Category: Health and Wellness

Is Health And Fitness The Business Niche For You?

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Health/Wellness. A major business sector is health and fitness. If run properly, these businesses can be very lucrative business niche for those who run them. The following contributed post is entitled, Is Health And Fitness The Business Niche For You?

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Pixabay. CCO Licensed.

Health and fitness has become a huge industry in the last couple decades. If you’ve been considering starting a business within this niche, here are just several tips to help you succeed.

Choose your business angle

There are many different roles that you can take up within the health and fitness sector. You could become a personal trainer, you could start your own gym, you could start your own nutrition class or you could invent a fitness gadget (that’s only a handful of the options). Consider where your strengths lie.

Find your sub-niche

Health and fitness is one of the few sectors where it really benefits to specify in order to help you stand out. If you’re becoming a personal trainer, you may want to cater your training to a specific type of fitness – this could include long-distance running, strength training or weight loss. You could even cater to a certain group such teenagers, pregnant women or people with disabilities. The same applies to nutrition or fitness tech.

Get educated

Being an expert in your field is important both for providing the best service and gaining trust from customers. By getting educated, you can feel confident knowing that you’re qualified. You’ll find all kinds of specific courses such as physical therapy courses and macrobiotic courses online. Take your time to compare courses so that you’re getting the best education for your needs. Online courses have the advantage that they can be studied around other commitments.

Do your competitor research

Whatever sub-niche you get into, you’re likely to have competition. Researching your competition is important so that you can find a way to single yourself out. Don’t get too caught up trying to offer the cheapest service – think about what will make you unique. For instance, if you’re starting a gym, you could try investing in unique gym equipment, hosting unique classes or offering unique benefits to members (some gyms offer discounts to local services or even give out free wearable tech to loyal members).

Invest in marketing

Marketing is how you will attract customers in the first place, so it’s worth investing money into a variety of marketing channels. This could include designing a website, printing off business cards, trying SEO, getting involved in social media marketing and even designing your own app. Word of mouth is also a valuable marketing strategy and it could be worth dedicating time to networking to build connections.

Lead by example

Health and fitness is more than an occupation – it’s a lifestyle. You need to be an inspiration to the people that you’re marketing to, which means keeping in good physical shape and taking on healthy behaviours. Make sure that you’re committed to such a lifestyle and that you’re not simply going through a fitness phase.

Three Times in Life When You Should Definitely Call Your Attorney

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and key focus is Health/Wellness. Throughout our lives there are times when unexpected things occur. Typically we think of illness, but there are also unforeseen legal crises. These crises require competent legal counsel. The following contributed post is entitled, Three Time in Life When You Should Definitely Call Your Attorney.

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Sometimes life can be really challenging. When you find yourself in deep water, it can be hard to know when you should try to sort the situation out yourself, and when you need a lawyer in your corner.

Even if you are well aware that a lawyer’s help would be to your advantage, the high fees can be difficult to afford when you are already in a sticky situation.

Sometimes it does make sense to handle things for yourself. But in other more complex situations, it would be a mistake not to hire a legal professional. But how are you supposed to tell which situation falls into which category? These cut-and-dry scenarios will help you make an informed decision.

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You Are a Victim of Defamation

In the legal world, defamation law refers to the area of law which deals with people’s reputations, be it online or in the real world. If someone is publicly attacking your character, it can be extremely harmful for your future, so it’s important to take it extremely seriously. You can’t just tell someone to take back what they wrote about you in the newspaper or online because people have a right to express their views. Even if they did remove the article, you can’t be sure that there are no existing copies. To mitigate the damage that has been done and prevent no further damage to your career and financial future, it is essential that you get a lawyer’s help. An internet defamation attorney can help with one of the most tricky defamation cases, as they specialize in the removal of damaging online material.

You Are Charged With Criminal Activity

Even if you are completely innocent, being charged with a crime is one situation in which you absolutely must pick up the phone and call a lawyer. Do this before you speak to anybody else, as your words can be twisted by the accusers to be used against you. Do not—under any circumstances—make an attempt to defend your own case without the aid of legal representation. Even something that seems like a minor accusation can potentially impact your future in many negative ways that you haven’t even thought of yet. Everything from immigration to getting a loan to invest in property one day depends in some way on having a clean criminal record, so if you have been charged with a crime, it is imperative that you get a lawyer to help you clear your name.

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A Passenger Was Hurt When You Crashed Your Car

If you were unfortunate enough to have been involved in a motor collision while driving and somebody in either your car or the other vehicle was hurt in the accident, you will almost certainly need a lawyer. Legal representation becomes essential if the fault for the accident is assigned to you. This won’t necessarily mean that it was your fault, per say. It simply means that based on the evidence available to the insurance companies and police on the scene, you were the driver with the greater duty of care in the crash situation and are therefore liable. This is a complex situation with extremely serious consequences, so it’s important to have a good lawyer on your side.

Deciding whether to hire a lawyer is not always easy, but sometimes the decision is clear. These situations require a lawyer almost every time.

Making life A Little Easier When You Have A Disability

A key focus of my blog is Health and Wellness. Living with a disability can have its challenges depending on the nature of the disability. Regardless of what it is though, it’s not the end of the world and there are things you can do to increase your quality of life. The following contributed post is entitled, Making life A Little Easier When You Have A Disability.

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Having a disability, no matter what it may be, can have a huge effect on you as a person. What many people don’t realise is a disability doesn’t have to be something they can visibly see. People can suffer from chronic pain without even indicating to anyone else they are in need of help. People can suffer from a mental disability as well as any physical symptoms. So we must all remember to be aware of this when thinking about such subjects. With that in mind, here are some of the ways you can make life a little easier when you have a disability. Or perhaps you can take this on board if you know someone who is struggling.

Image source – Pixabay – CC0 License

Make changes in the home

The first thing anyone can do is make a change in the home. This may be to just help yourself or others. It can be as simple as keeping things in easy reach or accessible. It might mean changing the layout of your home and having a bedroom or bathroom downstairs. You might want to consider calling in companies who can fit special access to the upstairs. Making things accessible in the home will make life that little bit easier. Examples of this could be a lift to get you to each floor, or a chair lift that can take you up the stairs. Grab handles in bathrooms and kitchens and also help with different furniture.

Add some normality

There is a real need for you to ensure that there is normality to your day and one of the best ways to do that is to try and consider keeping things working, and also to encourage others struggling to get back into the workplace. Letting employers know the circumstances is vital, so that changes can be made to help. If you feel that you can’t return to the job that you once did, then you could reach out to Disability Employment Providers and perhaps start a new journey on a different career path. Life can go on with some sort of routine and working environment.

Stick with routine

It is also important for you to stick with a routine. Your lifestyle may have changed quite a lot, but that doesn’t mean to say that you can’t develop a new routine to suit your new normal. It is also something to encourage others to do if you feel they are struggling, isolating themselves or even spending a lot of time on their own. A routine can be a simple as going to the shops on certain days, heading to work, having food and visitors. Stick with something that works for you and embrace it as much as you can.

Enlist the help of friends and family

Sometimes it can be in our nature to not want to share our problems with anyone. Through fear of being a burden to someone. But in this instance, this is the wrong thing to do. Telling friends and family your situation can make things much better for you. They can help by visiting, picking things up or offering cooked meals on a day that it might be a struggle. The family doesn’t care about materialistic things, all they are bothered about is your well-being. So let them help. It might be worth offering your help out to others if you notice that they seem to be struggling in silence.

Make things easier on your finances

Some people with disabilities are entitled to additional funding. Of course, this might not be for everyone, but it is always worth checking what you may be entitled to. Perhaps your disability has caused you to leave your job or unable to earn any money. This is when the government can step in and help you out. Perhaps you need a carer; this is again another situation where funding might be available. However, some people don’t agree with having help. It is all down to your opinion and how you feel about it.

Accept the help on offer

Finally, don’t be afraid to accept any help you are offered. This might be through the hospitals for extra care and medical attention. This might mean funding or advice about getting back into the workplace. It might be as simple as your neighbour offering you up some food. Don’t be too proud to accept help. If the shoe was on the other foot wouldn’t you be the one offering? Don’t be afraid to make life easier on yourself.

Let’s hope these suggestions and ideas help you or someone your know that may need help to make their life a little easier.

Parental Alienation: Helping Men Stay As Fathers

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and a key focus is Health/Wellness. Despite current beliefs and trends, it’s most healthy for children to grow up with both parents. To reverse these trends, it’s important to think about what can be done to keep fathers around. The following contributed post is entitled, Parental Alienation: Helping Men Stay As Fathers.

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No one ever hopes to go through a divorce but in modern society, divorce seems to be just as common as marriage. When this does occur, legally, it seems like there is a flaw in our system. Just 18% of fathers are given custody of their children. That’s a shocking statistic when you think about it. Fathers have to fight for the right to see their own children and still remain a positive force in their children’s upbringing. Anyone can see from a mile away that this is not fair. Regardless of what the parents feel about each other, the children should not be deprived of seeing both parents equally. This isn’t about the father versus the mother, it’s about giving our children a good upbringing and being a part of their lives without it being unfair for one side or the other. Parental alienation is almost exclusively felt on the father’s side, so what can we do about this?

Realize what fathers are

Both men and women bring different qualities to a child’s life. We often talk about great mothers are in the mainstream media, but we never get to hear how good an impact the father can have too. Fathers are known to teach children about hard work and standing up for themselves. Life lessons that will serve children well throughout their entire life. However fathers are also more likely to teach kids about finances and how they should take care of the money they earn. Mortgages, investments, pensions and much more are often discussed between fathers and their sons or daughters. Fathers also are more likely to teach their kids to be hardy, to tough it out and be strong. Although mothers can also do these things, it’s fathers are usually play this role in our children’s lives.

Not just a paycheck

Not only do fathers have to fight for their right to see their kids but very often, the family courts turn them into walking talking paychecks. However you never know when you’re going to fall on hard times and if you’re barely making enough to support yourself, paying child support could push you below the poverty line. If you need help to perhaps lower the payments you make speak to a child support attorney who is a specialist in this field. They know the rules around this like the back of their hand so they can find a way to explain to the courts in a convincing manner of your situation. No father wants to see their children go without, but it’s also not helpful to be so hounded for money that you end up going bankrupt.

A distant figure

Fathers can be great forces in their children’s lives but if they are away from them for too long, they simply become a distant figure. It’s much harder to re-enter their lives when they’re grown up than it is when they’re small. So fathers should not give up the fight in the courts and make sure they get to raise their kids.

Parental alienation is a big problem all throughout the Western world. It’s not good enough that just 18% of fathers get child custody rights. We must realize that fathers play a huge role in the upbringing of children and cannot be replaced by the state.

5 Signs You Need To Think About Improving Your Health

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and a key focus is Health and Wellness. Maintaining and improving your health, is a key component to a successful and prosperous life. The following contributed post is entitled, 5 Signs You Need To Think About Improving Your Health.

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Image by skeeze from Pixabay

One of the hardest things to do during your adult-life is to think about your health. Although you may feel as though you don’t need to make any changes when it comes to staying on top of your health, there are lots of reasons why you should be making it your main priority. Whether you’ve had a recent health scare or you’re experiencing lots of health-related issues, you need to ensure you’re doing all that you can to look after yourself. With that in mind, here are 5 signs you need to think about improving your health:

  • Someone In Your Family Has Suffered From Bad Health

If you have someone in your immediate family who you know has suffered from health problems that are hereditary, you need to think about whether or not this can impact your future. Although it is not written in stone that you will have the same issues, you need to think about what you can do to prevent them from having a serious effect on your life. If it helps, it might be worth speaking to your doctor about any preventative measures you can take. To find out more about hereditary illness, you can visit this site here.

  • You’ve Had A Recent Health Scare

If you have had a recent health scare, it’s definitely a sign you need to be doing more to look after your health. Whether this means improving your diet or ensuring you get regular exercise, you need to be sure you’re doing everything you can to live a healthy lifestyle. For tips and tricks when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, you can visit this site here.

  • You’re Experiencing A Lot Of Issues

If you find you’re experiencing a lot of major (or even minor) health issues, it’s definitely time to start thinking about what you can do to improve your health.

Although some issues cannot be helped, there are lots of things you can do when it comes to working on your overall healthy lifestyle. Whether that means working with a macrobiotic counselor or finding yourself a personal trainer, you need to ensure you’re making changes for the better.

  • You Want To Improve Your Overall Health

One of the most obvious reasons to improve your health is because you want to start leading a healthier lifestyle, of course. If you have started to notice that you’re spending a lot of time eating out and drinking, or you think your exercise routine is starting to slip, taking the time to look at the potential changes you could make could be the motivation you need to live a healthier lifestyle.

  • You Want To Encourage Others Around You To Be Healthy Too

Finally, if you want to encourage your friends and family to live a healthier lifestyle, you need to look at whether or not you’re being as healthy as you can be first. After all, you may find that you need to lead by example in order to encourage them.

Are you worried about your health? What lifestyle changes could you make to ensure you’re being as healthy as you can? Let me know your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.

4 Awesome Ways To Start Your Day Off Right

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and a key focus is Health/Wellness. Starting you day off right can set the stage for the rest of its success. There a couple of keys to starting your day off right. The following contributed post is entitled, 4 Awesome Ways To Start Your Day Off Right.

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The way you start your day can have a massive impact on how the rest of the day goes for you. If you start it lethargic, snoozing your alarm, and dragging your feet, you can pretty much guarantee that the rest of your day will go the same way. Here, you’ll find 4 awesome ways to start your day off right. Take a look and you’ll take control of the day ahead of you.

  1. Get Hydrated As Soon As Your Feet Touch The Floor
    Set yourself up for your morning the night before by leaving a pint of fresh water by your bed. Drink it as soon as you get up. Not only will this wake you up and help you to rehydrate after a night of sleep, it’ll kickstart your good habits for the day ahead.
  2. Make Your Bed
    Making your bed will give you a feeling of accomplishment before the day has even begun. It sounds too simple to work, but it’s one of the best things you can do to start off a series of wins for the day.
  3. Get Some Exercise
    Whether you choose to run, pilates, or swim doesn’t matter. What matters is that you get your heart rate up a little and you enjoy it. This warms up your body, including your brain, and helps you to prepare yourself for whatever the day throws at you.
  4. Fuel Your Body Right
    The whole ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ thing is a myth. However, fueling your body right with lots of micronutrients is the perfect way to start the day, so how about a cold pressed juice?


credit to goodnature.com

5 Ways To Reduce Workplace Injuries

Three of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Health/Wellness. Depending on which industry you’re in, there can be a lot of potential for workplace injuries. Figuring out how to reduce workplace injuries, can ultimately save you money and increase the morale of your workforce. The following contributed post is entitled, 5 Ways To Reduce Workplace Injuries.

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Pixabay – CCO Licensed

It’s essential that your workplace is a safe environment for employees. Accidents will happen in almost all trades – even if there aren’t any obvious hazards – but you should still try to minimise the risk, if not to protect your employees, to at least protect your company from the threat of a lawsuit. Here are just a few ways in which you can reduce workplace injuries and keep it a safe environment.

Point out hazards with signage

The easiest way to prevent injury is to clearly point out hazards with signage. Such hazards could include anything from a hot water tap to a low ceiling. In the case of multiple hazards, don’t be afraid to provide a large informational sign or even a manual to make guides aware of multiple hazards. It could also be important to provide temporary signage such as wet floor signs when mopping.

Supply safety equipment

Safety equipment such as these men’s work boots could also be necessary for reducing injuries. By making it mandatory to wear such equipment, you can ensure that employees are physically guarded against dangers. There could also be tools such as step ladders and fire extinguishers to consider.

Introduce health and safety protocols

Health and safety protocols require employees to carry out tasks in a specific way. This could be something as simple as how to safely carry a box to something complex such as how to put out a kitchen fire. Try to introduce a series of steps that employees have to follow and make sure that employees carry out the task in this exact order so that no step is missed out.

Train your employees thoroughly

There’s no point having protocols in place if you’re not going to train your employees how to perform these protocols. Make this a vital part of your training whenever you hire a new employee. Refresher training could also be worth undertaking with older employees to ensure that they’re still doing everything correctly and not cutting corners. Certain aspects of health and safety such as fire safety or using heavy machinery may even require enrolling employees on a course.

Supervise hazardous tasks

If you have the manpower, it could be worth having employees supervise one another when carrying out particularly hazardous tasks. For instance, you may not need someone to supervise when lifting a box, however if an employee is climbing a tall ladder, supervision could be essential in order to keep the ladder steady.

4 Proven Ways to Reduce Anxiety

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and a key focus is Health/Wellness. A key to successful at life is maintaining your mental health and minimizing/reducing anxiety. The following contributed post is entitled, 4 Proven Ways to Reduce Anxiety.

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It was the best of times; it was the worst of times: Charles Dickens wrote these words in the 19th century, but they’re arguably more relevant today than ever before. Never have we been so divided, individually, between good and bad times. On the plus side, we have more or less everything that we could need, we’re safe, our problems are often superficial; on the negative side are the costs of this level of comfort, which has fuelled a dramatic rise in mental health conditions such as anxiety. Left to our own decides, we can end up in stressful states of mind. Fortunately, there are some remedies we can use to limit the feelings of anxiety. We take a look at a few examples below.

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Switch off the Tech

Technology has done a lot of good for humanity, but there’s a chance that we’ve gone a little too far in our question to techify everything. While smartphones, laptops, and tablets are useful for managing life, they’re not exactly relaxing. If you’re actively engaging with your tech (say, by scrolling through your social media channels), then all you’re doing is keeping your mind in a state of stressful alertness. Not so relaxing! If you’re feeling anxious and can’t find a cause, look at switching off your tech for the evening.

Feeding the Body

We think of stress and anxiety as the thing itself — say, getting up to give a talk, but it’s really something that’s happening inside of us. We are all made up of chemicals, and if we’re beginning to see the telltale signs of anxiety, then we should take steps to change our chemical makeup. There are plenty of ways to do this. Medical marijuana has been shown in studies to reduce the symptoms of anxiety; talk with your doctor to get the strain that’s right for you, and also invest in a cannabis waste disposal bin, so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Alternatively, you can look at adding soothing incense or scent diffusers in your property. If you buy some relaxing scents, then they’ll do the magic “under the radar” and help to make you feel more relaxed.

Time Outdoors

Ah, the outdoors. Many of us don’t make as much of it as we could or should. Studies have shown that just a couple of hours of outdoor time — either in one go or spread out — is enough to reduce our anxiety levels and give our happiness a boost. No matter where you live, there will likely be some sort of natural scenery located nearby. Make spending some time there a part of your weekly schedule. Plus, you’re not just doing this for

Meditation and Yoga

Finally, don’t forget that there’s great power in meditation and yoga, two activities that have been scientifically proven to reduce the symptoms of anxiety. For yoga, it’s best that you join a class, but meditation can be done anywhere, by anyone. Learn the basics, and do it once in the morning and once at night.

Fixing Our Skewed View: Stopping Self-Medicating With Substances

A key focus of my blog is Health/Wellness. In some instances alcohol abuse is a simple and convenient way to deal with life’s pains and hardships. If the user isn’t careful though, there can be unintended consequences and they become abusers of that alcohol. The following contributed post is entitled, Fixing Our Skewed View: Stopping Self-Medicating With Substances.

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Pexels

In life, we can tend to self-medicate. Whether we are going through physical pain, emotional pain, or psychological pain, there are little vices in life can seem to be an ideal solution for a short period of time. But with something like substances or alcohol, we know, deep down, that’s not an ideal solution. But what can we do before it gets to the point that we lose all sense of comprehension, and have a genuine reliance on it?

It Overrides Our Sense Of Safety
When we feel that we can have a few drinks and drive home without any worry, this is when the law catches up and we face the consequences. Being detained under what is called a physical control arrest, where you are in control of a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drug, is enough to make many straighten up and fly right. But for a lot of people who are functioning under a certain level of intoxication, especially when they have life duties, there is a self-centeredness that overrides any sense of safety. Unfortunately, there are many examples of parents who drink and take their children to school under the influence.

Getting To The Root Of The Problem
Self-medicating is the refuge of someone who’s not able to cope. It’s an easy way to cloud our memories of a situation. But this doesn’t help us get to the root of the problem. If you are someone reading this who knows that you’ve got to function, but still will struggle to face facts, how can you get to the root of the problem? By getting to the core of it, it requires a lot of soul-searching, and a lot of pain. Naturally, we don’t want to face up to this sort of thing. But, counseling, helplines, or even some sense of clarity can be a great way to understand why alcohol is not the way forward. Medicating in this respect is a short-term solution.

The Symptoms Get Worse
Self-medicating with alcohol means that, after a while, your tolerance increases. As such, we’ve got to find ways to get back to that original hazy way of thinking. It seems to be the perfect way to wade through life, at least in the short term. The big problem is that alcoholism, or addiction in any form, is a selfish approach. After a while, it becomes a fact that we have a reliance on a substance that overrides any sense of duty, except to that of the substance. We live a subservient existence, and only then is it when an intervention occurs, or we do something to snap ourselves out of it, that we realize the extent of our troubles.

In many ways, it’s preaching to the choir, but we all fall victim to a bad time in life. And, we can self-medicate with alcohol to an extent, and it makes everything feel okay for a bit. But this is not a tried and tested solution to overcoming the problem. Whatever issue you have in life, drinking becomes the perfect mask, but after a while, the mask begins to slip, regardless of the effort you make to avoid this happening.

Living With Dementia: The Trials And Tribulations Of A Carer

A key focus of my blog is Health/Wellness. Some people develop Dementia with old age. As the caregiver of someone with Dementia, it can be a tough road. It’s important to know what things to look out for. The following contributed post is entitled, Living With Dementia: The Trials And Tribulations Of A Carer.

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Between 5 to 7% of people over the age of 60 suffer from some form of dementia. By the time you hit 85, this number increases to between 25 and 50%. Unfortunately, when you reach this age it can literally be a coin toss whether you do develop this condition. That’s a problem because life expectancy is increasing. On average, we’re all living a lot longer than we used to, which means that mental health issues associated with age are going to become more common. What can we do about this?

Well, we need to be prepared for living with dementia. This is going to be important if your partner develops the condition or if you choose to look after an elderly member of your family at home. What changes should you make?

Pic Credit

Child Safety

As silly as it might sound, if your partner is suffering from dementia or you are bringing someone with dementia home to live with you, you need to get the child safety equipment out the attic. Alternatively, this is available to buy on the market. You need to make sure that you are putting measures in place to ensure that someone with dementia can’t hurt themselves.

Be aware that people with this condition can forget what they are doing while in the middle of a task. An example would be pouring a cup of tea. A person suffering from dementia could forget they were pouring and start putting the water on their hands rather than the cup.

Safe Furniture

If you visit a care home equipped for dementia, you will find that they tend to use special types of furniture. This furniture is designed to provide the maximum levels of safety for individuals in their care. That does include everything from slips and falls to a potential hit on the head. Companies like Crown Furniture provide mental health furniture that is ideal for keeping environments safe and free from hazards.

Cues And Support

Depending on the stage of the condition, it might be necessary to ensure that you are putting cues around the home. These can be cards that are laminated and placed in key areas. It provides information that someone might need to protect themselves or to continue to live with some level of independence. For instance, you might label the fridge, the microwave and the phone. Studies have shown that these cues can help a great deal.

Safe Place To Sleep

Finally, it’s common for someone with dementia to forget where they are in the middle of the night. This can cause them to fall out of bed which can lead to both a shock and an injury. It’s important therefore to consider investing in a lower bed so the fall won’t be as severe. You can also consider purchasing a bed with sides.

We hope this helps you deal with some of the issues that you could face when living with someone who has dementia. It is important to keep them safe as well anyone who is sharing the environment. Be aware that people with dementia can be a threat to themselves and to others without warning.