a call, pull into a parking lot or safely on the shoulder of a road. Leave at least two to three car lengths between you and other vehicles in case there are any sudden stops or traffic problems. You need to leave yourself a way out of those situations. Always have your head lights on and discourage tailgaters by slowing down to let them pass. Do not, however, drive on the shoulder to do so as it can be dangerous.

Keep routine maintenance kept up on your vehicle and make sure that you have all the latest safety features such as air bags. Always have your fluids and tires checked every so often and go in for a full car check-up if you plan to travel for any length of time.

Evaluating your own Driving Skills
Evaluate your own driving skills. Are you becoming more nervous on the roads as you get older? Do you avoid driving unless absolutely necessary? Do other drivers honk at you or have you have some minor dings on your car as a result of your driving? Do family and friends show concern with your continued driving privileges? These are all concerns that can help you decide whether you not you should still keep those car keys.

If you still feel that your reflexes are good and that you can handle being on the roads, look into a roadside club you can turn to in case of an emergency or traffic mishap. Also, check into driver's education refresher courses for seniors to keep you abreast of the latest techniques and tips to keep you safe as an older adult on the road.

When driving is something you need to give up, don't fret. There are plenty of ways that you can still get out and about. Bus lines and taxis are options as are family and friends. There are even senior assistance programs that you pay a nominal fee to that will take you grocery shopping or to the doctor's office. Check with your local senior advocate offices or even your church parish. There are volunteers that would love to help out with driving and errands. There are plenty of options to stay safe and still get around without driving.

How Working Promotes Healthy Aging

Working is a good way to stay on top of your health. Many things about working make a person feel good both inside and out. Knowing that you can do something to make a difference in peoples lives is a great inter feeling.

How does working make me happy?

Working will keep you healthy by keeping you in shape so you can maintain. Working forces the brain to continue processing, which is good when one is trying to say healthy. Work boosts your self-esteem. Your self-esteem when satisfied will be so high you will not know what to do with it. You won't feel depressed, since the stress is less on you. Just knowing that you are going to meet your bills on time will give you a peace of mind.

There is a lot of reason why you should work to stay healthy. Take someone that does not work. These people are always sick and depressed, stressed out and not knowing which direction to turn. However, if they were working they would be feeling like a new person that can walk over a mountaintop. If your working you doesn't have, time to sit and stress over things like paying your bills. You know that you will be able to pay them on time. In addition, you will not be stressing about things that you can't change in life like maybe a bad marriage, or the children moving out of the house. You will be able to go to work and come home a new person and love the change.

What can stress do to you?

Stress can do a lot to your mental as we as physical reactions. You have to be able to control your stress to avoid illness. Being stressed out all the time can cause you to go into a depression and not be able to get out without your doctors help.

When you feel stressed, it often brings you down. You feel worn and often feel like nothing in life will help. Stress begins to burden you, which affects your health and in time, you will not have control if you do not take control now.

Stress will cause you to lose weight or even gain weight. Stress can cause headaches, which seems to continue. As you allow stress to take over, it gradually breaks down your immunity system. This is when you experience sickness, colds, flu etc. Depression follows symptoms appear similar to common stress. At this point the mind takes over, playing tricks to confuse you further.

Some of the things that depression can cause are either too much sleep where all you do is sleep or not enough sleep making it hard to sleep. You will find it hard to achieve a good night sleep. Now we see fatigue during wake hours accumulating.

Some people that are depressed gain weight. Often they sit around sinking in self-pity, which means activities are out of the question. Now the muscles start to deteriorate, since these natural sources need activities to survive. As the depression continues, the person starts binge eating, or not eating enough foods. Now we have a problem, since the intestines, and other vital organs will sustain damage.

The person often feels saggy, Nagy, and unwilling to exercise. Now we have more problems. Can anyone say Hello Obesity? As you can see, in the end it pays to work, since you will feel better about you. The muscles and joints require consistent movement to promote health. Learn how you can keep those muscles and joints happy by learning more about healthy aging.

Preventing Depression in the Elderly

Preventing depression in the elderly individual is closely connected to the symptoms of depression. Recognizing what depression is and what it looks like in an individual will help in preventing it from occurring.

Many symptoms of depression are also seen in disease such as Alzheimer's. What makes them stand out as possible depression symptoms are that they last for more than 2 weeks and are not associated with any other symptom of disease.

The symptoms of elderly depression are:

Irritable or depressed mood

Feeling unworthy or extremely sad

Loss of interest in activities that usually hold their interest

Agitation or expressions of temper

Appetite changes, typically a loss in appetite

Unintentional weight loss or weight gain

Daytime sleepiness

Difficulty falling or staying asleep at night involving multiple waking, or early morning awakenings and then not being able to go back to sleep

Fatigue not associated with a cause (medical, travel, disruptive noise etc.)

Difficulty concentrating on tasks or conversations

Memory loss not associated with disease

Excessive or inappropriate guilt

Unusual or obsessive thoughts of death

Thoughts or talk concerning suicide

Making plans to commit suicide (thoughts, actions or speech)

Recognizing the signs or symptoms of depression is just the first step to preventing depression in the elderly. Making sure that social support networking is in place before depression sets in as well as being a part of treatment for depression is the next step in preventing depression. Support groups can help individuals to deal with loss, life changes and loneliness when these things occur and also to prepare individuals for the likelihood that these events may occur and give them coping skills to learn before they are needed. There will be times though when recognizing the signs or networking for support cannot prevent depression from happening.

A key component to preventing depression in the elderly is to encourage the social support network. The network can consist of many activities such as family gatherings, neighborhood events, and senior activities within the neighborhood. Encourage those activities that are of interest to the person so as to make them feel alive and happy again with their lifestyle. Address each symptom in this manner so that a solution is found either by the person or by those who love and care for the person and can encourage them to do these activities.

Things the individual can do:

Volunteer as a way to meet others, and to give back to your community or to an organization that has perhaps been helpful to you in the past and also to do this to keep your mind sharp. Volunteering will give meaning to your life and a reason to get up and start your day.

If you have experienced a loss (spouse, adult child, and best friend) seek a support group for those with similar experiences for support.

Learn a new hobby or activity that will challenge you.

Take good care of yourself (meals, personal hygiene, and exercise).

Ease yourself into any major changes that you foresee happening in the future (prepare).

Things those who care about the elderly individual can do:

Invite them to social event, family dinners, church or other community event.

Ask to help with housework or to take them shopping and make an afternoon of it by going out to lunch before shopping.

Call them on a regular basis to find out about how their day is going or what they plan on doing over the weekend.