Community News
Benefits of Light Therapy

Combat the winter blues, circadian sleep disorders, jet lag, shift work adjustment and low energy with the Day-Light Classic therapy lamp. Healthcare professionals recommend bright light therapy as the #1 line of treatment for seasonal affective disorder (seasonal depression). Carex bright light therapy lights meet the guidelines set by the Center for Environmental Therapeutics. The Day-Light Classic lamp is the best on the market in treating Seasonal Affective Disorder, as it provides the maximum dose of 99.3% UV-filtered white light and projects light from above for effective therapy.

Seniors and Stress Chronic

Chronic stress is harmful to people of all ages, but its impact on older adults can be particularly severe, increasing the risk of age-related diseases, hastening cognitive decline, and even triggering falls. Stressors that are common amongst the elderly include loss of control, personal loss, declining health, financial worries, personal safety, and loss of independence. To reduce stress, get regular exercise, eat balanced meals to ensure the mind and body are properly fueled, and ask for help. Talking with a trusted family member, friend, or healthcare professional, at the very least, releases pent-up stress and may even lead to a solution.

I Can Hear, but Cannot Understand

Age related hearing loss or presbycusis, is one of the most common types of hearing loss. Typically, presbycusis affects a person’s ability to hear high frequency consonants like s, sh,th,f. Consequently, speech may seem muffled and the person may feel like they can hear but not understand. When the auditory centers of the brain are not stimulated properly, they can weaken over time. This results in a decline in a person’s speech processing ability. Fortunately, high frequency hearing loss can be improved with hearing aids and the sooner you start wearing them the better. Unlike devices from decades past, today’s hearing aids are programmable to provide amplification for the specific sounds that you’re missing.

Laser Therapy for Quitting

Quitting smoking can be difficult and those who are looking to kick the habit can often use all the help they can get. Low level laser therapy (soft laser) can be a safe, affordable, and effective tool. Laser therapy sessions can help you quit smoking by addressing all three parts of addiction: physical, psychological, and detoxification. For the physical aspect, laser therapy helps stimulate key neuro-chemical pathways to produce endorphins and curb nicotine cravings. Laser therapy sessions can help with relaxation and allow you to focus on the psychological reasons for nicotine cravings, and as part of the sessions, detoxification techniques can also be discussed.

Words to Live By

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent van Gogh

New Year, New Opportunities

With all of the gatherings, parties, and festivities happening over the holidays, being single can feel frustrating when you’re surrounded by happy couples. But with a new year comes new opportunities to make a connection. Everyone is looking to start fresh with the coming of the new year, whether it be getting their health back on track, making a change in their career, or finding someone special to share their time with. Be open and optimistic when it comes to love in the new year, and consider working with a professional matchmaker to get the results you want.

What is Your Mouth Telling You?

The state of your mouth can offer valuable insights into your dental, oral and overall health. Any bleeding when you brush your gums is a sign that you should see your dentist. Unhealthy gums can affect your overall health. Atherosclerosis, clogging of the arteries, has a strong link to gum disease. Pain on biting might mean a cracked tooth. Sugar sensitivity usually indicates a cavity. Tenderness to cold might just need a change of toothpaste. Tenderness to hot is likely to be more serious. The only way to find out, for sure, what’s going on is to see your dentist.

Book Review: Spiritual Direction

Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith. by Henri J. M. Nouwen. Beloved author, priest, and internationally recognized spiritual master, counselor, and guide—offers gentle wisdom for universal questions of the spiritual life: Who am I? Where have I been and where am I going? Who is God for me? Where do I belong? How can I be of service? As a priest, pastor, and professor of spirituality Nouwen offers spiritual direction in a book of profound wisdom for living a deep spiritual life.

Thai Massage for Healthy Joints

Healthy joints move in distinct patterns that include flexion and extension, left and right lateral flexion, and left and right rotation. When we have a poor posture or live sedentary lives and fail to move through our full range of motion regularly, the muscles of the torso become rigid and resist healthy movement. This can result in joint pain, headaches, poor sleep and stress or anxiety. Thai massage reactivates each joint by moving them through their respective potential movements. This movement helps lubricate the joints by improving the flow of lymph, synovial fluid, and cerebrospinal fluid which, in turn, increases muscular relaxation and elasticity and reduces the effects of adhesions.

Benefits of Practicing Gratitude

Research has found that people who practice gratitude consistently sleep better, have lower blood pressure, exercise more, have fewer aches and pains, and feel more alert, optimistic and alive. Socially speaking, grateful people are more outgoing, and they’re less likely to feel lonely or isolated. Feeling grateful, especially when you’re dealing with life’s challenges, takes effort. Here are some ways to cultivate your sense of gratitude: Keep a gratitude journal, write thank-you notes, live more mindfully and practice meditation. Cultivating gratitude takes time and practice, but the longer you do it, the more physical and psychological benefits you may see.