Perhaps you saw the video that went viral a while back about the elderly Alzheimer’s patient who was transformed when he was given a iPod loaded with the music of his era? (You can watch the video on the “Music and Memory Project” website.) Over the past few years, researchers have offered new insight into the ways music promotes healthy aging…
A new study offers some good news for caregivers and other loved ones of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. The study shows that even if patients immediately forget a shared joke or a meaningful conversation, the warm feelings associated with the experience can stick around and boost their mood. In the University of Iowa study, published in the Proceedings of the…
During the ongoing national debate over healthcare reform, there is one point most people can agree on: the need to curtail the growing epidemic of healthcare fraud. Estimates put the loss at $65 billion a year to Medicare alone. Government agencies are working hard to catch these crooks—and you can help by protecting yourself and loved ones against medical identity…
We humans are “hardwired” to crave and rely on human contact. Unlike, for example, a turtle, which hatches from a buried egg and is on its own from that moment on, people depend on other people for survival. Brain experts explain this “wiring”: early human beings lived in small, interdependent groups. To survive and thrive, individuals needed to be finely…
“I felt so insulted and so hurt. It was like their father had met some gal at a bar and married her the next day, and she wanted all his money. I felt they didn’t give me any credit, or any respect, appreciation or anything. It still hurts.” —Remarried wife of 12 years, caring for husband with Alzheimer’s disease, about…
For most of us, the automobile represents independence, control and mobility. Most of today’s seniors built their lives around the ability to drive wherever they wanted—to work, to visit friends, to shop, to their faith community and on vacation. Yet the normal changes of aging can make driving more challenging. Hearing loss, vision problems, decreased reaction time, memory loss and…
“Where did I park?” You dashed into the mall, visited a few stores, and now, shopping bags in hand, you realize you can’t remember where you left the car. “I’ve met that fellow several times…what is his name?” Names, phone numbers, even familiar words…things sometimes seem to be “on the tip of your tongue” but escape quick recollection. When you…
A study from Institute for the Future and MetLife’s Mature Market Institute predicts that baby boomers will reshape the face of aging, taking advantage of new technologies to tackle the challenges of a changing world. Baby boomers may not recognize themselves and their surroundings 20 years from now as a result of an evolving global environment and marketplace. How they…
All people reminisce. Remembering times past is a pleasant diversion, stimulates the mind, and helps give us perspective and a sense of who we are. As a study from the Association for Psychological Science stated, “Nostalgia is now emerging as a fundamental human strength.”
What Makes Feet Hurt? Most of us start life with trouble-free feet. What goes wrong? Of hundreds of known foot ailments, most can be traced to: heredity improper foot care injury (often caused by shoes and socks or stockings that don’t fit well) the effects of aging. Women have about four times as many foot problems as men. As you…
