Becoming a community support worker is a wonderful idea for several reasons. You would have an opportunity to start a career where you would get to work with other people and help them. You could take on all kinds of opportunities. Working in this field has its advantages, even if it takes time to get your foot in the door. Before you get started, you should know of all the good reasons to take on a support worker job.

The Job Is Satisfying

Working in the industry is ideal because it is such a rewarding job to have. Most of the community support workers create wonderful relationships with different people. They feel a sense of achievement when they know they have made a difference in the lives of other people who could really benefit from the services that are provided to them.

You Can Change Lives For The Better

When you work as a community support worker, you can change the lives of different people for the better. You are supporting members of the community and helping them out in different ways. When you can help other people, it is going to make you feel good about yourself. You will enjoy the life you live even more.

It Gives You a Sense of Purpose

Because the work you will do can make such a difference, you might suddenly have a greater sense of purpose. The work you do is appreciated by others. There are people who will depend on the work you do each day and that is something that can genuinely make a difference in your life.

You Will Always Have New Things to Do

When you are providing support to a client, you are visiting the client’s home instead of working in a traditional office. You will always have new things to do because the tasks required of you will vary from client to client. It is possible to help your clients with different tasks that they might need help with, along with helping them set some personal goals for themselves. Community support workers are often matched with people that share some of the same interests to make the job even more enjoyable.

You Can Have a Lot Of Fun

The job itself is quite fun. Most people that work as community support workers have a great time. You will have an opportunity to work with a lot of different people while learning more about them and hearing about their personal stories. It is always interesting to learn about what other people have been through.

You Will Have More Flexibility

There is even a possibility that you will get to work the hours that are best for you. Some people want to take on full-time positions while others are looking to work part-time around their busy schedules. No matter your schedule, positions may be available for you to take on.

Job Security Is Offered

The demand for community support workers is there and is only expected to increase over time. Because there is such a demand for these kinds of workers, you can enjoy having more job security with plenty of options offered to you.

You Will Keep Learning

When you work in this type of industry, there is always something new to learn. Not only will you take in a lot of valuable information by going through the training process, but you will even get to learn new things from the people you are going to work with and help during your time as a community support worker.

You Can Progress as You Go Along

If you want a job where you can continuously learn new things and climb the ladder to take on different positions where you can earn even more, becoming a community support worker is a fantastic idea. You can turn this job into a successful career that you will have for years to come. It is possible to gain new skills that you did not have before while going through training. As you gain new skills and experience, you can potentially become a senior support worker or even someone who works as a manager.

Over the last 200 years, UK’s life expectancy has doubled. Consequently, about 16% of our population is aged 65 and above. Furthermore, among our senior citizens, today we have a greater number of people aged 85 and above.

While a greater life expectancy is generally great, it can also prove to be troublesome for many people. For some people, they do not live a healthy life across the added years. This negatively affects the quality of life among our senior citizens.

For instance:

• The physical changes that our bodies undergo as we age can affect and change the way we feel and think about food. These seemingly natural changes can prevent seniors from taking a healthy diet. Furthermore, these changes can alter our appetite, making one think he or she is full and, therefore, eating less.
• As you might appreciate, good nutrition, as well as regular physical activities, play an integral role in protecting people from age-related conditions and ailments, especially cardiovascular diseases and cognitive decline. They also play a role in protecting one’s bone and joints and oral and dental health. As we age, people tend to slow down and take up less physically engaging activities, which can have a negative impact on your life.

Ageing and Healthy Eating: the Myths

To help you understand what happens as you age, we will debunk top 10 myths regarding ageing and eating a healthy diet.

1. You Will Experience Stomach Shrinkage As You Age

This is a very common and popular misconception about ageing. Many people think that as they age, their stomach gets smaller, hence why they take less food. While your capacity to eat food and appetite might change over time, your stomach does not change.

2. You Should Eat Less As You Age

The vast majority of people think that they should eat less as they age reasoning that their energy requirements diminish as they age. This is not necessarily true. Whilst our metabolism does slow down with age, eating quality food in the right might amount plays a huge role in protecting and fuelling the body. It is the key to ageing well.

3. Weight Loss Is Always Healthy

Among the masses, losing weight is almost universally considered as healthy. However, this is not the case as we get older. In fact, Gabriel’s Angels suggest extreme dieting and sudden weight loss must be avoided as we age unless advised by a dietician or a GP.

4. Eat Only When You Feel Like It

As we age, your body alters in very many ways. As such, you should expect the usual triggers such as hunger or feeling full to change. However, you should know that extreme losses of appetites is not normal and could be a sign of underlying problems.

5. You Should Eat a Low-Fat Diet to Stay Healthy

Contrary to what many people think, a low-fat diet is not necessarily the best diet nor is it the best dietary approach, especially for the elderly. We need fat as a source of energy. Some senior citizens need a healthy supply of fat to maintain a healthy diet.

6. Eat More Vegetables

Eating is nutrient-rich vegetable is important as a part of a healthy diet. However, it should be eaten as part of a balanced diet; therefore, it should eat along with a healthy supply of fluids, proteins, and carbohydrates. Do note that as we age, we need a healthy supply of proteins to protect and restore your immune systems, your body organs, the brains, and muscles.

7. You Should Drink Water Only When You Feel Thirsty

Thirst is a trigger to drink water. It is a means your body uses to tell you that you need fluids. If you feel thirsty, and you feel confusion or a headache, chances are that you are dehydrated. Dehydration can negatively impact your kidney function. As such, do not wait to feel thirsty. Drink plenty of water.

8. Meal Supplements are Sufficient to Stay Healthy

This is not true. Our bodies are not capable of living off vitamins and supplement alone. Furthermore, some of the supplements may interact with medication, reducing their efficacy or not working at all. As such, the focus should be on eating a healthy diet.

9. You Must Eat 3 Meals a Day

Staying healthy and ageing well requires you to eat regularly. However, due to appetite changes, eating three full-sized meals might prove to be a huge challenge for many seniors citizens. An alternative to the 3 meals is to eat more frequently but smaller portions.

10. Malnutrition Is Just Another Symptom of Ageing

Malnutrition is a condition that can affect anyone at any age. It is not strictly an age-dependent condition. Moreover, it can affect people of any body size. That being said, you should note due to the changes that you experience as you age, the elderly are more susceptible to malnutrition. As such, do not dismiss malnutrition as part and parcel of ageing.

As you can appreciate, there are many things to consider. It is little wonder that the elderly citizen living alone struggles to eat correctly and stay healthy.

The painful reality of stress is cropping up in an increasing number of scientific studies such as the one conducted by the American Medical Association that reported that stress plays a role in 75% of diseases. There was even a recent study that linked stress effects with weakening the heart muscles.

Effects That Stress Has on the Heart

It was reported in GreatLife magazine in the August 2004 edition, that researchers at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. had in a clinical trial studied the effects that stress has on the heart and monitored the heart’s reaction to everyday events.

The researchers discovered that the more sadness, anger, and stress that someone has experience, the less their hearts are able to respond effectively. It is as if the pressured that is exerted on the heart through the continuous emotion ups and downs that stress has caused to stretch beyond it being able to rebound to normal.

Link Between Reduced Heart Rate and Depression

It was determined by another study that there is a link between impaired heart health and depression. Researchers at Yale University and Emory University studied 50 pairs of boy twins recently by hooking them up for 24 hours for electrocardiograms. It was concluded that a link existed between reduced heart rate variability (HRV), or the fluctuations in between heartbeats, and depression. Reduced HRV may weaken the heart and cause it to be susceptible to experiencing sudden fatalities.

Reflexology: Low-Cost Option for Offset Stress

Reflexology may be a low-cost, natural option to natural sedatives for offsetting the effects of stress on overall health and stress on the heart. The aim of reflexology is to treat the spirit, mind, and body as a comprehensive system to get at the cause of the disease, and not just its symptoms. Reflexology has the capacity for cancelling out the effects that stress has and helps the body get to the place of deep relaxation so that the body systems can be balanced.

Reflexology Reduces Stress

The relaxation process allows the body to be better able to deal with all of the stresses that daily living places on it along with those that are associated with illnesses. Reflexology is able to nudge the body gently towards improved functioning of the body’s system through improving muscle relaxation, stimulation of nerve pathways, venous circulation, and lymphatic drainage.

In a reflexology research report, there was a Chinese study that showed how reflexology was able to effectively alleviate the effects caused by extreme stress. There were 20 patients treated for neurasthenia – which is a condition involving extreme emotional stress who were given a reflexology course at the department of physiotherapy at the hospital. The treatments were focused on parts of the feet that related to the heart, brain, sinus, bladder, kidney, and adrenal glands, which are organs that stress effects compromise.

These treatments were given every day for one week and the results were present in July 1993 at the Chinese reflexology symposium: 40 percent were completely cured; 35-percent experienced significant improvement; 15 percent saw a mild improvement, 10 percent did not report any change.

Feel-Good Hormones Are Released By Reflexology

Reflexology reduces tension and stress therapeutically throughout the body’s systems in order to improve lymph and blood circulation, release toxins from the tissues of the body, and increase nerve supply into the cells. It is thought to encourage the release of endorphins, which are the natural feel-good hormones of the body, which are well-known for being able to relieve stress.

Self-Healing Is Supported By Reflexology

Those physiological benefits help to facilitate improvement in the body assimilate nutrients, immune system stimulation, and elimination of wastes. Reflexology supports the body and its self-healing process for maintaining the balance that results in good health.

Reflexology also feels great and almost everyone is a good candidate for reflexology – including individuals who are not good candidates for various types of traditional massage therapy based on physical restriction or who might have inhibitions about disrobing. You just remove footwear with reflexology.

A career in special education requires a lot of patience, training and skill but is one that can be extremely rewarding for the most suitable person. Special education applies to both adults and children with various learning disabilities in varying degrees, and who require special attention from advisers and teachers.

There are several benefits to working in the special education sector, from personal to business reasons. Five of them are listed in this article, but beyond what we highlight here, it is essential that people thinking about pursuing a career in special education consider whether they are genuinely passionate about the job. Special education is considered to be a very challenging position in teaching and should only be pursued by teachers who are fully prepared to help people who are most in need of their training and talents, such as the students of Treloar School.

1. The Students

Special Ed students require good and dependable teachers more than those without learning disabilities. How well they perform will often be dependent on how they assimilate with the teaching environment and how they learn. As Special Ed teachers tend to work with students with learning difficulties, each lesson taught can be considered to be a victory. Also, most students with special needs and who require a special education teacher to guide them either were never worked with from an educational standpoint or have been neglected. When a proficient special Ed teacher takes time to work with them, students are often very grateful for their care and time.

2. Better Job Options, More Certification

In all states in the US, it is a requirement that all special Ed teachers be registered and licensed. Though this could take some time and may cost more for a professional who’s already a teacher, the extra certification could result in some professional advantages. Since special Ed teachers are required to be certified teachers in some other course or subject as well, it allows individuals who are certified to have more diverse options within the education field, which leaves them open to better employment options throughout the course of their teaching career.

3. Job Availability

Apart from having many job opportunities and options as a teacher in normal classes, teachers with special Ed certifications have far more luck finding job openings. This could be because most teachers do not want to teach special Ed because of the extra burden that comes with the emotional and behavioural aspects of the job. Enthusiastic and certified special education teachers can expect increasing and stable job prospects within the US.

4. The Joy of Teaching

Special Ed teachers tend to have tougher teaching jobs than other teachers – apart from having to follow/teach a curriculum, they also have to find ways to cope with the emotional and behavioural problems that can arise in their students, something that is quite common in special Ed classes compared to classrooms with students without special needs. While managing a class is quite challenging for special education teachers, special Ed work can make them more patient, better people and better teachers. Honing these qualities while getting paid to do so is a great thing to do.

5. Shorter Work Days

Special Ed school days tend to be shorter than average school days since the curriculum is more flexible and class requirements are fewer. This is one benefit that special Ed teachers enjoy as it leaves them with more free time to balance their personal lives and work. As special Ed has a relatively lenient schedule, special Ed teachers can step away from the hassle of the job more regularly; something that allows them to relax and be more focused when performing their day to day roles working with children or adults with special needs. For teachers that are looking for between a full-time and a part-time job, becoming a certified special education teacher could be ideal.

You often take your skin through a rigorous skin-care routine during the summer and then cut back on your efforts during the winter. The chilly conditions of the winter months can see you hide your skin under a layer of clothes all in a bid to stay warm. Such changes often mean that the skin is getting less TLC than it did a few months earlier. It will soon be time to look for bikinis online and you’ll want to feel radiant and confident. So, how can you take care of your skin this winter and ensure that it feels and looks its best? Below are a few tips and tricks worth trying.

1. Use a hydrating cleanser instead of face wipes

The cold weather that you combat with central heating can take its toll on your skin, robbing it of much-needed moisture. Therefore, winter is one of those times that you need to bring out some of the best hydrating products. You need to change up your routine. Consider using a gentle moisturising cleanser that will help preserve your complexion while also supporting the other skin care products and efforts. Beauty expert, Nathalie Eleni, advises people to avoid using face wipes and to use micellar water, which is a more effective alternative – that’s also hydrating.

2. Invest in a good moisturiser

No skincare regime is complete without a moisturiser. Moreover, such a product is not only essential during the summer months when the skin tends to lose a lot of moisture; winter also has a similar impact, though not as aggressive as the hot summer months. A moisturiser will help to restore the skin’s hydration. Some of the best moisturisers out there contain plenty of antioxidants and vitamin E. If you require something that delivers more punch, then you need a product that’s very hydrating. Such a moisturiser will contain hyaluronic acid, an ultra-lightweight product that has impressive results.

3. Replenish your skin overnight

Your skin will be highly appreciative of your skincare efforts, especially during the night. Therefore, this is the ideal time to nourish it; Ms Nathalie suggests the use of a face oil – which is what she uses. The oil will help with moisture retention and not leave the skin feeling greasy. If you are lucky enough to have a blend of coconut and almond oil, this will also suffice. Consider applying the oil when you are about to jump into bed to allow it to work its magic to nourish and replenish your skin as you enjoy your shut-eye.

4. Exfoliate regularly to maintain radiant skin

Your weekly winter skincare regime should include a bit of exfoliation to help get rid of the dull, flaky, dead skin cells. For a deep pore exfoliation, consider using an in-shower tool because it is more effective than using the standard exfoliation scrub. This is a tool that works for both dry and wet skin types. It comes with two interchangeable exfoliating brushes that are designed for the sensitive areas and the entire body, respectively. When exfoliating, start at the feet and work your way up the body. It not only gets rid of the dead, dull, flaky skin but also stimulates blood flow; thus, in turn, improving the skin tone and softness for smooth, glowing skin.

5. Rock a sun-kissed glow

A bit of tan can be good for your skin during the winter months. You can look to any of the reputable brands of tanning lotions to help enhance your new-found glow. Ensure you get a product that suits your skin type. To have a sun-kissed look that seems a bit more natural, consider using a tan lotion that has glove or mitt, and apply it in natural light.

6. Be active to maintain your natural radiance

The fact that we spend much of the summer days outside is one of the reasons for that radiance. Come winter, we retreat indoors to hibernate under out blankets, fighting the cold. However, by staying active, you help keep your pulse rate up and boost blood circulation. The two things are essential to maintaining your glow. Try as much as you can to be active. Commit to about a 30-minute walk, 3-4 times each week.