Drink More WaterBy: Heather Latimer / Heather’s Self-Help TipsMany people believe they don’t need toquench their thirst if they don’t feelthirsty. Not so!Learn from Fred Avri who fainted in his kitchen due to heatstroke, fellagainst a knob on the cooker that turned on a slow leakage of gas. If hisdaughter hadn’t visited later, found him unconscious and rushed himto the hospital, he probably would have died.Think of it! That life-threatening experience was brought on bysomething as simple as dehydration. It could have been avoided bysimply drinking more water.According to Fitness Director Kristie McWhorter “the elderly areespecially vulnerable to the effects of hot and humid weather. Drinkingplenty of water is the speediest means of offsetting the resultingdehydration. It’s used by the body to transport nutrients and oxygento cells, regulate temperature, moisten mouth, eye and nose tissues,lubricate joints and flush out waste products.”Take heed! If you are thirsty, your mouth is parched, or you’re passingdark yellow urine you’re already dehydrated. The Mayo Clinic advisesthat “there’s no single formula for everyone but drinking eight 8-ozglasses a day is easy to remember and a reasonable goal.”If you make it a habit to sip one glass upon awakening, two glasses atlunchtime, one at bedtime, and more during and after exercising, thatshould get you started. If it’s insufficient to relieve the above symptoms,increase your intake to 12 glasses a day - or better yet, see your doctor.Heather Latimer is a nationally recognized specialist in makingdifficult subjects easy and author of 17 books. See amazon.com/heather latimer/how to overcome.By: BJ Killeen / Down the RoadHard to believe that it’s been over adecade since we began playing with oursmartphones. No question these hand-heldminiature computers have become our lifelines while we work, play,and travel.Unfortunately, as technology hasbecome a major part of our lives,we often forget that there’s alwaysbad that goes with the good. Thebad I’m talking about is how we aredistracted by our toys while behindthe wheel - and forget that we needto concentrate on driving first.AAA’s Foundation for TrafficSafety conducted a study aboutdangerous driving habits. It lookedat recent crash data and found that,while drivers believe anyone whodrives aggressively, is distracted, oreven impaired are dangerous onthe road, many of those questionedadmitted to engaging in at least one of these actions in the monthbefore the study.The survey reported that half of those from the study were involved ina recent crash, and the cause was talking on a hand-held device whiledriving. Slightly fewer study participants involved in a recent crash saidthey were texting while driving.16What are You Doing Behind the Wheel?August 2020Another 39% admitted to running a red light. And almost all of therespondents said that driving while tired and when typing a text wasextremely or very dangerous - yet they still did it.So how do we reduce these types of crashes? It’s not that hard; commonsense will do more to save lives thanany safety device manufacturershave installed in your vehicle.First, put the phone away whereyou can’t reach it when driving. Orput it in Do Not Disturb or Airplanemode.Second, just slow down. You haveto drive 100 miles to save 5 minutesif you’re going 75 vs. 70 mph. Is itworth it?Third, stay alert. Fatigue impairsjudgement, similar to being drunk.Fourth, drive sober. This includesalcohol, marijuana, and evenprescription medications. A greatsite to visit to see if your medicationimpairs your driving is roadwiserx.com.Finally, wear your seatbelt. That’s the easiest way to keep yourselfalive.BJ Killeen has been an automotive journalist for over 30 years.She welcomes all questions and inquiries, and can be reached atbjkdtr@gmail.com
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