(NAPSI)-In the last decade, the U.S. has seen a growing number of Internet-savvy seniors and, as a result, there is an escalating risk for them to be targets of cyber crimes and scams.

According to a recent Pew Internet Research study, 37 percent of seniors over the age of 65 use the Internet regularly. Many participate in a growing selection of services now available on the Web, including bank and credit card transactions, online dating, shopping--even grocery shopping.

With more seniors engaging in these types of online activities, it has become even more important to stay vigilant while online, particularly as online scams become tougher to spot. For example, a recent study by the AARP of people 40+ years of age found that 54 percent were unable to identify a phishing scam.

Consider these safety tips for Web-savvy seniors:

1. Don’t be the victim of phishing: Your bank, credit card company and other financial institutions will never ask you for account or personal information via e-mail.

2. Check your online dates: Conduct a background check via Intelius or another consumer background-screening company. It’s the perfect way to ensure that potential mates are exactly who they say they are.

3. Don’t associate with people you don’t know: Don’t read, just delete all e-mails from people you don’t know--even if the subject line reads "Hello!" or "Remember Me?" (Those are some of scammers’ favorite tricks.)

4. Subscribe to identity theft protection services: For example, a leading provider of personal safety and information services, Intelius, offers an IDWatch service that monitors all of a person’s identity-related information, including phone, address, driver’s license profile, credit- and Social Security-related information, proactively preventing ID theft for a low annual fee.

The company’s consumer background check service lets you get the inside scoop about people. Internet-savvy seniors say such services can help them have peace of mind on- and off-line.

5. Trust your gut and make the call: If you’re not sure that an e-mail or Web site is legitimate--don’t use it. You can always pick up the phone to check out anything suspicious.

More Information

You can learn more online at www.intelius.com or by calling (425) 974-6100.

There are ways for seniors to avoid online activities that may jeopardize their personal information.

Stress! It bombards the human existence from cradle to grave in a variety of forms from physical to mental, to emotional or spiritual. It can traverse internally to externally or vice versa. In

fact, stress, as much as we dislike it, is necessary to bring balance or homeostasis to the body.

Stress requires energy and energy defined is the ability to do work. Think

about it; during the process of birth or "labor" everyone involved is stressed including the newborn who hasn’t even

arrived on the scene yet! At the other end of the spectrum, not to be morbid or to add further stress to the reader, but a person’s last breaths involve encountering various forms of stress.

Acknowledging that we can’t live without stress, let’s consider some ways that we can learn to live with it in a positive way. The key to cohabitating with the fluctuating degrees of stress in life is stress management. There are negative and positive ways of dealing with stress as well as inexpensive and costly mechanisms for coping with stress. Then again deciding how to attack the stress can be stressful in itself. Companies spend millions of dollars each year providing employee assistance programs aimed at reducing employee stress in order to, hopefully attain better productivity.

Stress management is an adaptive response that even one celled organisms can master.

One reason why the world we live in today seems to be predominatly stressful to people is the information overload that constantly inundates each and every one of us. First, it’s important to identify what is causing the stress before we can do anything about it.

Figuring that out can take some time and may even involve some trial and error before priorities can be established. Depending on the seriousness or intensity of the stressors an individual can easily become overwhelmed. If depression, deep sadness that doesn’t lift after two weeks, persistent confused thinking, loss of interest in former pleasures, or suicidal thoughts occur seek professional help immediately or go to an emergency room.

For most people, daily stresses need to be dealt with and can be done so

without a lot of expense, which, in this current economy, thriftiness alone can help reduce stress. One technique is deep breathing, in a slow, rhythmic manner. Oxygen was free the last time I checked and extremely necessary for our bodies to function optimally. Next month will focus totally on maximizing oxygen intake and describe exercises to accomplish it. For now, just breath slowly and

deeply. Getting enough sleep is vital and yet particularly difficult when stress level is high.

The goal should be 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night and if that is not happening, make a 20 - 30 minute power nap a top priority.

Finding something that you do each day that makes you smile is crucial.

Reading a devotion or the comics, playing with your pet or calling a friend, tending a garden or pampering yourself a little; any positive activity that you enjoy can help you not feel deprived or lose perspective. Serving others even in small ways can create a sense of altruism and bring an awareness of those less fortunate than ourselves. Remember, everyone has stress; it is those who learn to effectively cope with it who succeed in the game of life.

Now for some more proactive ways to safeguard yourself through fitness and nutrition. It has long been proven that physical activity is beneficial in reducing stress in the human body. But did you know that even vigorous exercise creates stress that is potentially

harmful to the body? As I stated earlier, stress is all around us, even in the most innocuous of behaviors. There is good news, however; adequate nutrition especially in the form of good quality protein can correct the negative effects of vigorous exercise which then affords you all the positive benefits that comes along with exercise. Also, protein high in good fats such as salmon and sardines, is the

only nutrient that replenishes serotonin, the feel good, mood elevating hormone produced in the brain. Serotonin also enhances sleep and is a precursor to dopamine and other neurotransmitters,

responsible for conveying feelings of pleasure and function as a natural antidepressant.

Intelligent supplementation beginning with a highly absorbable multi vitamin is the place to start. Include an additional B complex, making sure is contains B5 and B6, adding to that amino acids such as GABA, 5HTP and L-trytophan as key players. Additionally, DMAE, calcium and magnesium, as well as herbs, such as rhodiola rosea and Siberian ginseng, may be beneficial. All

these taken in proper amounts and at the appropriate times can bolster your reserves and give you the extra edge to take gold in the game of life when it comes to winning at stress.

Charlene Dengler is a former registered nurse who has also been a model, a nutrition consultant, a fitness instructor and an educational consultant. Her main focus is a natural approach to health and wellness with an emphasis on assisting others in finding the correct pathway to their optimum vitality. She can be reached at 719-250-0683.