The older we get, the later we think ‘old age’ starts

I'm still thinking young and that's why I'm still in middle age at 68. I'd have to say my stroke medical 'professionals' didn't do much for my recovery. 

The older we get, the later we think ‘old age’ starts

Whether it's a big birthday, a creaky knee, or realising you have no idea who the latest TikTok star is, it's easy to feel like you're getting old. Most of the time, that isn't the case. But perceptions of old age are, in fact, pretty malleable. According to new research, as life expectancy increases, so too does our idea of when old age begins.

Writing in Psychology and Aging, Markus Wettstein and team explore how and when we perceive an age as 'old'. They find that perceptions of old age have changed over the decades, and can be subject to more personal factors, such as how lonely we are(not lonely at all), our health(very good), and our own age(68).

Looking at survey data from 14,056 participants aged 40 to 85 years old, all of whom were taking part in a 25-year, longitudinal study in Germany, the team found several factors which influenced when we perceive old age to start.

First and foremost, there was a strong relationship between how old participants were and their perceived onset of old age. When participants hit 64, their perception of old age increased by 1.9 years (or 2.5%) over the next ten years. By the time they were 74, though, perceived old age increased by 3.4 years (or 4.6%) every decade.

Those born more recently were also more likely to see old age as starting later: participants whose birthday fell after 1935 saw old age as beginning approximately 0.6% later per decade than those born before. To put this into perspective, when participants born in 1911 were 65, they saw old age as starting at 71. People born in 1956, on the other hand, thought it started at 74. Interestingly, women saw old age as starting on average 3.2% later than men.

Psychosocial and health factors also moved the needle. Those born in East, rather than West, Germany saw old age as starting 1.9% earlier, which the team suggests is related to previously studied differences between the two areas: East Germans, research has suggested, have "less positive views on ageing, older subjective ages, and substantially lower life expectancy". This reflects an interesting facet of the study: that the way we think about age is closely connected to our social contexts.

In terms of psychosocial factors, loneliness made a difference: those who experienced the highest levels of loneliness thought old age started 1.3% earlier than those who weren't lonely. Poor self-rated health also led to a 0.8% earlier perceived onset of old age. Participants who felt old themselves thought old age started 8.7% earlier, suggesting that what we think of as old age is heavily influenced by our personal context.

The team suggests that this "postponing" old age could reflect either positive or negative trends in attitudes towards older people. As they note in their paper, older people are becoming more savvy with things generally associated with younger people, like technology and the internet. These skills may make those on the older end of the spectrum appear subjectively younger, postponing perceptions of old age further. On the other hand, however, it's possible that people may see being older as an undesirable state, and nudge their ideas of when they might hit old age it further down the line as they approach their own 'cut-off' point.      
    
Whether it's our health, where we live, or how we think about age, the study suggests that ageing is deeply subjective. For those of us who are anxious about getting older, this could be good news, giving us the possibility to reflect on what it means to be 'old' – and giving us the chance to reframe age as just a number.

Read the paper in full:
Wettstein, M., Park, R., Kornadt, A. E., Wurm, S., Ram, N., & Gerstorf, D. (2024). Postponing old age: Evidence for historical change toward a later perceived onset of old age. Psychology and Aging, 39(5), 526–541. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000812

When Are We Officially “Old”?

 For me it's only when my trochanteric bursitis kicks in on my left hip that I feel old.

At 68 now, I'm still middle aged since I'm going to get to 100.  My fellow travelers on the Iceland trip I just completed were mostly in their 70's and laughed heartily at my definition of middle-aged.

Seljalandsfoss, you can actually walk behind this waterfall, I didn't because of 5 yards of slippery slanted rocks

Spent a hour here, wonderfully relaxing, but expensive drinks.

 

 

 

Skagafoss, with Rockey, who was on my Bhutan trip also

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gullfoss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Are We Officially “Old”?

Coach Maloney was my soccer coach in middle school and a mentor along the way. He’d been a former star high school athlete and practiced with our team, regularly dribbling past us with ease and outrunning us by several strides. Though he had thick muscular legs, he sported a rotund torso and a mostly bald head. At the time, I’d thought he was so old, which is why I marveled at his athleticism.

Yesterday, I looked back through my yearbook, and realized, “Oh my god. He was 38.”

I’m 40 now — and coach doesn’t look nearly as old as I remembered. It illustrates how our perception of age changes as we get a few years under our belt. There’s always an inner you that feels younger, and ready to conquer the world. Even if the person staring back in the mirror doesn’t match that feeling.

So when do we become old — officially? And how should we think and talk about our seniors? These questions go right to the heart of how we live and treat each other.

The evolving needs

Our definition of age has quickly evolved over the past 100 years, as life expectancies have risen dramatically, even discounting for the impact of falling infant mortality rates. This is particularly true for wealthy people, who are getting especially healthy years in their final chapters. Everything is relative in life, and aging is no different. If we reach a point where people are routinely living to 120+ and maintaining good health, perhaps turning 70 will be seen as middle-aged.

In the realm of academia, researchers technically define old age as 65, as this is a common point of retirement. It’s also when you become eligible for Social Security and Medicare. Per Dr. Karl Pillemeer, “For policy-planning purposes, ‘over 75’ is a much more meaningful demographic than ‘over 65’.” He adds that it is because people past 75 are much more likely to develop chronic disease. People between 65 and 75 are far more similar to those in middle age. So perhaps we shall respectfully dub old age as 75?

But is this even the right way to think about age? What words should we even use to describe it?

The word “old” feels inherently derogatory, and is associated with deterioration and obsolescence. It fails to account for the complexity and heterogeneity of aging. Some 40-year-olds are bedridden with diseases. Conversely, my dad is 70, swims over a mile a day, and still doesn’t need blood pressure meds.

It’s all relative.

Another option is “elderly”, but that also carries tons of baggage. It evokes feelings of someone needing extensive help just living, of them being unable to do the basics, like cleaning up after themselves and getting groceries.

The term was more common decades ago but has simply warped and become problematic. One simple test of language perceptions is to poll people in a retirement home on how much they identify with these terms. Per Dr. Clara Berridge, you’d be lucky to get one or two people in a crowded room to raise their hand when you use the term “elderly”.

Meanwhile, “geriatric” has too strong of a medical connotation, and evokes feelings of extended family trying to find the appropriate care for a high-maintenance loved one.

The term “senior” is confusing because it invites the question, “Senior to whom?” The term is also used with universities and high schools, and in job titles, such as “Senior Vice President”.

“Senior citizen” has readily apparent flaws, as many people aren’t actually citizens in the United States. The term also feels very 1990s, and paired with baggage as well.

The term “older” tends to have a less negative connotation, though it still feels like a label, though less so than “old”.

One recommended option is: “older adults”. This label is shown to reduce negative perceptions and stereotyping more than other terms. This might feel persnickety and unnecessary. But remember that language can very much evoke quick conclusions and discriminatory thinking.

Older adults isn’t a perfect solution. It implies there is a group of younger adults, which isn’t properly defined. But the ambiguity itself helps reduce categorical thinking.

Figuring out the path forward

And to be clear, we can’t erase the societal bias that goes against older adults. More than 93% of people between the ages of 50 and 80 will experience ageism at some point. Sadly, it’s a form of bigotry that most of us will both experience and unintentionally perpetrate. Which is why we should think more clearly about how we describe age, to help account for this bias.

This is particularly true as we witnessed a full-scale attack on President Biden for his age, with mean-spirited memes showing him falling downstairs and stammering over his words. And while I get that he’s the president, and open to criticism as any other, I worry that the ageist floodgates have been opened to take shots at everyday people.

And the problem is — this bias is even common with older adults against each other. Dr. Clara W. Martinson observed a 55+ condo where residents didn’t want other residents in wheelchairs playing games in the display window. Why? Because they worried it would lower their property value. One resident even wanted a separate dining hall for those in wheelchairs, saying that, “I don’t like the intermingling of the well and the sick.”

And this is the challenge: we draw conclusions about older adults based on their physical status. Healthy older adults get more of a hall pass for being old, while the others are placed into a lower tier as if they have somehow failed in life.

This is why it’s problematic to use phrases like, “80 is the new 50.” It plays pretend with what aging actually is, and creates a meritocratic psychology around an unfair process. It’s the framework of “successful aging” which is ableist. It causes harm and mental health issues in those dealing with chronic disease.

It’s an unconscious bias that comes naturally and without notice, namely because our heavy focus on chronological age is a modern construct and not a great measure of actual aging. Some 65-year-olds are running companies. Others are at the mercy of early-onset dementia.

The challenge is that we are proven to define a successful older adult, in this case, aged 65 and older, as having completed three criteria:

1. Having avoided major diseases.

2. Having no disabilities.

3. Having maintained full physical and cognitive function.

I fail at all of these due to my stroke, but I do have full cognitive function

This is not only a narrow criteria, but deceptively hard to attain, with only 12% of older adults fitting into this category. So we implicitly categorize the remainder in a “less than” category, without actually saying it.

I urge you to live healthy, treat your body kindly, and turn to others with an empathetic heart. Remember that we are all on this shared journey of getting older, and will all succumb to the wear and tear life inevitably brings.

Think carefully about how you describe, think about, and treat older adults. You will one day be one of them. And remember that ill health visits many otherwise disciplined, health-oriented people. Do not judge someone for a disease or disability beyond their control.

Remember that aging is a gift, and the mere act of being alive alongside another is an exceedingly rare, and special coincidence.

Sean Kernan

Yahoo Creator

Subscribe

Cluttered memory representations shape cognition in old age

Make sure your doctor takes this into account before declaring your memory failing.

Cluttered memory representations shape cognition in old age

 

Author links open overlay panelTarekAmer¹²Jordana S.Wynn²LynnHasher³⁴

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2021.12.002Get rights and content

Highlights

Healthy aging is accompanied by declines in control of attention.

These reductions in the control of attention, result in older adults processing too much information, creating cluttered memory representations.

Cluttered representations can impair memory by interfering with the retrieval of target information, but can also provide an advantage on tasks that benefit from extensive knowledge.

Declines in episodic memory in older adults are typically attributed to differences in encoding strategies and/or retrieval processes. These views omit a critical factor in age-related memory differences: the nature of the representations that are formed. Here, we review evidence that older adults create more cluttered (or richer) representations of events than do younger adults. These cluttered representations might include target information along with recently activated but no-longer-relevant information, prior knowledge cued by the ongoing situation, as well as irrelevant information in the current environment. Although these representations can interfere with the retrieval of target information, they can also support other memory-dependent cognitive functions.

Seven hours of sleep is optimal in middle and old age, say researchers

What is your doctor's sleep protocol? Mine seemed to be, hand out sleeping pills like candy at 10pm, then have the vampire squad come in at 7am to steal blood from at least one person in the quad. Turning on the lights in the process, clinical staff efficiency, not patient wellbeing.  Do sleeping pills provide decent sleep? Why doesn't your doctor know that answer?

 

Seven hours of sleep is optimal in middle and old age, say researchers

---

 

April 28, 2022
Seven hours of sleep is optimal in middle and old age, say researchers

by University of Cambridge
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Seven hours is the ideal amount of sleep for people in their middle age and upwards, with too little or too much little sleep associated with poorer cognitive performance and mental health, say researchers from the University of Cambridge and Fudan University.

Sleep plays an important role in enabling cognitive function and maintaining good psychological health. It also helps keep the brain healthy by removing waste products. As we get older, we often see alterations in our sleep patterns, including difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, and decreased quantity and quality of sleep. It is thought that these sleep disturbances may contribute to cognitive decline and psychiatric disorders in the aging population.

In research published today in Nature Aging, scientists from the UK and China examined data from nearly 500,000 adults aged 38-73 years from the UK Biobank. Participants were asked about their sleeping patterns, mental health and well-being, and took part in a series of cognitive tests. Brain imaging and genetic data were available for almost 40,000 of the study participants.

By analyzing these data, the team found that both insufficient and excessive sleep duration were associated with impaired cognitive performance, such as processing speed, visual attention, memory and problem-solving skills. Seven hours of sleep per night was the optimal amount of sleep for cognitive performance, but also for good mental health, with people experiencing more symptoms of anxiety and depression and worse overall well-being if they reported sleeping for longer or shorter durations.

The researchers say one possible reason for the association between insufficient sleep and cognitive decline may be due to the disruption of slow-wave—'deep'—sleep. Disruption to this type of sleep has been shown to have a close link with memory consolidation as well as the build-up of amyloid—a key protein which, when it misfolds, can cause 'tangles' in the brain characteristic of some forms of dementia. Additionally, lack of sleep may hamper the brain's ability to rid itself of toxins.

The team also found a link between the amount of sleep and differences in the structure of brain regions involved in cognitive processing and memory, again with greater changes associated with greater than or less than seven hours of sleep.

Having a consistent seven hours' sleep each night, without too much fluctuation in duration, was also important to cognitive performance and good mental health and well-being. Previous studies have also shown that interrupted sleep patterns are associated with increased inflammation, indicating a susceptibility to age-related diseases in older people.

Professor Jianfeng Feng from Fudan University in China said: "While we can't say conclusively that too little or too much sleep causes cognitive problems, our analysis looking at individuals over a longer period of time appears to support this idea. But the reasons why older people have poorer sleep appear to be complex, influenced by a combination of our genetic makeup and the structure of our brains."

The researchers say the findings suggest that insufficient or excessive sleep duration may be a risk factor for cognitive decline in aging. This is supported by previous studies that have reported a link between sleep duration and the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and dementia, in which cognitive decline is a hallmark symptom.

 Professor Barbara Sahakian from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, one of the study's authors, said: "Getting a good night's sleep is important at all stages of life, but particularly as we age. Finding ways to improve sleep for older people could be crucial to helping them maintain good mental health and well-being and avoiding cognitive decline, particularly for patients with psychiatric disorders and dementias."

 

Inverted U-shaped link seen for sleep duration, cognitive decline

---

More information: Wei Cheng, The brain structure and genetic mechanisms underlying the nonlinear association between sleep duration, cognition and mental health, Nature Aging (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s43587-022-00210-2. www.nature.com/articles/s43587-022-00210-2

Journal information: Nature Aging

Provided by University of Cambridge

Happy ever after: 25 ways to live well into old age

I won't do the work longer part, that to me is stupid.  I was burning up my health by working, it may have been good cognitively but I was coasting, nothing was that challenging.

Happy ever after: 25 ways to live well into old age

Stem cell study may result in stronger muscles in old age

You will need this so ask your doctor for followup to get this for you.
https://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=183930&CultureCode=en

23 February 2018 Karolinska Institutet

As we grow older, our muscular function declines. A new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows how an unexpectedly high number of mutations in the stem cells of muscles impair cell regeneration. This discovery may result in new medication to build stronger muscles even when in old age. The study is published in Nature Communications.

It has already been established that natural ageing impairs the function of our skeletal muscles. We also know that the number and the activity of the muscles’ stem cells decline with age. However, the reasons for this has not been fully understood. In a new study, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have investigated the number of mutations that accumulate in the muscle's stem cells (satellite cells).

“What is most surprising is the high number of mutations. We have seen how a healthy 70-year-old has accumulated more than 1,000 mutations in each stem cell in the muscle, and that these mutations are not random but there are certain regions that are better protected,” explains Maria Eriksson, Professor at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition at Karolinska Institutet.

The mutations occur during natural cell division, and the regions that are protected are those that are important for the function or survival of the cells. Nonetheless, the researchers were able to identify that this protection declines with age.

“We can demonstrate that this protection diminishes the older you become, indicating an impairment in the cell's capacity to repair their DNA. And this is something we should be able to influence with new drugs,” explains Maria Eriksson.

The researchers have benefited from new methods to complete the study. The study was performed using single stem cells cultivated to provide sufficient DNA for whole genome sequencing.

“We achieved this in the skeletal muscle tissue, which is absolutely unique. We have also found that there is very little overlap of mutations, despite the cells being located close to each other, representing an extremely complex mutational burden,” explains the study's first author, Irene Franco, Postdoc in Maria Eriksson’s research group.

The researchers will now continue their work to investigate whether physical exercise can affect the number of accumulated mutations. Is it true that physical exercise from a young age clears out cells with many mutations, or does it result in the generation of a higher number of such cells?

“We aim to discover whether it is possible to individually influence the burden of mutations. Our results may be beneficial for the development of exercise programmes, particularly those designed for an ageing population,” explains Maria Eriksson.

The researchers gained access to the muscle tissue used in the study via a close collaboration with clinical researchers, including Helene Fischer at the Unit for Clinical Physiology at Karolinska University Hospital.

The study has been a cooperative project between researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab), Uppsala University, Linköping University and Stockholm University, in addition to several affiliated institutes in Italy.

The research is financed by the Swedish Research Council, CIMED (Centre for Innovative Medicine), the David and Astrid Hagelén Foundation, the Swedish Society of Medicine, the Gun and Bertil Stohnes Foundation, the Osterman Foundation, the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation, Wallenberg Advanced Bioinformatics Infrastructure and the EU Commission funding programme, Marie Skłodowska-Curie.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03244-6

Attached files

• 
  Irene Franco, Postdoc, and Maria Eriksson, Professor, Karolinska Institutet. Photo: Ulf Sirborn

  ---

• Full bibliographic information”Somatic mutagenesis in satellite cells associates with human skeletal muscle aging”. Irene Franco, Anna Johansson, Karl Olsson, Peter Vrtačnik, Pär Lundin, Hafdis T. Helgadottir, Malin Larsson, Gwladys Revêchon,Carla Bosia, Andrea Pagnani, Paolo Provero, Thomas Gustafsson, Helene Fischer, Maria Eriksson. Nature Communications, online 23 February 2018, doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03244-6.

Scientists have discovered 5 personality traits linked with a long life

I'm going to live into my 90s, they are many many stories to tell to entertain others of my foibles.
http://www.businessinsider.com/personality-traits-linked-long-life-longevity-2017-5/#conscientiousness-1

Conscientiousness - I was extremely this way growing up and through most of my life. I have now decided I will no longer be the responsible person in the group.

 Openness

Emotional stability - I tend not to let things bother me, this stroke is a minor irritant.

Friendliness - I made a lot of friends after moving here to Michigan, I will never worry about making friends in all the new places I plan to live at when I retire.

The ability to express feelings - You have read my blog, I let it all hang out.

 

 

 

How Acting Like an Old Person Actually Makes You Happier

http://www.livestrong.com/article/1012308-proof-acting-older-make-happier/?

When we think about “going downhill” as we age, it’s usually in a negative light. Naturally, we tend to associate old age with a decline in physical health and cognitive ability. However, researchers recently discovered a positive spin to aging: The older we get, the happier we are.

While previous studies have suggested that mental health dips or tapers off at certain points in our life, researchers at the University of California, San Diego discovered that this isn’t the case. Their new study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, found that our mental health continues to improve as we age — right up until the very end.

Director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, Laura Carstensen, who was not involved in the study, calls this phenomenon the “paradox of aging.” She suggests that our happiness increases because of a shifting perception.

“When people face endings, they tend to shift from goals about exploration and expanding horizons to ones about savoring relationships and focusing on meaningful activities,” she tells the Los Angeles Times. “When you focus on emotionally meaningful goals, life gets better, you feel better and the negative emotions become less frequent and more fleeting when they occur.”

So goal-setting is much different from the young to the old. And that’s OK, Carstensen argues. While young people are more focused on paying dues, those efforts can actually pay off later on in life.

“A young person may take an inorganic chemistry course and not enjoy a minute of it, but it’ll open doors for them later on,” she tells LIVESTRONG.COM. While an older person will focus on what is meaningful in that moment.

5 Ways to Embrace Your Inner Oldie

Not all hope is lost for young people trying to cheer up. Below are five ways anyone can begin to embrace old age and happiness.

1. Take Time to Be Present

Rapper Drake’s motto, YOLO (“you only live once”), might actually be more appropriate for the elderly than the millennial generation. Young people always have one foot in the future, whether it’s worrying about your next exam, planning your outfit for tonight’s party or preparing for tomorrow’s meeting. Old people are all about the here and now.

“We’re the only species that takes account of our mortality throughout our lives,” Carstensen says. “We know tacitly how many years we have left, and when we know we have 80, it can be overwhelming.”

Practicing mindfulness can help you focus on the present. According to the Greater Good Science Center at University of California, Berkeley, “Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and surrounding environment.”

Three things you can do to start your day in a mindful way, according to mindful.org, are to choose an alarm that soothes you as you wake, hydrate with water before you have your first cup of coffee and take a moment to go outside and observe nature.

While it’s beneficial for young people to think about and prepare for the future, taking time to live in the moment can lead to greater happiness. Photo Credit Talashow/Adobe Stock

2. Make the Choice to Be Positive

Carstensen describes a study wherein she and her colleagues showed old and young people different positively and negatively charged images: puppies, gory car crashes and sunsets among them.

“We found that old people look to the beautiful sunset,” she says. “They look away from the negative and toward the positive.” Young people, on the other hand, had stronger reactions to the negative images, meaning they unconsciously focus on the negative.

While we can’t just change our worldview with the snap of our fingers, Carstensen advises us to take a cue from Buddhist monks and practice meditation.

Matthieu Ricard, a French biochemist turned Buddhist monk, describes a method of “mind training” that involves focusing on your internal processes rather than external stimuli. When you see something that annoys you, he advises, don’t think about that object. Instead, focus on the emotions you’re feeling.

For example, if you’re in a traffic jam, don’t focus on the glowing taillights; instead focus on the frustration you’re feeling in that moment. Essentially, when the world gets ugly, take a look at yourself first.

Older people naturally focus on the positive aspects of life. Meditation can help you to achieve this outlook. Photo Credit diego cuervo/Adobe Stock

3. Rethink Your Career Timeline

In a 2015 piece Carstensen wrote for the Wall Street Journal, she imagines a world in which people will “cycle in and out of full-time and part-time work,” “pursue multiple careers” and return to our education throughout our lives.

Instead of tacking your extra years (which are, for the most part, healthy ones) onto a 30-year retirement that a 40-year career won’t support, you might want to consider extending your young adulthood.

“We could enter the workforce more gradually and exit more gradually,” Carstensen tells Chip Castille, BlackRock Head of Global Retirement Strategy. “We could reach the peak of our careers in our 60s and 70s instead of our 40s and 50s.”

Carstensen also suggests that we plan to work later into our lives, as work benefits our cognitive functioning and physical health. For example, several studies concluded that older people who participate in activities that engage their mind and require them to socialize are less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

The solution to the costly retirement problem? Don’t retire. Not yet, anyway. Photo Credit Jacob Lund/Adobe Stock

4. Never Stop Growing

If you feel bored (or overwhelmed) by the cliche of going to college, getting a job, getting married, having kids and retiring — in that order and at predetermined ages — you’re definitely not alone.

According to experts, the number of people taking lengthy sabbaticals mid-career is increasing. And the people taking sabbaticals are enjoying them: “Of the 500 people interviewed for Reboot Your Life — a 2011 book which offers practical advice on career breaks — not one person regretted the decision to take a break,” the BBC writes.

What’s more, furthering your education throughout your adulthood could continue to have benefits down the road. According to Stanford Business Online, one study concluded that more highly educated people “were more mobile and capable of living independently into those later years over those with fewer years of education.”

Something to think about as you commute to work in the morning.

The way we define our “productive lives” is beginning to change: People are taking more sabbaticals and investing in education later in life. Photo Credit sc0rpi0nce/Adobe Stock

5. When It Comes to Friends, Less Is More

Studies have shown that, for most people, friendships improve with age. Rather than putting energy into a large quantity of relationships, older adults build stronger bonds with a more exclusive crowd.

“Older adults typically report better marriages, more supportive friendships, less conflict with children and siblings and closer ties with members of their social networks than younger adults,” Karen Fingerman, professor of human development and family sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, tells the Wall Street Journal.

Focusing on the relationships that matter also protects against loneliness. Despite what we often think, older adults are less lonely than younger people on average.

Looks like the secret to happiness is out: Go wrinkly or go home.

Despite popular belief, old people have better relationships and are less lonely than young people. Photo Credit pressmaster/Adobe Stock

What Do YOU Think?

Do you know any older people (grandparents, parents, mentors) who seem to have the key to happiness? Have you noticed your overall attitude in life shift as you’ve gotten older? How do your goals incorporate happiness and successful aging? Let us know what you think in the comments section!

Sponsored Links

Moderately vigorous physical activity in midlife linked to better cognition at old age

I took up whitewater canoeing at age 40, biked to work 9 months out of the year, did lots of cross country skiing. I was in shape until the stroke kicked me to the curb at age 50. I plan on being cognitively sharp until age 100 and will continue to harass the stroke medical world until they listen to me.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20160909/Moderately-vigorous-physical-activity-in-midlife-linked-to-better-cognition-at-old-age.aspx

A new study of 3050 twins finds moderately vigorous physical activity - i.e., more strenuous than walking - to be associated with better cognition in a 25-year follow-up.
A long-term follow-up study of 3050 twins from the Finnish Twin Cohort has shown that midlife, moderately vigorous physical activity is associated with better cognition at old age. The association was statistically independent of midlife hypertension, smoking, education level, sex, obesity and binge drinking. "This suggests that the beneficial influence of physical activity on the brain and cognition is not solely based on decreasing vascular risk factors", says researcher Paula Iso-Markku from the University of Helsinki.
The association was studied first in all individuals of the cohort, and then by comparing later cognition in pairs where one twin was more physically active than the other.
Increasing the volume of physical activity was not, however, associated with increased memory-protecting benefits. Instead, quite a moderate amount of physical activity was found to be sufficient for memory-protecting benefits, and only the most inactive group of twins stood out with a significantly higher risk for cognitive impairment.

"Overall, the study shows that moderately vigorous physical activity, meaning more strenuous than walking, is associated with better cognition after an average of 25 years", states Professor Urho Kujala from the University of Jyväskylä.
This finding is in accordance with earlier animal model studies, which have shown that physical activity increases the amount of growth factors in the brain and improves synaptic plasticity.
The prevalence of dementia has increased with aging populations both in Finland and globally. Although the incidence of dementia seems to have decreased in less senior generations, the total prevalence of dementia is still expected to rise. No cure for dementia exists, but during the last decade research has produced an abundance of new information on dementia prevention. The traditional vascular risk factors (elevated blood pressure, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, diabetes and lack of exercise) have also been associated with dementia risk. "However, few long-term, high-quality, follow-up studies on physical activity and cognition have been published, and it has remained unclear what type and amount of exercise is needed to safeguard cognition", Iso-Markku says.
The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, was conducted by scientists at the universities of Helsinki, Jyväskylä and Turku. The twins provided information on physical activity through questionnaire surveys from 1975 and 1981 (mean age in 1981: 49 years), while cognition was assessed by validated telephone interviews conducted between 1999 and 2015.

Source:

Helsingin yliopisto (University of Helsinki)

Cognitive Benefits of Social Dancing and Walking in Old Age: The Dancing Mind Randomized Controlled Trial

I want every single cognitive benefit possible post stroke. What the hell is your stroke department doing to implement this? I bet nothing because your stroke department doesn't read research at all. You're screwed and your stroke department doesn't care, they aren't paid for results.
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2016.00026/full?

Dafna Merom¹*, Anne Grunseit², Ranmalee Eramudugolla³, Barbara Jefferis⁴, Jade Mcneill⁵ and Kaarin J. Anstey³

• ¹School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
• ²Prevention Research Collaboration, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
• ³Centre for Research on Aging, Health and Wellbeing, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
• ⁴Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London, UK
• ⁵Early Start Research Institute, School of Education, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

Background: A physically active lifestyle has the potential to prevent cognitive decline and dementia, yet the optimal type of physical activity/exercise remains unclear. Dance is of special interest as it complex sensorimotor rhythmic activity with additional cognitive, social, and affective dimensions.

Objectives: To determine whether dance benefits executive function more than walking, an activity that is simple and functional.

Methods: Two-arm randomized controlled trial among community-dwelling older adults. The intervention group received 1 h of ballroom dancing twice weekly over 8 months (~69 sessions) in local community dance studios. The control group received a combination of a home walking program with a pedometer and optional biweekly group-based walking in local community park to facilitate socialization.

Main outcomes: Executive function tests: processing speed and task shift by the Trail Making Tests, response inhibition by the Stroop Color-Word Test, working memory by the Digit Span Backwards test, immediate and delayed verbal recall by the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, and visuospatial recall by the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (BVST).

Results: One hundred and fifteen adults (mean 69.5 years, SD 6.4) completed baseline and delayed baseline (3 weeks apart) before being randomized to either dance (n = 60) or walking (n = 55). Of those randomized, 79 (68%) completed the follow-up measurements (32 weeks from baseline). In the dance group only, “non-completers” had significantly lower baseline scores on all executive function tests than those who completed the full program. Intention-to-treat analyses showed no group effect. In a random effects model including participants who completed all measurements, adjusted for baseline score and covariates (age, education, estimated verbal intelligence, and community), a between-group effect in favor of dance was noted only for BVST total learning (Cohen’s D Effect size 0.29, p = 0.07) and delayed recall (Cohen’s D Effect size = 0.34, p = 0.06).

Conclusion: The superior potential of dance over walking on executive functions of cognitively healthy and active older adults was not supported. Dance improved one of the cognitive domains (spatial memory) important for learning dance. Controlled trials targeting inactive older adults and of a higher dose may produce stronger effects, particularly for novice dancers.

Trial registration: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ACTRN12613000782730).