Blog

8 Stress-Busting Tasks for Family Caregivers

August 15, 2022 — During the pandemic, the role of family caregivers has increased, experts report. Caring relatives and friends have spent many hours keeping older loved ones safe, providing hands-on care, transportation, shopping for their loved ones, and doing what they could to support elders in senior living communities during quarantine. They’ve even been providing more tech support... Read More

A Pack of Reasons to Quit Smoking

August 1, 2022 — Older Americans grew up in an era when smoking was portrayed as glamorous and sophisticated. Look through a stack of old magazines from the 50s and 60s and you are likely to find glossy full-page advertisements featuring doctors and nurses lighting up while they speak approvingly about the health benefits of a particular brand of... Read More

Spending Time in Nature Provides a Health Boost for Older Adults

July 15, 2022 — During the pandemic, many people quarantined in their homes and didn’t go out as much. On the other hand, public health experts told us that socializing outdoors was much safer than inside. Events from weddings to family nursing home visits to church services migrated outdoors as weather permitted. If you or an older loved one... Read More

Fourth of July Safety Precautions From Medical Experts

July 1, 2022 — In 2020 and 2021, many communities cut back or cancelled their Independence Day celebrations. Public safety experts reported that in the absence of traditional public fireworks displays, more people decided to put on their own amateur shows—and this resulted in an increase in injuries. According to the National Fire Protection Association, each year thousands of... Read More

Sleep Lessons from Our Ancestors

June 15, 2022 — With all the advances of modern medical science, it can still be useful to look at the health practices of our species over time. We evolved in a far different environment than most of us live in today, and our brains and bodies may not have caught up yet. Sleep has been deeply impacted by... Read More

5 Ways Hearing Loss Raises the Risk of Dementia

June 1, 2022 — Researchers from Newcastle University in the UK recently shared a startling statistic: Epidemiological studies show that untreated hearing loss is responsible for 10% of all cases of dementia. For some time, scientists have studied this connection. Research shows that certain underlying causes can cause both dementia and hearing loss. But in many cases, hearing loss... Read More

Pet Safety for Older Adults

May 15, 2022 — A February 2022 study from the University of Florida showed that when it comes to your memory health, your dog is indeed a very good boy! For that matter, your feline friends and even fish and turtles provide a brain boost. Sociology doctoral candidate Jennifer Applebaum led the study of 1,300 seniors, which found that... Read More

Older Adults and Supplement Safety

May 1, 2022 — More than half of all older adults take dietary supplements. For the most part, these substances are not harmful. But there are several things older consumers should know: Supplements are largely unregulated, so there’s no real way to know what you’re buying, and whether it is safe. Supplements are not tested by the U.S. Food... Read More

Spring Cleaning? Think About Downsizing!

April 18, 2022 — This is the time of year when we open the windows and let in the light. Time to give everything a good dusting and vacuuming! And while we’re at it, we might decide to do a little decluttering, as well. It’s good to keep up with that task over the years. As we grow older,... Read More

Does Aging Mean We Should Slow Down? Evolution Says No!

April 2, 2022 — The old cliché is that older adults should take it easy—maybe even take to their rocking chairs. Today, we know how wrong that is! “It’s a widespread idea in Western societies that as we get older, it’s normal to slow down, do less, and retire,” said Harvard evolutionary biologist Daniel E. Lieberman. In fact, he said,... Read More