Blog

Spring Cleaning For Your Brain

May 16, 2023 — Spring cleaning isn’t just for your home! It’s also an excellent time to take stock of your mental and emotional health. As we age, our brains naturally undergo changes that can affect memory, cognitive function, and mood. However, there are several things older adults can do to spring clean for their brains and maintain optimal... Read More

Understanding Lewy Body Dementia

November 17, 2022 — It would be understandable to have never heard of—or know much about—Lewy body dementia. It is a form of dementia that has only received global scientific attention in the last few decades. Scientists did not fully understand how common this form of dementia is until the 1990s. October was Lewy Body Dementia Awareness month, a... 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

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

Is It Safe for My Loved One With Dementia to Own a Gun?

January 16, 2022 — The debate over guns has heated up during the past few years. But one thing most everyone on the firearm ownership opinion spectrum agrees about is that sometimes it is unsafe for an individual with mental illness to have access to guns. What about older adults with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia? Researchers from the... Read More

Reduce Your Stress By Resolving Conflict

July 20, 2021 — You’ve probably heard the old adage that couples shouldn’t go to bed angry. This advice could apply to other relationships as well, according to a new study from Oregon State University (OSU). The study authors also say older adults are better at heeding this advice than are younger people. The research team reports that after... Read More

Reasons to Show Your Older Brain Some Love

May 20, 2021 — If we live long enough, we’ll notice changes in our memory and thinking. Or maybe our spouse or another family member will be the ones to point out these changes. In any case, it’s important to be aware of changes that might mean something is amiss, and which should be reported to the doctor, such... Read More

Protecting Our Brains During the Pandemic

April 7, 2021 — While most people think of COVID-19 as primarily affecting the lungs, the data on millions of patients shows it can damage other body systems, including the brain. Some patients have experienced serious brain inflammation, delirium, hallucinations, psychotic symptoms, and strokes. Others report a milder, but still troubling, set of symptoms that some experts are referring... Read More

Preserving Our Sense of Purpose—Even Now

February 20, 2021 — Gerontologists tell us that feeling we make a difference in the world provides a powerful healthy aging boost. A 2019 study of 7,000 older adults published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science showed that those who engaged in activities they consider worthwhile have more positive health outcomes. Study author Prof. Andrew Steptoe of... Read More

To Create Memories, Put Down Your Camera and Pick up a Pen!

January 3, 2021 — These days, more and more people have a smartphone—and most of those phones come equipped with a camera. It’s become our impulse to whip out our phone or digital camera to take a photo of anything interesting we see. But a number of experts say that relying on our devices to do all the remembering... Read More