Aging Well Well-being A Sense of Purpose May Add Years to Your Life By article Feeling that you have a sense of purpose in life may help you live longer, no matter what your age, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The research has clear implications for promoting positive aging and adult development, according to lead researcher Patrick Hill of Carleton University in Canada:
Grounding (Earthing): The Easiest Way to Fight Stress By blog We all know that the world is becoming more stressful every day. We worry about the economy, another war in a place we’ve never heard of, our parents getting old and dying, the well-being of our children, our own health. Sometimes it seems like our lives are one endless series of stresses. The bad news is that stress is on the rise and it’s causing major problems for many of us. The good news is that there are simple ways to combat stress and get back in control of our lives.
_ Caregiving Aging in Place: The ΓÇ£Granny PodsΓÇ¥ Trend By article By Hilary Young According to the American Association of Retired Persons, over 80 percent of adults now intend to age in place. Nursing homes are no longer the norm. Many seniors prefer to stay active and remain independent for as long as possible. One major trend that is helping to make this wish come true is the proliferation of transitional housing options, otherwise known as “Granny Pods.”
_ A Lab in Your DocΓÇÖs Pocket By Jane Farrell article When you have blood work done during a physical exam, you have to wait several weeks for the results because your doctor sends the sample to a lab for analysis. That’s not a problem if you’re healthy and simply getting a routine checkup but if you have worrisome symptoms, both you and your physician would benefit from knowing very quickly whether something is amiss.
Longevity Gene May Be a Brain Booster By article If you’re lucky, you inherited a longevity gene that will up your chances of living to a ripe old age. Better yet, scientists at the University of California San Francisco have shown that people who have a variant of a longevity gene called KLOTHO are blessed with superior brain skills such as thinking, learning, and memory regardless of their age, sex, or even whether they have a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.
_ Parenting Virtual Reality Helps Autistic Adults Get Jobs By article If you’re the parent of a grown or teenage child on the autism spectrum, you may have concerns about your offspring’s possibilities for employment and independent living. (See our ThirdAge article entitled “My Adult Son Has Asperger’s Syndrome.”) Now researchers at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago have created a new interactive computer program using human-based simulation that gives autistic adults repeated practice and feedback on their interviewing skills.
Why Seniors Get Addicted to Drugs By Jane Farrell article For older people who have chronic conditions or find themselves in a lot of pain temporarily, medicine can be a godsend that vastly improves quality of life. But senior citizens may find it all too easy to abuse prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Just because such medicines are bought in drugstores rather than on the street, say, doesn’t mean that they are any less dangerous. Overuse of drugs can lead to additional health problems, family problems, and even fatalities.
_ Aging Well Hand Grip Reveals the Speed of Aging By article A hand grip test shows wide differences between the rates of aging among different population groups, according to new research by demographers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria. The study was published on May 7th 2014 in the journal PLOS ONE
_ Medicare Reforms Save Money By article Reforms to Medicare regulations identified as unnecessary, obsolete, or excessively burdensome on hospitals and other health care providers will save nearly $660 million annually, and $3.2 billion over five years, through a rule issued on May 8th 2015 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services (CMS).
_ Age Discrimination Worse Than Sexism or Racism By Jane Farrell article People who believe they are a victim of age or weight discrimination are linked to worse health than those older adults who are the targets of racism and sexism, according to a new study. The findings, by researchers from the Florida State University College of Medicine, were published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
_ Regular Doc Visits Help Prevent Skin Cancer Deaths By article The risk of dying from, melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer is significantly reduced with regular doctor visits, according to a study done in Detroit at Henry Ford Hospital. The researchers believe that this is the first study to link melanoma mortality with routine health care use.
_ Positive Self-Talk To Reduce Stress By Jane Farrell article Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic — and it may even affect your health.
_ Living Well With Hepatitis C By Jane Farrell article By Jane Farrell Hepatitis C, an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus, is a discouraging, debilitating condition. It affects an estimated 3.2 million Americans, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The illness is usually caused by receiving donated blood that is infected, having had a bad organ transplant, or sharing a needle or having sex with a person who is contaminated with the virus.
Happily Ever After: 7 Secrets from The New Science of Love for Women and Men Over 50 By blog My wife, Carlin, and I have been married now for nearly 35 years and our love life seems to be getting better and better through the years. But it hasn’t always been so. This is the third marriage for each of us and there were times in our marriage that we wondered why we were so miserable and whether we should stay together or call it quits. We became angry, depressed, and overstressed. We had sexual problems and were confused about how to improve things.
_ A Possible Cause of Age-Related Memory Decline By article Research done at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development in Baltimore, MD and the National Institute of Mental Health suggests that one cause of age-related memory decline is a protein called KIBRA and the gene responsible for its production is WWC1. KIBRA is known to play a role in human memory. The study was published in the May 2014 issue of Biological Psychiatry.
_ Vision Health Coffee May Prevent Retinal Damage By article Here’s one more reason to enjoy your morning coffee: A study done at Cornell University and published in the May 2014 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistryfound that drinking a cup of joe every day may prevent retinal degeneration, a leading cause of blindness due to glaucoma, aging, and diabetes.
_ A Plan for Better Heart-Patient Care By Jane Farrell article Mayo Clinic researchers have found that a uniform method to treat lower-risk cardiac surgery patients can improve outcomes, reduce time in the hospital and lower patient cost by 15 percent. The study was published in the journal Health Affairs. Despite their findings, researchers didn’t discount a remaining need for care that doesn’t necessarily adhere to their model.