Senior Care: What are you planning to do this summer?

Senior Care: What are you planning to do this summer? Written by Stan Lawson of Sequoia Senior Solutions

Whether you are going to stay at home or go adventuring, we have some summer tips for you. But first a few statistics, just to see whose company you are keeping this summer. AARP conducted a summer activities questionnaire in April 2013 to see what Americans’ summer activities would be. Here are some of the results (notice that there is a division between those who are seniors at age 50 and over and the younger group):

Key findings include: 

• Just under half of adults of all ages (47%) plan to take a vacation this summer while about the same number (49%) do not plan to take a vacation.  One in twenty (5%) are undecided about their summer plans.
• When asked how likely they were to engage in that activity this summer, respondents said they were extremely likely or very likely to engage in four activities:

• Visit family or friends (79%)
• Go to or host a barbecue (71%)
• Entertain at home (62%)
• Go swimming or to a pool (56%)

•  Go to baseball game (27%)
• Take an adventure travel trip (26%)
• Go to a concert (25%)
• Go camping or RV’ing (25%)
• Go hunting or fishing (25%)

The study was conducted for AARP via telephone by SSRS, an independent research company. Interviews were conducted from April 17 – April 21, 2013 among a nationally representative sample of 1,000 respondents age 18 and older. Of those respondents, a total of 444 were age 18-49 and a total of 550 were age 50+. For more information, contact Albert Hollenbeck, Ph.D., at 202-434-6280.

Whatever you have planned this summer, here are some suggestions of things you might enjoy doing that you hadn’t thought of:

Blow Bugs Away

Mosquitoes are drawn to the carbon dioxide in your breath. To deflect them, create a patio breeze with an electric fan.

Dark Chocolate

In addition to protecting against heart disease, stroke and other conditions, the bounty of flavonols in dark chocolate may bolster resistance to sunburn and other damage caused by UV exposure. How? Studies indicate these powerful antioxidants increase skin density and reduce roughness by boosting hydration and blood flow to skin tissues. Once again, researchers stress that the benefits come only from dark chocolate — ideally the kind with at least 70 percent cacao.

Explore With a Schoolchild

Map all the playgrounds in a 10-mile radius. Next, make up a booklet with room for notes on each park on your map. See how many you can visit together.

Find Your Inner Pilgrim

The California Missions Trail, a nearly 800-mile route from San Diego to Sonoma, connects the state's 21 Spanish missionary outposts, built between 1769 and 1823. Hike for a day, for a week — or more.

Host a Film Fest

Borrow or rent a digital projector, rig up a screen from a white sheet and then invite the neighbors over for an outdoor movie night.

Seek Out an Old Pal

Check out this video with a new computer application that can help you design a trip, short or long.Recall a great memory you shared together and send a photo, CD or other memento of the occasion, suggests Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean, who has written about falling out with friends. "Tell them, 'We could have that good time again.'"

Sharpen Your Palate

Some cooking schools offer multiday boot camps. A few to consider: the Culinary Institute of America (with campuses in New York, California and Texas); Three Shepherds Farm in Warren, Vt.; and CasaLana Gourmet Retreats in Calistoga, Calif.

Spread Good Karma

A few volunteering options: The American Conservation Experience (help with plantings and trail maintenance at national parks); Kidsave places adoptable children with host families for summer fun; and AARP's Create the Good lets you search for opportunities that suit your

Stargaze

Wake the grandkids at midnight — or have the teenagers wake you — to watch the annual Perseid meteor shower. In the early morning hours of Aug. 11, 12 and 13, hundreds of shooting stars will flash across the sky.

Sweet Potatoes

Few foods contain more beta-carotene, a type of vitamin A known to prevent — or at least minimize — sunburn damage in people who are sun-sensitive. For everyone, though, sweet potatoes have other skin-saving benefits. They are rich in vitamin C and copper to boost

Tote Your Own Shade

Parasols are making a comeback, this time with added UV protection. And even a regular umbrella can block more than 75 percent of UV light.

Undo Sun Damage

Cell-repairing veggies such as tomatoes and broccoli "can help counteract the effects of ultraviolet rays" on your skin, says dermatologist Ava Shamban, author of Heal Your Skin.

For more great information, please come visit the blog at our Sequoia Senior Solutions website.

California Misssions Trail image:http://www.culinarygadabout.com/