Senior Articles

Study Shows New Alzheimer's Treatment Can Completely Restore Memory

Tue, 17 Mar 2015 14:08:00 -0600

For 500,000 Americans each year, what starts as short-term memory loss will ultimately end in premature death. Today Alzheimer's affects more than 5 million US adults, and currently while many of those cases are manageable, as doctors have developed ways to slow the progression of the disease, there is no cure. But a breakthrough involving ultrasound technology has some people hopeful that there could be one soon.

Medical uses for ultrasound

Ultrasound has been used by medical practitioners far and wide for the last 50 years as a tool to produce images of muscles, tendons, and other internal organs. These pictures are then used to determine organ size, shape, and whether or not there are any underlying internal issues with them. If you're a woman whose had children in the last 50 years, it's very likely that during your pregnancy you had an ultrasound procedure done to determine the health of your baby. The reason for that is ultrasounds typically do not pose any threat to the patient (or the child) when conducted correctly.

Ultrasound technology has also been used to evaluate heart function, to detect blood clots in veins, to monitor solid structures in the abdominal cavity, to look for tumors in the neck, and to detect fluid in a swollen knee joint. Just recently, Australian scientists found a new, revolutionary use for ultrasound technology -- to restore memory quickly, safely, and without drugs.

The study

The method, which was first tested on mice, uses high-frequency sound waves to clear up a toxic plaque found in the brain of Alzheimer's sufferers called "amyloid beta." After many weeks of treatment, 3/4 of the mice had their memories restored, and the plaque completely cleared from their brains. Professor Jurgen Gotz, an author of the study and the director of the Clem Jones Centre For Ageing Dementia Research In Australia, claims that with the aging population continuously growing at a rapid rate, drug treatments will be expensive and risky. On the other hand, this ultrasound method is relatively cheap, non-invasive, safe, and very powerful. Right now the most popular form of treatment is drug therapy, but it will be interesting to see whether this new method is widely adopted by doctors in the US to treat the millions of people who currently suffer from it.

This Uptown Funk Cover Featuring "The Dancing Grannies" Is The Best Viral Video You'll See All Week

Mon, 02 Mar 2015 16:08:00 -0600

If there was ever a better Monday morning pick-me-up than this "Uptown Funk" cover from Alex Boye and Dancing Grannies, we have yet to see it. Published to YouTube last Tuesday, the video started going viral late last week, picking up coverage on new giants like the New York Daily News, the Huffington Post, Mashable, and more. Since then, it's garnered almost 3 million views -- and if you've already seen it then you know why. Between watching some grandmothers do the robot, Boye speed around on a motor scooter, and a 92 year-old do a split, the video is nonstop entertainment, and sure to make you smile from ear to ear.

In the video's YouTube description, Boye wrote:

"All the grandmas and grandpas in this video did their own stunts. They range in age from 65 to 92! Between them, they have raised 500 children, 1,200 grandchildren and 250 great grandchildren!"

This isn't the first popular song he's covered, but it's by far our favorite. Check out some of his other covers, or click the play button below to see the video that got us out of a Monday morning slump, and up groovin' to the beat.

New Study Reveals Most Expensive States For Long-Term Care

Tue, 24 Feb 2015 16:04:00 -0600

Every day, more than 10 thousand Americans turn 65. And as members of the baby boomer generation reach that age and beyond, more and more of them are seeking out post-retirement living options to help ease responsibility or to get help managing their day-to-day lives. However, for many, getting long-term care can come down to cost, and as a recent report by the Long Term Care Group shows, those costs can be quite burdensome in some states.

Developed by taking data from 35,000 provider surveys -- including 8,500 nursing homes, 12,500 assisted living facilities, and 13,000 home care providers -- the annual study reveals some interesting findings about the cost of long term care in the US:

1. Assisted living facilities are coming around as the most popular form of long-term care in the country. The study showed that 45% of people needing long-term care chose an assisted living facility in 2013, compared to 20% in 1996.

2. The average cost of of a one bedroom unit in an assisted living facility in the United States is $50,940 a year.

3. The cost of enrolling in an assisted living facility (ALF) is most expensive in Washington D.C., where you shouldn't be surprised to find a one bedroom space for almost twice the national average, at upwards of $97,000 a year.

4. The top ten most expensive states to enroll in an ALF are:

Washington DC
New Jersey
Alaska
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Maine
Maryland
Delaware
Hawaii

5. The cost of daily rates of nursing homes are on the rise, with Alaska leading the way starting at $466 a day per day.

6. You'll find the highest national nursing home rates in the following 10 states:

Alaska
Connecticut
Massachusetts
Washington DC
New York
New Jersey
Hawaii
Vermont
North Dakota
California

7. Home healthcare is most expensive to get in Iowa, where care workers make an average of $30/hr.

8. The 10 states where hiring a home healthcare worker will cost you the most are:

Iowa

North Dakota

Minnesota

Wyoming

Rhode Island

Massachusetts

Alaska

Colorado

California

Hawaii

For more information regarding LTCG’s Cost of Care Study, contact Adam Hoffman at 317.706.8118 or adam.hoffman@LTCG.com

How To Start Preparing Your Home For A Long Retirement

Fri, 26 Dec 2014 09:08:00 -0600

Seniors want to grow old in their own homes, a concept which makes perfect sense. You have probably spent most of your life paying off your mortgage, and you don’t necessarily want to give your house up to go live in a condo or retirement home when the retirement comes. But how can you live at home by yourself as your health grows more precarious with age? Well, you can prepare your home and adjust it slightly so it is companionable to your limitations - and here are three major ways you modify your house to prepare for retirement.

Make it wheelchair-friendly

You might not consider yourself as someone who will need a wheelchair down the road when you’re currently retiring in your late 60’s. But with retirees reaching longer lifespans than ever, you need to plan ahead for any kind of future you may have into your 70’s, 80’s, and even 90’s. In the best of circumstances you will need to make it easier for yourself to get from room to room and operate within them at ease. Planning for a wheelchair-friend future will help with this.

You can widen your doorways and get rid of extra throw rugs so you can easily maneuver the chair around each room without getting stuck or slowed down (regular carpet is fine to stay, as it is easy to move around on). The bathroom is a major area for the wheelchair, as you will have to know how to get yourself in and out of your chair and into potentially tricky situations, like the shower. But you can modify the bathroom to include more seating areas, and even add a chair to the bathtub if it makes things easier. And you may find it hard to deal with doors and fixtures when trying to maneuver your wheels or keep your standing balance, but now there are small improvements like getting doors with handles rather than knobs, or getting bigger light switches and cabinet handles that make all of the difference.

Design for independence

If you were home all alone for the day, could you navigate your way around the house? This means getting out of bed, cooking your own meals, and walking around without anyone else helping you. If not, then you need to start modifying the house and your lifestyle ASAP. Part of this includes staying active, which means working out. You don’t have to hit up the weights at the gym every week, but regularly walking or jogging will keep your body fit enough that you can remain physically independent for longer. But if this is not combined with great eating habits and a history of healthy living, you will need to work at staying self-sufficient in your home.

Whether you’re in a wheelchair or not, you will want to rearrange your kitchen so that the items you need to reach every day are on the lower shelves. In order to make yourself meals, you’ll have to have easy access to dishes and cooking tools without having to climb on a counter to reach them. You should also buy a back-up generator for the winter and summer months when it is vital to keep your heating/air conditioner on so you don’t become ill. One other consideration most people seem to forget is security: for your peace of mind and personal safety, consider adding surveillance to your home. You can go high-tech and install an alarm system so if anything happens you will have back-up there within minutes, or simply make sure your doors all have deadbolts and the windows are able to be locked at night.

Prevent future falls

Luckily, preventing future falls is not that complicated. Making your house wheelchair-friendly will help in this regard. Decluttering your living space means you will have more room to maneuver your chair. Adding a grab bar to the bathroom will help not only if you need to enter and exit a wheelchair to the mirror or toilet, but allow you to maintain your balance as you get in and out of the shower. Modifying your shower to include a no-step entry will also help and eliminate one more tripping hazard.

Getting rid of throw rugs from around the house will help you ride along smoothly, but it also leaves one less obstacle on the floor, as those rugs can bunch up and prove to be a tripping hazard. You can also consider rearranging the rooms of your house. If your master bedroom is upstairs and that makes it less accessible, you can always move your things to the ground floor. Transform the guest room or even the living room into your new bedroom! If making your way up and down the stairs every day is too much, don’t strain yourself.

The Last-Minute Holiday Gift Guide For Grandparents

Wed, 17 Dec 2014 07:30:00 -0600

The holiday season is here, which means time for shopping. But shopping now is different than it ever has been - there are so many different choices for boys, girls, and various ages and stages of life. How do you know what your 13 year old granddaughter will like? Which ages are content with games and when do they start to want more technical gifts? Our gift guide is here to help you narrow down the perfect gift for any grandchild.

Ages 5-9

Boys and Girls:

Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book: Make A World, paperback $6

This book teaches kids ages 6 and up how to draw whatever building, machine, or creature they need to fill a blank page up with their own creations. The book uses simple shapes to teach its reader how to draw a submarine, kangaroo, castle, and more. The author, Ed Emberley, has written and illustrated over 80 books, so you know you’re in good hands. It’s perfect for any budding artist, and the paperback edition is only $6.

No Stress Chess, $11.24

After they graduate from checkers, many kids start asking to learn to play chess. But playing a game with complex rules against an adult who is bound to beat them can take the fun out of the game. That’s where No Stress Chess comes in - it includes a deck of cards that shows how each piece can move, so one side of the chess board gets hints and the other does not. Once your grandkid gets the hang of the game, they can start playing on the regular side of the board and work on becoming the world’s next chess master.

The Everything Kids' Science Experiments Book, paperback $5.99

This gift is a great way to teach kids about science while keeping them entertained with experiments that entail making things float, freeze, and boil. Written by a high school science teacher, this book helps kids understand magnets, what’s on the inside of coins, and teaches them how to use household items to conduct fun, safe, low maintenance experiments. Next time the grandkids come over, you can help them conduct their experiments, like dissolving the shell of an egg!

Ages 10-11

Boys and Girls:

Just Dance 6

Boys and girls will have fun playing Just Dance with their friends and family. Two players at a time compete against each other by dancing to popular songs. Each player must follow the lead of the dancer onscreen, earning points for how closely they can match their dancer’s moves. Just Dance 6 comes with 45 different songs that have choreographed dances, including “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Let It Go,” and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Just make sure your grandkid has a video game system that’s compatible with the game: the Xbox 1, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, or Playstation 4.

Songbird AM/FM Radio, Alarm Clock and MP3 Player

This gift is perfect for your tech-savvy grandkid. It’s a portable radio that comes with a strap to carry it, and works as a speaker for their iPod. They can keep it in their room and use it as an alarm clock, or put in batteries to take it with them wherever they go. You can choose between a green, orange, blue, pink, or turquoise radio. Ages 10-12 is when a kid is just beginning to discover their taste and love for music, so your grandkid will get a lot of use and love from their Songbird.

Suspend

Suspend is a game that will test your patience, and sense of balance - it’s like the advanced version of Jenga. Inside each tube comes a tabletop stand and 24 wire pieces with notches so you can suspend each bar off of another. Your job is to stack them on top of each other, one player at a time, until someone knocks the whole tower over. It takes hand-eye coordination, which is why it’s good for kids near the end of elementary school. Up to four people can play at once, making it fun for the family or to do with friends.

Ages 12-14

Boys and Girls:

Bongos ($34.99), acoustic guitar ($69.99), or portable keyboard ($109.99)

Instruments are a perfect gift for the grandkid whose motor skills are well developed. They may pick up the acoustic guitar and start their first band, use the bongos during dramatic poetry readings, or just use the keyboard for messing around with when their friends come over. Musical instruments are always fun, and a great outlet for the creative juices. Each of these instruments is easy for beginners, and quiet enough where they won’t be waking their parents up on Sunday morning.

Girls:

Portable Karaoke with Built-in Light Show ($39.99)

Karaoke isn’t just popular in Japan, it’s making a comeback in the US as well. Everyone from adults to kids loves to pick up a microphone and wail their favorite tunes, and portable karaoke is the perfect way to do that. It plugs into your TV so you can read the words and play around with echo and auto control. You can perform duets while the disco lights from the machine add some glam to the concert.

Boys:

NERF N-Strike Elite Tactical Vest

The NERF N-Strike Elite Tactical Vest will take your grandson’s NERF game to the next level. The vest comes with enough pockets and reload clips to keep your small soldier well-stocked with NERF darts so they’ll never run out of ammo. It also comes with two reload clips holding six darts each, which will work on any blaster, and the vest can be adjusted to fit most sizes.

Ages 15-17

Boys and Girls:

Adults HedBangz Game ($17.99)

Instead of taping an index card on your head, there is now Adults Headbangz, which comes with 6 headbands that allow you to clip a card into place. After your card is on, you must ask the other players questions to determine which animal, food, or man-made object you are while giving the other player’s hints as to what is on their card. There are 74 different cards to choose from, but you’ll only have so much time to ask or answer questions before the timer goes off!

Girls

Personalized Copy of Pride and Prejudice, or Emma (Paperback $19.99, or Hardcover for $34.99)

Pride and Prejudice and Emma are two of Jane Austen’s works that still resonate with young women today. Pride and Prejudice is constantly being remade into new movies or miniseries - now its spin-off, “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” is soon to be released in movie theaters. The movie “Clueless” was written as an updated version of Austen’s Emma, which perfectly captures the story of a young woman determined to play matchmaker. But these books aren’t just copies of the books for your granddaughter - they are copies in which you can replace the main character’s name for her own so she can be the protagonist in her favorite book!

Boys

NBA Arcade Basketball System ($55.98)

Bring a piece of the arcade into your basement with the NBA Arcade Basketball System. It may not spit out tickets when you’re done, but it comes with three basketballs so you can have a shoot-out against your grandson. Or, if your grandson doesn’t have enough room for an entire system, you can buy them this mini basketball hoop they can hang anywhere in the house.

Ages 18-20

Boys and Girls:

Boys and girls in the college phase of their lives will probably be grateful for gift cards and money, since they are likely broke. Gift cards to food places are popular, as is cash that they can put towards schoolbooks, rent, or weekend fun. They will probably let you know which they prefer. But, if you grandkid wants to keep the magic of Christmas alive with actual gifts, here are two suggestions:

Girls:

Polaroid 300 Instant Print Camera ($79.99)

This purple camera is a modern wave to the retro polaroid camera. You’ll see the pictures you take printed within minutes, so you can share them with your family and friends almost immediately. The photos are about the size of a business card, and the camera lets you know how many photo’s worth of film you have left as you go. The instant print camera is perfect for capturing college’s best moments, both big and small.

Boys:

Pavilion 300-piece Poker Set, ($25.99)

This poker set comes with professional poker chips, a dealer chip, 3 chip racks, pack of cards, instructions, and a professional-looking aluminum case to carry it all in. It’s everything you need to get your start as a serious poker player, or to just have some fun with dorm-mates after class. The basics of poker aren’t terribly difficult to learn, so they’ll have fun doing it. And once they do, teaching other people how to play is a great way to make friends.

The Surprising Key to Happiness in Retirement

Mon, 15 Dec 2014 07:30:00 -0600

Retirement is like the prize we earn for growing older – some more time to spend on our favorite hobbies, and just generally live in the present instead of worrying for the future. More recently it has become a concern that retirees have not saved up enough money to sustain them for their increased lifespans. Because of this, you might imagine that they key to a happy retirement would be financial security. But actually, it’s something else completely.

How to be Happily Retired

Retirement is likely the most enjoyable phase of your life. You don’t have to work for anyone, or wake up early, and you have total freedom over how your time is spent. You can get around to all of those things you dreamed of doing, like traveling to Turkey or building a boat. Or, you can laze around the house, only leaving to buy groceries or go to a family member’s sports game. Whatever you want to do, chances are you’ll be able to do it. However, not everyone finds perfect bliss in retirement. A recent study was conducted by the firm Age Wave, to see what people thought about their retirement – and they found what the key ingredient is to making the phase a happy one.

The study of 3,300 pre-retirees and retirees found that the key to being happy in retirement is having good health. Your good health actually trumps financial security (trailing behind in second place), family and friends (third), and having a purpose or trying new things. It’s not surprising that health would win first place: baby boomers are the generation that is four times more likely to take an active part in learning about health information than their parent’s generation, who never questioned their doctors. Baby boomers want to enjoy their retirement in full health so that they can be mobile and pain-free in their freedom. They do not want to be constricted by heart problems, arthritis, joint pain, diabetes, or any other health problems that plague older adults. With a healthy body and mind, retirees can enjoy the full benefits of their new lifestyle uninhibitedly.

Avoiding Retiree’s Biggest Worry

While good health is the key to a happy retirement, the same group of retirees cited health care expenses as their biggest worry. An increased life span does not mean that everyone is living longer healthily – for many people they need help to do carry on, whether it’s medications, physical therapy, or other care for a chronic condition. Even with budgeting it can be hard to know if you can depend on your savings, pensions, and 401(k) to cover those costs, plus living expenses – and you need to be covered for any other health emergency that may happen, like breaking a hip. Health care is both a financial burden, and a great unknown since we can’t predict what care we will need for certain in the future. Anxiety over health care finances outstrips retiree’s worry over outliving their money, or not having enough savings, social security, or pension.

Although it’s true that you can’t predict what health concerns will come, you can do your best to take preventative action. One of the best things you can do is get active, so try to jog, walk, or take up yoga. Anything to get your body moving and give your heart and muscles a healthy workout is going to benefit you. So will cutting out smoking, excess drinking, and even dessert a few times a week. By adding more fish and foods with antioxidants into your diet, you’ll be giving yourself more energy and fighting off inflammation that can lead to joint pain and other discomfort. There are even a variety of apps designed to help you keep track of your personal health, from what food you eat to exercising your brain.

But don’t wait until you retire to convert to a healthier lifestyle. The sooner you begin, the better; the biggest reason the retirees in the study retired was because they had a personal health problem. An early retirement means less time to make money towards your savings, and fewer benefits for your hard work. It’s never too early or too late to take an interest in your personal health – think of it as an investment into your future happiness.

How to Incorporate Anti-Aging Foods Into Your Holiday Meal

Tue, 02 Dec 2014 07:30:00 -0600

Most people think that the holidays are doomed to be full of delicious food that is too rich to be healthy. We moan over all of the weight we are sure to gain, and make unfulfilled promises to lose it for our New Year’s Resolution. But actually, not all holiday foods are bad for you – some of the traditional dishes actually help your body with anti-aging. So if you are headed to a company potluck or need a side to bring to the holiday table, consider these:

Pomegranates

Pomegranates are full of the Vitamin C, an antioxidant which helps maintain your blood and bones, which grow less dense with age. They also help keep your skin from wrinkling as a result of sun damage. The fruit’s juice in the seeds preserves the collagen that keeps your skin looking smooth, so you won’t have to go out and get any collagen injections from a plastic surgeon. You can incorporate pomegranates into your cooking by making blushing pomegranate chicken, or spinach pomegranate salad.

Sweet Potatoes

Instead of putting marshmallows on top of your sweet potatoes, or eating them in a pie when they’ve been buried beneath sugar and butter, just eat some baked sweet potatoes. On their own, they contain copper which can keep your skin firm and Vitamin A which encourages cell turnover. If you think they taste too plain on their own, add some cinnamon – it’s a healthier topping than sugar, and just as delicious.

Cranberries

Researchers from Yale University have cited inflammation as one major cause of aging, and if that’s true then cranberries are your new best friend. Besides having an overflow of antioxidants that would put broccoli to shame, this tart fruit helps fight inflammation. And cranberries are super accessible in the winter – you can eat them canned, in a cocktail, or in cinnamon apple cranberry sauce.

Green Tea

Winter is all about trying to grab on to some warmth – a fireplace, some hot chocolate, fuzzy socks, and even green tea. There’s no better way to keep yourself warm than holding a hot mug of tea in your hands, and green tea goes to work for you right away. It contains compounds that fight sun damage as well as polyphenols, which are antioxidants that can reverse the effects of getting older. Drinking one cup a day will show signs of improvement by a month’s time, but if you get bored of sipping the same glass of tea every day you can turn it into a mocktail or green tea smoothie to mix things up.

Beets

Ah, beets! The kind of odd plant that small children refuse to eat. Luckily, children aren’t the ones who need to eat beets for the benefits, but you might be interested in the surplus of iron, fiber, and vitamins A and C. Like cranberries, beets have compounds which reduce inflammation, but they also help increase your body’s blood flow, which promotes energy and brings oxygen to your vital organs. If you exercise regularly, try drinking beet juice – it can allegedly increase your endurance, which means burning more calories post-holidays.

Cold-water Fish

If you don’t feel that a meal is complete without some meat on your plate, substitute fish in for the steak and pork every so often. Cold-water fish like mackerel, sardines, and salmon can help keep the moisture in your skin with their omega-3 fatty acids. If you can get yourself up to two servings a week, it can help with skin inflammations like psoriasis or eczema. Eating fish twice a week might sound dull, but you can switch off between pappardelle with asparagus and salmon, salmon and spinach salad, and teriyaki salmon with zucchini.

5 Little-Known Organizations That Are Changing The Lives Of Seniors

Mon, 01 Dec 2014 07:30:00 -0600

There are plenty of organizations, such as AARP, whose purpose it is to help American senior citizens with various resources for growing older. However, there are so many groups who want to help senior citizens that you may not even have heard of some of them! Whether they are defending your rights legally, or helping to ensure your healthy future, you deserve to know that these organizations are looking out for you.

The Institute of Medicine

Odds are, you probably have never heard of the Institute of Medicine. The IOM is a nonprofit branch of the National Academy of Sciences, and its job is to advise the government and the private sector, providing information in areas like medicine, health, and biomedicine so that the nation can make informed policy decisions. Since 1970 they have published reports on Medicare, Medicaid, nursing home quality, veterans’ health issues, obesity, post-traumatic stress, and more. Although the average person may not be familiar with the IOM, when they release reports people listen because they know that these findings can sway the decisions of health organizations and even Congress. The research is taken on by volunteers scientists who are experts serving with no compensation, just to make sure our country makes the most informed decisions for its citizens.

The Administration on Aging (AOA)

The Administration of Aging is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services that provides the necessary services to aid older adults to live independently, such as transportation, adult day care, and health promotion programs. The AOA works with the Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs educate seniors on everything from HIV/AIDS to nutrition information and also home delivers meals. They also work with the Office for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian Programs to provide caregiver support and nutrition services. Through different communities the AOA make sure that seniors and whoever is taking care of them have the care they need.

Setting Priorities for Retirement Years Foundation (SPRY)

The SPRY (Setting Priorities for Retirement Years) Foundation is a nonprofit that develops education programs to provide meaningful engagement in people’s lives as they grow older. This includes a communications training project to train care workers on how to communicate with older adults, and helping to sponsor a national conference that creates a discussion between seniors and science centers to discuss how longevity is shaping the future. SPRY is here to help adults plan for their futures financially, mentally, and physically so that you can make informed and satisfying decisions.

National Senior Citizens Law Center (NSCLC)

The NSCLC protects the rights of low-income adults with private lawyers that are ready to tackle their legal problems. They aim to give poor senior citizens across the country one voice as a whole, so they don’t typically work on individual cases. Instead they advocate on the behalf of Social Security, Medicaid, nursing homes, and against age discrimination. The NSCLC also works to promote themselves as an ally to women, people with disabilities, people of color, and other minorities so that they can live with dignity as they contribute to society without the worries of poverty hanging over them.

National Aging in Place Council (NAIPC)

The NAIPC specifically fights for older Americans to be able to grow old independently in their houses for as long as they can, as opposed to being forced into a nursing home. The NAIPC brings together different voices from aging, healthcare, business, and legal backgrounds to form an Aging in Place Council, which discusses the best ways to keep our seniors in the home they choose. Their network of professionals are there to use their expertise to help you plan for your future care needs. The NAIPC also promotes National Aging in Place Week, which brings attention to the policies and regulations that advocate to help retired seniors keep their independent lifestyles. You can find your local chapter on their website, along with advice on health, finance, etc.

New Studies Show The Right Mindset Can Lengthen Your Lifespan

Wed, 26 Nov 2014 07:30:00 -0600

There are lots of sayings like “mind over matter” which illustrate how powerful the brain can be when it comes to not feeling pain, or acting determined when pursuing our dreams. Our minds are the driving force behind our survival, and our perspective filters everything we do or experience. But our brain might be even more powerful than we previously thought, with a recently discovered, powerful effect on our body. Your everyday mental outlook can affect how you are aging physically, and even help extend your life.

You Are As Young As You Feel

As we get older and hit certain decade milestones we start to remember stereotypes of older people we’ve seen on TV, and worry about growing into those memory-frazzled, fragile characters. Unfortunately, the power of suggestion is so strong that after a study in Texas asked seniors to take a memory test, the participants reported feeling five years older afterwards – even when they had done well on the memory test!

Researchers from Yale and Berkeley decided to put the power of positive thinking to the test. For four weeks, test subjects from age 61 to 99 met with researchers for 15-minute sessions. The group who was shown words such as “wise,” “senior,” and “old” had no physical improvements after the study when it came to walking, balance, or rising out of their chairs. However, the group who spent their time writing about physically active seniors showed more physical improvements in their own fitness than another study that had its participants do six months of exercise. The results are clear: our bodies are much less limited than we perceive them to be. Being surrounded by senior stereotypes in marketing and movies which create negative connotations of older people actually prevents them from being their healthiest selves.

Feel in Control? You Are.

Do you want to live longer? Well, it’s all about perspective according to the findings of researchers at University College London. The study monitored 9,000 subjects who averaged age 65, and followed up with them eight and a half years later. In addition to questions about their physical health habits, people were asked questions to evaluate their subjective well-being: about their sense of purpose, control, and if what they did was worthwhile. Those who said that they felt the most fulfilled were a third less likely to die during those eight years than those who felt least fulfilled. Even when taking into account other health factors, there seems to be a relationship between physical health and wellbeing: if one suffers, the other follows.

The professor who led the study, Andrew Steptoe, noted that previous research has found a correlation between happiness and a lower risk of death. Therefore it is not surprising that those with a strong mental outlook who felt in control and ready for each day lived longer. While correlation is not the same as causation, older adults with meaning and a purpose in their lives really do seem to survive longer. It could be that having a reason to get up in the morning and go through your day affects your hormones, which helps to lower blood pressure and stress and thus benefit your physical health. The good news is, your perspective is in your hands – if you don’t feel like you have a purpose, you can still go find one.

What You Shouldn't Be Doing With Expired Medications

Mon, 24 Nov 2014 07:30:00 -0600

As you grow older, you may find that your medicine cabinet is beginning to get crowded with various medications. This is totally normal – 25% of all seniors in the United States take three or more daily medications, according to HealthDay. However, with so many pills to keep track of it may be easy to miss expiration dates or accidentally take the wrong pill – so here are some ways you can prevent any mishaps.

Play It Smart

It’s hard to believe that medicine can “go bad” like meat does if you set it out too long, but it’s sort of true. Old medication can have ingredients that spoil, as well as lose their potency, which means you won’t be getting the benefits you need. If your heart or diabetes medicine is failing to manage your disease, you could experience the dangerous health affects very soon. This is why it is important to go through your medicine cabinet every so often and make sure that all of your pills and tablets are within their shelf life. Antibiotics only last about two weeks, while some pharmacy capsules can keep for five years. Don’t hang on to leftover pills – by the time you need them again, you can get a prescription for fresh ones.

At the same time, just because your medicine is less potent doesn’t mean you can start playing doctor. Taking two expired pills is not the same as one regular pill – and if the expired pills are each 90% effective, you could be playing with fire. If you want to keep your medicine effective for its full lifetime, stop storing them in the bathroom. It may be more convenient, but the warmth and humidity in the room will only age your medicine. The shelves in your kitchen are dryer and cooler without the threat of shower steam, so store them there.

How to Safely Get Rid of Old Medications

Some state departments, like the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services, allow you to donate unneeded prescription drugs to a repository program, although there are plenty of limitations in place. Otherwise, there are different ways to safely dispose of old medications so that no one else can accidentally take them and get hurt. Liquid medications should be poured onto something absorbent, like kitty litter, before being thrown in with your regular trash. To get rid of tablets or capsules, keep them in their bottles but pour some liquid detergent or ammonia in the bottle before you throw it in your garbage to be disposed of with the trash. Also, makes sure that you have removed your name from the prescription bottles. While one method of disposing of medications used to be flushing them down the toilet, it’s best to avoid that. Some environmental organizations have pointed out that trace amounts of the chemicals can appear back in our water supply.