Schmoozing with S'mores By blog Camp Deer Run on Lake Winnipesaukee, NH was abuzz with friends meeting friends for the 50th Camp Reunion. People (I might add much younger appearing than I am), folks I didn't even know, came up to me and congratulated me on being there. Um, in contrast to what, being dead? But their intent was good so I let my sarcastic self lay low. Eventually I figured out how so many people recognized me. I had been in a video shot five years prior. They knew me from the video. Okay, with that mystery solved I was a wee bit sad that people didn't actually remember me by how I looked 50 years ago.
_ Coming Next Week! September 1st to September 5th 2014 By Sondra Forsyth article HereΓÇÖs a sneak preview of the articles, slideshows, and blogs weΓÇÖll be posting during the coming week on ThirdAge, the biggest and best site for ΓÇ£boomer and beyondΓÇ¥ women since 1997. As always, weΓÇÖll bring you the latest information from top experts about maintaining a healthy body, mind, and spirit as you navigate both the challenges and the joys of being a ThirdAger.
_ Wii Balance Board Helps MS patients By Sondra Forsyth article The Nintendo Wii Balance Board video game console can help people with multiple sclerosis (MS) reduce their risk of accidental falls, according to research done at Sapienza University in Rome and published online August 26th 2014 in the journal Radiology. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed that use of the balance board system appears to induce favorable changes in brain connections associated with balance and movement.
_ Heart Health New Statin Guidelines an Improvement By Sondra Forsyth article New national guidelines can improve the way statin drugs are prescribed to patients at risk for cardiovascular disease, a Yale University study has found. The research, published August 25th 2014 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, also showed the new guidelines produce only a modest increase in the number of patients being given the drugs.
_ Exercise Finding the Right Fitness Trainer for You By Jane Farrell article As summer turns to fall, you might be thinking about moving your exercise routine indoors. Once the weather gets snowy and frigid, itΓÇÖs harder to get out and hit the walking or bike trails. Or you may be thinking that you want to move beyond your current 30-minute treadmill routine at the gym. A fitness trainer may be the way to go. A trainer can help you do everything from helping you use the gym equipment correctly to taking your workout to the next level. Here, from the National Institute on Aging, are some tips on how to find the best trainer for you.
_ Exercise Could Prevent Cognitive Decline By Jane Farrell article Cardiovascular exercise, which has been shown to help our bodies, may also protect our minds, according to new research.
_ Aging Well Why Our Word Choices Matter As We Age By Sondra Forsyth article By Roger Landry MD Have you ever considered how the words we use impact the culture around us? How do those words reflect our own attitudes, beliefs, and values? Furthermore, for those among us who work in the aging profession, how does what we say affect both how we perceive older adults to be, and how they self-identify? How Our Brains React to the Words We Say
_ Aging Well Healthy Diet & Nutrition Are You as Old as What You Eat? By Sondra Forsyth article Researchers from University College London (UCL) have demonstrated how an interplay between nutrition, metabolism, and immunity is involved in the process of aging. The two new studies, supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), could help to enhance our immunity to disease through dietary intervention and help make existing immune system therapies more effective.
_ Caregiving 5 Questions About Long-Distance Caregiving By Sondra Forsyth article What is long-distance caregiving? It can be helping Aunt Lilly sort through her medical bills or thinking about how to make the most of a weekend visit with Mom. It can include checking the references of an aide whoΓÇÖs been hired to help your grandfather or trying to take the pressure off your sister who lives in the same town as both your aging parents and her aging in-laws. Here, from the National Institute on Aging, are the answers to five key questions about long-distance caregiving:
_ Sex The Talk That Can Jump-Start Your Love Life at Any Age By Sondra Forsyth article By Eve Marx How long has it been since you and your partner made love? Six weeks? Six months? Six years? You may be surprised to know that many committed couples in seemingly happy relationships have not engaged in sex with each other in a very long time.
_ Overactive Bladder (OAB) & Incontinence Urinary Health Local Body Clock & Overactive Bladder By Sondra Forsyth article Researchers at the University of Surrey in the UK have discovered that the local biological clock and its control are weakened in aging bladders. The study, which explains how the receptors responsible for contractions in the bladder regulate the body's clock genes, was published August 21st 2014 in The FASEB Journal. The team found that this clock activity in turn regulates the cycle of all cells in the body.
_ Sleep Health Why the Elderly Have Trouble Sleeping By Sondra Forsyth article As people grow older, they often have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, and tend to awaken too early in the morning. In people with Alzheimer's disease, this common and troubling symptom of aging tends to be especially pronounced, often leading to nighttime confusion and wandering.
_ Making Surgery as Easy as Possible By Jane Farrell article Have you been told by your doctor that you need surgery? If so, you're not alone. Millions of older Americans have surgery each year. Your primary care doctor may suggest a surgeon to you, and your state or local medical society can tell you about your surgeon's training. Try to choose a surgeon who operates often on medical problems like yours.
The Comparison Trap By blog If you are like most women, you spend way too much time comparing yourselves to others, wishing you were young-er, smart-er, pretty-er, thin-er, creative-er, rich-er, and the list goes on and on. Instead of embracing your own unique gifts, you covet those of your friends or co-workers. Instead of loving who you are, you allow your shameless self-critic to sabotage your thoughts with ΓÇ£youΓÇÖre not good enough,ΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£you need to be more, do more, appear more and give more.ΓÇ¥
Why Our Minds Are Velcro for the Bad, but Teflon for the Good By blog Most everyone has at least one traumatic memory embedded in their brains. One that still resonates for me was the time my mother left me alone when I was six years old to take the baby sitter home. When I looked apprehensive, she told me not to worry. ΓÇ£IΓÇÖll be right back,ΓÇ¥ she said smiling brightly and drove off. As it got dark I became more and more frightened that something had happened to her and she wasnΓÇÖt coming back. By the time she returned I was totally terrified. She found me standing outside wailing. She scolded me and took me inside.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Older Adults Weathered the Recession Well By Sondra Forsyth article The "Great Recession" may have put a dent in many older adults' pocketbooks, but a study presented at the 109th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association in August 2014 in San Francisco found that more than 40 percent reported a decrease in "financial strain" between 2006 and 2010.
_ Pets Vitamins + Supplements Should Your Pet Take Supplements? By Sondra Forsyth article Our pets are like our family, right? Even pet food manufacturers now refer to ΓÇ£pet ownersΓÇ¥ as ΓÇ£pet parentsΓÇ¥ in their marketing! This humanization trend has been fueled by us Baby Boomers who are refocusing our discretionary spending on our pets rather than spending it on feathering our now empty nests. So itΓÇÖs no wonder we ΓÇ£pet parentsΓÇ¥ are now pondering the question of vitamins and other supplementation for Fido and Fluffy. But whatΓÇÖs the real scoop of pet supplements? Good idea or bad?
_ Mental & Emotional Health Risky Work Scenarios Make Women Anxious & Less Competent By Sondra Forsyth article Risky situations at work increase anxiety for women and hurt their job performance, according to a study done at Stanford University and presented at the 109th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association in August 2014 in San Francisco. On the other hand, study author Susan R. Fisk found that anxiety did not raise anxiety levels for men and that menΓÇÖs job performance was unaffected.