Whether it's walking in the park, enjoying outdoor picnics, attending baseball games, or going swimming, summer includes countless fun pursuits. What's more, summertime involves various traditions, such as traveling to favorite vacation destinations, watching Fourth of July fireworks, and attending family reunions. For older adults, missing out on summer’s fun can create feelings of isolation and loneliness.

June marks the return of two annual calendar events: the first day of summer and National Safety Month. While most of us often associate winter’s snow and ice with accidental injuries, certain summer conditions pose potential risks as well. With sunny days and warm temperatures drawing us outdoors, here are seven precautions older adults can take to protect themselves from harm this summer.

Sunset Communities, in cooperation with the Jewish Living Center of Greater Toledo, will be holding a luncheon presentation of the film, Lives Well Lived, on Tuesday, May 14, 2019. The feature documentary film celebrates the incredible wit, wisdom, and experiences of older adults who are living life to the fullest. Through their intimate memories and inspiring personal histories, forty people ages seventy-five to 100 share their secrets and insights to living a meaningful life.

Moving into a new home is usually exciting, but it can sometimes prove emotionally challenging. The process involves abandoning parts of your past—and leaving a place where you made countless memories. Moving to an assisted living facility can be additionally tricky because it means acknowledging that we're getting older and that we might require help with certain activities.

By 2020, the national average cost for a private room in a nursing home is projected to be approximately $9,000 per month. At that rate, an extended stay in a long-term care facility could drain a person’s savings in a hurry. There are insurance products that help pay long-term care costs. But premiums can be expensive, and the policies often limit the types of care covered.

Experts use the term dementia to describe a deterioration in mental skills required to perform daily activities. Symptoms of dementia include memory loss, behavioral changes, and disorientation. Alzheimer’s disease is by far the most common form of dementia, with more than 5 million Americans living with the condition.

There is no cure for dementia, nor absolute treatments to slow its progress. However, there are ways to manage its various symptoms.

In the early 1990s, Bill and Julie Thomas began developing a new approach to elder care. Their cutting-edge method, now known as The Eden Alternative, gave nursing home residents greater privacy, independence, and control over their lives. With the goal to improve the wellbeing of older adults, The Eden Alternative aims to eliminate what Bill Thomas calls the “three plagues” commonly found in senior living facilities: loneliness, helplessness, and boredom.

Sleep is essential to human life, and a good night's rest has significant effects on our ability to carry out daily functions. Getting an appropriate amount of sleep enables us to concentrate and remain engaged in various settings. But as we age, many of us experience difficulty falling—and staying—asleep.

Aging Americans lose an estimated $36.5 billion each year to financial scams—and deceptive activity is especially high during the winter holiday season. Many older adults are trusting individuals with good credit and savings in the bank—qualities that make them likely targets for financial fraud. What’s more, scam victims are often too ashamed to report the crimes, making law enforcement efforts extra difficult.

Providing care for an aging family member is almost always a difficult task. The challenge is often intensified when you must be a long-distance caregiver.