January 2009
Monthly Archive
Making the Grade: The Intergenerational School
Two of my favorite topics – Alzheimer’s and intergenerational programs – go hand in hand in a story that was featured on NPR’s Morning Edition several months ago.
Dr. Peter Whitehouse always advised his older patients who were suffering from memory loss to stay socially active; it was the best prescription he could give them. So when Dr. Whitehouse and his wife Cathy founded an inner-city charter school in Cleveland eight years ago, he provided opportunities for his patients to do just that. The Intergenerational School utilizes older volunteers, many of whom have mild to advanced Alzheimer’s disease or some form of dementia, to work on projects with the children. Yes, even those with advanced Alzheimer’s can still participate in meaningful activities – and I applaud and admire Dr. Peter and Cathy Whitehouse for recognizing this and providing these opportunities.
A number of studies have been conducted to assert that volunteering can improve one’s health in a number of ways (such as increased physical strength, improved cognition, and prevention of depression), and Dr. Whitehouse believes that the same is true for those with Alzheimer’s or other cognitive impairments. Although one of the school’s most devoted volunteers, 84-year-old Barbara Kelsey, could not recall why she was being applauded at the awards luncheon, Cathy Whitehouse knows that Kelsey clearly enjoys her work. And isn’t that the most important outcome, science and methodology aside?
The Intergenerational School is really a win-win situation for the students and the seniors involved. Volunteering keeps the seniors active, healthy and engaged. The students learn from the seniors’ life experience and they learn to respect the older generation, regardless of their cognitive impairments or other age-related conditions. In my opinion, this is one of the most important outcomes. I have always admired older people, but I believe that I owe this in part to the wonderful relationships I’ve had with my grandparents. Intergenerational programs can provide that opportunity for those young people who have not had the benefit of knowing their grandparents. During the process, young people learn to respect their elders, and the identity and value of the senior is also affirmed.
One of my best memories while serving as the Activities Director of an assisted living facility in suburban Philadelphia was an intergenerational program, and I can still remember those days in the community room when the residents and students from a local private school were engaged in conversations about everything from modern technology to life during the war. Some of the students (and even some of the seniors) were apprehensive at first, but it didn’t take long for everyone to warm up to each other. And, before long, both the students and seniors anxiously awaited the next gathering.
I would love to see more programs like the one at The Intergenerational School – programs that value the contributions of all seniors, even those with memory impairments, programs that value the importance of senior-student interaction, and above all, programs that work.
Got a story to tell about an intergenerational program that has worked in your church, school or community? Share it here!
- Michelle Seitzer
Boomers & Seniors: News You Can Use: Aging Parents, Retirement Trends, More…
SeniorsforLiving.com is delighted to present the second edition of the “Boomers & Seniors – News You Can Use” blog carnival. Once again, we’ve compiled posts from leading bloggers about senior housing trends, boomer health, retirement issues, and more. We guarantee you’ll come away with a few new “must-reads” to add to your RSS feed!
It is with much sadness, however, that we acknowledge the passing of and say goodbye to a friend and Carnival participant, Grace R. Young OT. We honor her memory and her contributions to those living with a disability by highlighting her post Helping Hounds, in which describes service dogs as the ultimate caregivers. We applaud her work on Disabled 2 Abled and will keep her family in our thoughts.
* * * * *
Future Carnival editions will follow on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, with the next Carnival hosted by Marijke of Seniors-Support.com on February 10th.
Senior Housing/Senior Care
Certainly, if you happened upon SeniorsforLiving.com’s blog, or you’re a regular reader, you may agree that topics like finances or burial plots are not desirable conversation-starters, but they are must-have discussions. That’s why we chose to include Eight Things to Do If You Have an Aging Parent in this installment, a valuable entry that faces this difficult topic head-on so that you can be prepared to address your parents’ care needs when the time arises. Another new blog post, In Tough Times, Caregivers May Cash In, offers insight into the personal-service or personal-care contracts that are growing in popularity and providing compensation for caregivers.
As Kaye Swain at Sandwich Ink explains, caregivers are a special group, especially when it comes to helping an elderly parent move. The handy checklist is key, and provides honest advice and valuable suggestions to ease the process.
Exploring relocation hot-spots? Find out why some unexpected locations might have just the atmosphere you desire to live large, comfortably, and happily in retirement. Jeff Rose presents Retire on the Water – St. Joseph, MI and Retire by the Water – Beaufort, SC, both posted at Consumer Boomer.
Some are quick to cast off where the elderly go, says Josanne Anthony, who insists that it’s time to put a stop to “throwing away” the elderly. The Elderly in the United States, posted at Brilliant Babblings, touts “these people deserve for us to show them kindness and care!”
Health & Wellness
For a mental workout, get your left- and right-brain going with Alvaro Fernandez’s recommendations of the Top 10 Brain Fitness and Cognitive Health Books posted at SharpBrains. You’ll discover that you can transform yourself when you exercise the mind, and getting your brain to work in another direction can guard against dementia as well.
Turns out, mental and physical workouts are quite complementary. In Don’t Forget Your Weight Loss at The Senior Walking Fitness Blog, Peter Stockwell says, “Lose weight and improve your memory. It’s official, as far as I can recall.” For further mental stimulation, Catherine Eagleson presents Remembering Your ABC’s Is Not Just for Kids posted at Crosswords For Fun, saying, “Rather than making mental exercise a chore, it is time to make it a pastime that you enjoy taking part in. Doing puzzles such as crosswords and Sudoku is the perfect way to do this. They are fun for people of all ages and guaranteed to and will definitely keep your mind fit and healthy, whether you are 9 or 99!”
But if you’re in pain, it can be tough to get up the energy to actually work out. Find out what that Mysterious Morning Neck Pain could be from Dean Moyer at The Back Pain Blog. He says, “Winter is upon us and with the cold comes a greater risk of joint injury. Here are some tips on how to deal with winter in a way that can make neck pain and the cold seem a little less daunting.”
Vitality
Retirement isn’t the end of your life –- it’s just the beginning of a fabulous new stage! So there’s no reason not to retire early if you can swing it. Super Saver presents My Life Improvements from Retiring Early posted at My Wealth Builder -– take tips from someone whose retirement discoveries have given him a new lease on life. Echoing that sentiment is James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H., who says, “When you retire, remember to continue a purpose for living.” Read more on that subject in Retirement May Be Dangerous to Your Health, posted at James Hubbard’s My Family Doctor Blog.
Another way to stay fit and vital? Consider saying “yes” more often to those babysitting requests. Marijke at Seniors Support presents Your Children Ask You to Babysit? Should You? saying, “There’s a dilemma that faces many grandparents today, particularly because many of them are more active than grandparents of generations before.”
But just because you’re feeling fine doesn’t mean you’re obligated to watch after the little ones –- make sure you have your personal guidelines in place so you stay happy. Get some Healthy Stress Management Tips from Joel Gray at Health Tips 101.
Senior Lifestyle
No one is immune to the financial crisis, but find out why bad business doesn’t have to put you in debt at The Smarter Wallet in the blog post Retirement Investments Hit By The Economic Crisis? Financial Options for Seniors. And get even more advice on safeguarding your retirement savings from Jeff Rose who presents 2009 Changes to Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) Rules for Investors over 70-1/2.
Money, money, money… get the almighty dollar on your side and start investing! Mr. ToughMoneyLove presents Is This a Good Time for Baby Boomers to Downsize? at Go To Retirement, saying, “Home values are down and so are mortgage rates. This may be a unique buying opportunity.”
And finally, Banquet Manager dishes about My Lunch With The Blue Haired Ladies at So You Want To Be a Banquet Manager…. With old age comes the right to be eccentric. Enjoy!
Technorati tags:
Boomers and Seniors – News You Can Use, blog carnival
In Tough Times, Caregivers May Cash In
A recent Wall Street Journal online article announces that “caregiver arrangements” are on the rise given the nation’s current economic conditions. According to attorneys and caregiver advocates, more families are looking into these arrangements as a way to make everyone happy: family members providing care get some compensation for their time, and the care recipient is able to stay at home as long as possible. It is truly a win-win situation, but “agreements need to be carefully crafted…there are tax consequences.”
Also known as personal-service or personal-care contracts, the agreements have grown in popularity as a Medicaid planning tool because they can reduce the size of an estate, says Louis Jay Ulman, a senior principal at Offit Kurman, a law firm with offices in the Baltimore-Washington corridor.
Caregiver agreements must be set up properly, completed in advance with reasonable expectations for services that will be rendered. Specifics about the duties that caregivers will perform and the cost of said services must also be clearly stated. Be sure to garner input from all family members on these specifics as a means for avoiding future issues. Finally, determine how the payments will be made, whether in installments or an up-front lump sum. Keep in mind that caregivers who receive compensation will also be required to pay taxes on that income.
For many sandwich generation families who are struggling to meet their own family’s needs and provide care to their aging parents, this arrangement seems very appealing, although I think the buy-in from all family members could get a little sticky in some cases. In my time with the Alzheimer’s Association, I have heard numerous stories about disagreements among siblings – some very intense - as to the best care plan for their family member. I assume that having many open discussions before setting it in stone and enlisting the services of a good lawyer whom you trust is key. And, as with anything, be sure to read all the fine print.
- Michelle Seitzer
Just for Caregivers23 Jan 2009 09:28 pm
Eight Things To Do If You Have an Aging Parent
People are forever telling me that they’ll face the illness and death of a parent like I have, “someday” and that they’ll eventually have to “talk about all this stuff”.
It’s hard sometimes, but the time to start this conversation is now. I’m not an expert, but there is some basic information you need to know to begin to address your parents’ care needs. While this list is by no means all-inclusive, there are a few things I’ve learned along the journey:
1. Familiarize yourself with the basics of your parents’ finances. Even if it’s not “time” to get into the details, it’s good to know things like: Where they bank? Do they have a safe deposit box? (consider asking for a list of contents) Where do they keep the “important” papers?
2. It’s good to know and keep a list of your parents’ physicians, medications they take and their basic medical history, including dates of any surgeries or hospitalizations even if they aren’t aging or infirm. It’s good information to have, and even if you don’t live in the same town, you could find yourself traveling with them and need it, or receive an emergency call from someone needing this information.
3. Know the types of insurance (if any) they have. For example, is it private insurance? Who is the subscriber? What will they do if the subscriber suddenly can’t work? Do they have Medicare (or other federal program coverage)? Do they have military coverage? What about Long Term Care insurance?
4. How do/will they pay for their medications? If it is through private insurance (often through a job benefit), how will they continue to pay for medicines if the carrier can no longer work? For example, right before my mother became ill, my parents found out my dad was eligible for Tricare and that it covered nearly all their prescriptions. This fact alone has saved them from financial disaster.
5. Get an idea of who knows what about household matters. Are both parents familiar with the household bills and finances? Do both parents know how to grocery shop, do laundry, etc.? If one parent dies, how much help would the surviving spouse need, even if they are in good health?
6. Take a look at some of the assistance resources in your area. Often, your first introduction into the matters of Generation Sandwich comes in the form of your aging or ill parent needing help in the home. For example, do you know anyone who has had a good experience with a home health company or a medical equipment vendor? Are there companion/sitter agencies in your area, or, do you know someone who has hired a sitter privately? Ask questions now, and, file the information away for later if you think you might need it.
7. Know if they have (and get copies of) any advance medical directives such as a will, a health care proxy, or, a durable power of attorney.
8. It may be hard to bring up in conversation, but, find out if they have burial spaces (apparently, the term “plot” is passe, who knew?) As hard as it is to believe about my hyper-organized parents, no one knew for sure if they had spaces or not. It’s just handy information to know.
I know it’s not always easy to bring these kinds of things up with your parents, particularly if they are independent, and in good health. However, it’s wise to be prepared.
The D-Word: Discussing Death
Very few people like to think or talk about death or dying, or what could happen at the end of life if there is a disease process involved. But in-the-spotlight cases like Terri Schiavo have brought the issue of living wills and advanced directives to the public, and forced us to take a closer look… whether we like it or not.
While some may still choose to avoid the issue, it will only cause more difficulties for you and your loved ones in the future, and that future may not always be decades down the road. As controversy-laden as the Schiavo case may have been, it really made me aware of the need for establishing a living will; she was only in her 20s when she suffered brain damage and had been healthy and active up to that fateful day in the early 90s. I guess part of me still thought in terms of an old-fashioned movie, where the rich elderly uncle was lying on his deathbed and imparting his final wishes to his family – but that could not be further from the truth.
Marijke Durning, a nurse who writes about medical and health-related issues in a number of venues, has a strong basis for encouraging people to discuss the “undiscussable.” She is currently seeking responses to a survey on Seniors-Support.com to find out just how many people actually have a living will or advanced directives.
According to Marijke, the drive for this survey was based on both professional and personal experience. She writes,
“I’m a nurse and have worked in acute care, palliative care and long-term care. I’ve seen many, many people not have living wills and have seen them suffering because family members disagree over the care – one would want to let the loved one go, another would want to be aggressive as possible.
Right now, I see people in their very late age in life, 90s and 100+ and while some of them are healthy and happy, very many aren’t. Yet, their family members still fight for them to be treated as aggressively as possible in some cases. This is particularly an issue if the family lives far away and suffers from some sort of guilt. It breaks my heart as a nurse to know that someone who has no more quality of life hang on because their children feel that they owe it to their parents.”
By no means is this process easy – family members will not always agree on what’s best, and in the case of certain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or dementia, the wishes of the afflicted individual may be nearly impossible to draw out. In some cases, the dying person may not have any surviving family members who can speak on his or her behalf. Durning witnessed this sad situation many times during her professional life in the intensive care unit, leaving the doctors and nurses to ask the tough questions, for example: “How far should we go to treat? What would they want?”
As the saying goes, nothing in life is certain except death and taxes. But as certain as death may be, we humans change our minds millions of times over the course of our lives, which means that the decisions I might make at age 30 may not be the same when I’m 86 and suffering from cancer. Either way, it’s important to get these issues on the table.
Durning shares her personal point of view:
“…when my children were younger, I thought I’d be OK with “do whatever to keep me alive” just in case there was hope I’d recover. But now that they’re young adults, I don’t want that. I don’t want to waste away somewhere with a tube feeding in my stomach or having someone feed me and change my briefs. If I become ill enough to know that there’s no recovery, I don’t want to be kept alive artificially.”
I applaud Marijke for posting this survey and exploring these topics on her sites. Death is never an easy thing, but we need to become more comfortable with talking about it. As with many complex issues in life, I truly believe that education and awareness makes a huge difference in approaching the discussion with more understanding and compassion. I also believe that this will contribute towards a more solid, thoughtful plan of action, rather than a rushed, last-hour deathbed decision.
Durning has a goal of 1000 responses for her survey, with the hope that it would give her a good base for informative articles on helping people understand the decision-making process and its benefits for all involved. Please consider taking the survey – it would be an excellent start to initiating a very important, life-changing conversation. And don’t be afraid to use the d-word.
- Michelle Seitzer
When Is It Time To Seniors to Stop Driving?
When is it time for an older person to stop driving? I have no personal experience in working through this with anyone, but with an aging father, I may have to address this one day in the near future. I look at what my cousins went through with their dad (my father’s older brother), and it took not one, but two unplanned “meetings” between his car and a city bus to get him off the road.
While I’m not an advocate of mandating that everyone cease driving after a certain age, the reality is that the changes that come with aging, rather than the age itself, can possibly impair driving skills.
The physical changes that affect driving ability can include slower reflexes and reaction time, (especially at night), fatigue and increased risk of driving errors due to medication side effects.
It’s a difficult subject for both the driver and the family, but here’s a sample of the help available out there:
Many people are aware of their limitations, and voluntarily stop driving. I hope I will be one of them, someday. However, I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to give up your independence in this way.
Families, health care providers, and communities are the most valuable resources for insuring the safety and satisfaction of everyone concerned when it becomes time for driving retirement.
Wii Bowling Money Circuit for Seniors
There are lots of stories about how the Nintendo Wii has made a wide range of games available to families, and about the many examples of how seniors use the Wii for both fitness and fun in nursing homes and retirement communities. Perhaps I read them just to make sure I’ll still be able to play in my later years (I’m a big fan!) but, the Wii craze among seniors isn’t just about entertainment, rehab, and staving off dementia. Seniors who enjoy Wii Bowling can now say, “Show me the money.”
Catherine Masters, founder of the National Women’s Football Association, and member of the American Football Hall of Fame has started a Senior Wii Bowling Tour, complete with tournaments and prize money.
According to Masters:
“Wii is not only a competitive sport, it’s also super social and gives the seniors a chance to gather together and cheer each other on,” says Masters.
“Seniors can also use a little extra pocket change and I am confident that I can bring in enough sponsors to provide prize money tournaments around the country.”
Though there are many Wii bowling leagues and tournaments for seniors, Masters hopes to bring in major corporate sponsors for the this tour, something not usually common in senior sports leagues.
Seniors who enjoy Wii games can also connect with each other and find out more about the league at Masters’ site, Senior Wii Central.
In addition to the physical and mental benefits often cited for seniors, Wii is a great way for people to enjoy themselves and I love seeing a way that people of all levels and abilities can participate. The bowling circuit begun by Masters brings a different level of play to seniors, not only will they enjoy the physical and social benefits of the game they have a tangible goal and the chance to be meaningfully rewarded for their efforts.
Senior Health13 Jan 2009 10:56 am
Senior Safety: Easy Fitness Tips to Avoid a Fall
SFL welcomes today’s guest blogger, Kathleen Wood, Columbia SC, an NASM certified personal trainer. Her passion is working with and training seniors and fragile clients. Her free weekly newsletter on healthy living is Palmetto Fitness Focus.
Nothing strikes fear in the hearts of seniors (and those who care about seniors) like the word “FALL.”
Perhaps it’s the knowledge that a fall can end your ability to live alone, or at least temporarily make you dependant on someone else. Not being able to get up can also affect the grandma who desperately wants to play with the grandbaby on the floor, but knows what goes down must get up and that isn’t pretty – but it can be pretty painful!
It is critical for seniors to be physically and functionally strong. Strengthening your leg muscles will keep you from dragging your toes and tripping. Strong legs lift you up stairs, and get you up off the floor when playing with the little ones. Strong arms will allow you to hold on tight, push or pull yourself up if you do find the floor unexpectedly.
Get strong:
1. Sit to Stand – In a gym, we call it a squat. All a squat is, is sitting slowly (no plopping!), then stand up without using your arms to push. A wide foot stance will give you better balance. Lean forward so you can see your toes before standing up.
2. Push-ups – No, not the traditional down-on-the-floor kind. Put your hands on the wall to begin with, and push your body away from the wall. Progress to the kitchen counter. This will strengthen your upper body.
Falling can happen because of a lack of balance, reaction, and /or strength. Know what? We live in an unstable world. Our world is full of bumpy ground, uneven pavement, rugs with toe-catching edges, stones in the path and steps. It was there in our younger years, too. Perhaps our eyesight was better and we saw it and adjusted for it. More likely it has to do with our ability to react to the stimuli we encounter. When a young person steps on the pavement edge, the foot sends the message to the brain to shift weight to self-correct much quicker. Also, young people find it play to challenge their balance. We are less likely to practice balance as we age, but we should.
Train for balance:
1. Stand on one foot. You may need your hands near or on a stable surface. Find a fixed focus point to look at. Next, brush your teeth or talk on the phone on one foot. How long can you hold?
2. Straddle a straight line on the floor. Stand on one foot and hold 2 seconds, then shift and stand on the other foot. When this is easy, hop one foot to the other.
These might seem like simple exercises, but they can keep you healthy and safe from a fall for years to come.
-Kathleen Wood
Top Banana Brings Groceries Home for Hungry Seniors
I am always excited to find out about undiscovered resources available for seniors in need. When I read about Top Banana, I knew I had to share it in the blog. While the organization currently operates in Maryland and DC only, my hope is that other aspiring entrepeneurs like Top Banana’s founder, Jean Guiffre, will take the ball and carry it to their corner of the world. Guiffre saw a need and sought to meet that need in her community; her drive, creativity and success should be modeled.
Founded in 1982 as a home-based operation that brought groceries to seniors’ homes, Guiffre (a former private investigator, interestingly enough) began the business after discovering her mother’s cabinets were totally bare despite living only a block away from the grocery store. Health problems hindered the short walk to the store, so Guiffre did the shopping for her (and subsequently, five of her mother’s neighbors). Today, after 16 years of running the business from her home, Guiffre’s Top Banana has its own warehouse in an old post office, where two full-time and 11 part-time employees serve 500+ customers.
For many of these Top Banana customers, the delivery person may be the only social contact they have during the week. This is a vitally important connection, especially for those seniors who may be completely on their own without family in the area. Emergency contact information is recorded for each customer, and while the delivery personnel are not medically trained, they have on many occasions made a phone call in a time of need.
I am sure that many adult children and good-hearted neighbors across the country bring an extra shopping list besides their own when they hit the grocery store, picking up a few necessary items for the loved one who is homebound. But in the case of those who are alone, a service like Top Banana is phenomenal. Sometimes family does live nearby, but the elderly individual does not ask for help, as was the case with Jean Guiffre’s mother. Top Banana is a way for that elder to maintain independence, and be sure that they have the food or other miscellaneous items needed.
I commend Jean Guiffre for getting Top Banana off the ground, and I do hope the idea catches on in other neighborhoods… there is undoubtedly a market for it.
To read the full article in the Washington Times, click here. To read more about Top Banana, visit www.topbananagrocer.org.
- Michelle Seitzer
Boomers & Seniors: News You Can Use
SeniorsforLiving.com is delighted to present the premiere edition of the “Boomers & Seniors – News You Can Use” blog carnival. We’ve asked leading bloggers about boomer and senior trends, news items, resources, and more to contribute posts they’ve hand-picked just for you.
The result? An information-packed post that boasts the same variety of those carnivals you loved as a kid. Jump-start your reading here with information about Social Security and senior housing decor to a discussion about seniors and sex, suggestions to boost your brain power, even a limerick about aging gracefully!
Future Carnival editions will follow on the first and third Thursday of every month here and at partner blogs. After perusing these valuable and useful posts, please add a comment and let us know your thoughts on this edition, and what themes you’d like future installments to cover. Enjoy, and thanks!
Our main purpose at SeniorsforLiving.com is to present helpful information about senior housing and care options for you or your loved ones. Our SFL blog offers daily insight, commentary, and engaging content on related topics of interest to boomers and seniors. In our latest post, Design Makes a Difference in Today’s Senior Living Homes, you can discover the fascinating role that interior design plays in a senior living facility. It’s not just about making an assisted living or senior housing community look good in order to impress prospective residents and their family members. While that is important, there are certain aspects of design that have emotional and physical benefits as well.
Dale Carter presents a Top 10 list: Moving Into a Retirement Community posted at Transition Aging Parents, saying, “Are your aging parents trying to decide if a retirement community is right for them? See the benefits my mother has found in her retirement community in Maryland in just six months.”
Michele at Senior Memos presents Aging in Place, a post that describes the decision many seniors make about staying in their homes through their senior years rather than move to a senior community, retirement home, etc. Aside from being in familiar and comfortable surroundings in a neighborhood and community to which they are connected, she writes, many seniors realize that there are many financial benefits to staying put as well. Find out more about the types of resources available for those who wish to remain in their homes and age in place.
A large majority of SFL’s readership are caregivers, those “unsung heroes” who take a family member or loved one into their care when in need. Michelle Seitzer’s recent post, Valuing the Invaluable: Today’s Caregivers, shares how, even in times of difficulty, adjustment, and struggle, most caregivers would not trade it for any other job in the world. While the types of caregiving vary based on the wide array of diseases, disabilities, or special needs that such conditions require, the long-term care system is completely dependent on the informal caregiving network. Read more about it here.
Caregivers Come in All Different Shapes, Sizes, and Sexes explains Kaye Swain on SandwichINK.com. Be sure to read the comments for more information about this subject in relation to legalities. An interesting and important read!
“Unconditionally respecting our family is a challenge when we don’t agree with their decisions,” remarks Natalie Tucker Miller, who blogs at Ageless Sages. Her post “How To Accept the Decisions of Others” is a must-read for caregivers everywhere who face potential decision-making conflicts with their siblings regarding the care of their aging parents.
Caregivers face many challenges, the most important of which is ensuring the safety of their loves ones. Grace R. Young OT presents Safety First, a useful blog post with safety tips for those living with a chronic illness.
Health & Wellness
Getting older increases our awareness of illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss, explains Catherine Eagleson from Crosswords For Fun, but studies have shown that the best weapon in the fight against these conditions is to continue to exercise your mind. “The old adage ‘use it or lose it’ has never been more apt than when referring to our memory. The perfect way to do this is by indulging in doing crosswords puzzles regularly and playing other games for the brain.” Read more about it them in Crosswords are Great for the Brain.
Then, get moving, says Kathleen Wood, who presents The Perennial List from Palmetto Fitness Focus. “If your resolutions look just like last year’s, this article is for you. Let’s move from resolutions to solutions once and for all.” Isn’t it about time?
The post from Brain Blogger, Exercise to Keep Your Brain Healthy and Increase Cerebral Blood Flow, should serve as further encouragement of that. “The benefits of aerobic activity are well documented regarding overall physical health and well-being. Many studies have also shown an association between aerobic activity and cognitive function, but the mechanism was unclear. Now, we may know the reason.”
Vitality
Marijke presents Sex in the Nursing Home posted at Seniors Support. “Sexuality doesn’t end just because you’re aging,” she explains. “Seniors can and should enjoy a healthy and fulfilling sex life if that’s what they want, regardless of where they are living.”
News You Can Use
Jeff Rose presents When To Take Social Security from Consumer Boomer. The age of 62 is quickly approaching and the important decision of when to take your Social Security is haunting you. Do you take it now or wait? Before you decide, do you really understand what Social Security is really about? Find out more here. And how much should you be saving for retirement, anyway? Jeff has that scoop, too at GoodFinancialCents.com.
Decisions, decisions! Good thing Alvaro Fernandez presents Brain Fitness Update: Best of 2008 from SharpBrains. “Neuroscientist Torkel Klingberg has written a very stimulating and accessible book on a crucial topic for our Information Age: The Overflowing Brain: Information Overload and the Limits of Working Memory.” (Know anything about information overload? We do!) Don’t let the title scare you, Alvaro continues. “We have named it ‘The SharpBrains Most Important Book of 2008,’ and asked Dr. Klingberg to write a brief article to introduce his research and book to you”
Personality Profiles
Bill Shafer presents an intriguing Growing Bolder profile of actress Ellen Albertini Dow, a 90-year-old who is as giddy as a schoolchild! And why not? She’s had guest spots on “Seinfeld,” “Will and Grace,” “My Name Is Earl” and “Scrubs,” just to name a few, as well as a notable role as the “rapping Granny” in “The Wedding Singer.” Wait until you hear her tell the story of how when she was asked to do the rap, she didn’t even know what rap was! Also catch Growing Bolder With Roger McGuinn from Marc Middleton. Now 66, McGuinn is engaging on many different levels and in many different subjects. The conversation can turn on a dime. Music, religion, conservation, technology, collecting, travel. He’s a man of many passions and there is never enough time.
Senior Lifestyle
Baby Boomers — Looking Pretty As We Age will resonate with many, surely, because it’s a common sentiment in our society for many of us strive to look and feel younger. Admit it – many of us wish to prove to ourselves and the world that we are healthier and more vital that our parents were at our age. Read more about it at Sports, Fitness, and More.
In closing, it’s limerick time, thanks to Madeleine Begun Kane, who presents Gray Matters at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog. Aging gracefully has never been more lyrical.
Technorati tags:
Boomers and Seniors – News You Can Use, blog carnival
Next Page »
