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Today is International N24 Awareness Day, where we are spreading awareness for N24, also known as 24-hour sleep wake disorder, or Hypernychthemera Disorder, which affects over 50 per cent of totally blind people, and a small percentage of sighted people.

N24 is caused by the dis-regulation of the day-night cycle “nature clock” to synchronise with the “brain clock” sleep-wake cycle, which can lead to chronic sleep deprivation accumulating, excessive daytime sleepiness, issues concentration, and memory.

There is no cure to N24, however there are treatments and medicine available which includes, melatonin, light therapy, hormones.

This month is diabetes awareness month, so we want to spread awareness of resources and how you can help fund for research in finding a cure.

Type 1 diabetes is a genetic autoimmune disease that people are born with, there is not evidence pointing to it being hereditary. With type 1 diabetes, the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin for the blood for blood sugar to enter cells in the bloodstream for energy use, which causes high blood sugar levels, which is harmful to the body

Type 2 diabetes is the less common form of diabetes which is mostly developed through overweight, obesity and an inactive lifestyle.

Currently, both type 1 and type 2 diabetes do not have a cure but there is continued research on a cure, therapies, and treatments. By bringing awareness to diabetes, we can help to change the views of governments to get financial support and deliver real change. People can join the JDRF blue army by creating a fundraiser or their own or joining one of the many events around Australia. This money will go to much needed research. Visit the blue army 

It is very important to work on these 4 pillars to maintain mental and physical health, not matter what age you are.

1. Get enough sleep – Sleep helps the mind and body
recover day after day, and when you don’t get enough sleep, it can affect your
emotions, how you react to certain situations and can deteriorate your mental
and physical health.

     
2. Healthy eating and exercising – Healthy eating
and exercising are both extremely important to maintain mental and physical
health. Healthy eating and exercising can ensure you get all the nutrients your
body and mind requires to maintain a healthy body weight and assist in improving
overall mood.

    
3. Social connection – Remaining social throughout
your life will help maintain a positive mental wellbeing. Extended loneliness
can be very damaging to a person’s mental wellbeing.

   
4. Practice gratitude and stay positive. Practicing
gratitude and positivity can have profound effects on one’s mental wellbeing.
You can practice these things by taking time to ask yourself what you’re
grateful. You can then express your gratitude on others, or practice gratitude
meditation to savour the good and anchor yourself in the present.  

65 y/o who have NDIS funding can continue to receive the same level of NDIS funding when they turn 66 and have the option to change to receive aged funding through My Aged Care.

Almost half of Australians living with disability are over the age of 65, however are not eligible for NDIS funding due to their age alone. Individuals 66 and over that require assistance due to disability would have to make do with much less funding than if they were under 65 and could get NDIS funding. The difference in funding levels is especially prevalent for entry level aged care support needs in comparison to the NDIS.

Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells has announced her plans to cap aged care provider’s management fees by January 1. Care management fees will be capped at 20 percent, and package management fees will be capped at 15 per cent.

By capping care management and package management fees, seniors will get more hours for their home care package, as there are currently providers charging as much as 40 per cent of their Home Care Package (HCP). Gratitude In-home Care only charges 25 per cent so seniors can get more support hours from their HCP.

Don’t try to drive through flood waters. Even if the water level is not very high, driving in flood waters can be very dangerous. 

Flooding can obscure underwater objects and the quality of roads that may have been weakened or washed away. 

Most cars lose power when the water depth is over 15 cm, as the water enters the exhaust port, flows into the air intake. Most cards will begin to float when the water level exceeds 30 cm.

The Fair Work Commission has granted a 15 per cent pay rise for aged care workers in the in-home care and residential aged care settings for Personal Care assistants and nurses.

For some permanent part-time aged care workers this could mean an extra $4 per hour increase and casual workers could increase to around $36 per hour. 

This pay increase is welcomed by many, including Aged Care Minister, Anika Wells who believes it is a strong first step in the fight to get Aged Care the pay that they deserve. This pay rise could help attract staff to the sector and help retain staff, but unions are continuing to fight for a 25 per cent increase, which the Fair Work Commission is considering. It is still unknown when exactly the 15 per cent pay rise will take effect.