According to the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, most adults need at least 8 hours of sleep per night in order to function at full capacity during the day. But research from the Centers for Disease Control shows that a third of U.S. adults get less than 7 hours of sleep per night. And a whopping 38 percent of adults surveyed reported falling asleep unintentionally during the day within the past month. The group surveyed by the CDC was mostly younger, working adults. Sleep deprivation affects seniors even more than it does younger adults. Untreated medical conditions …
In an article posted here last May, we discussed the health benefits of volunteering. This April, in honor of National Volunteer Month, we take another look at ways that all seniors – even those with physical or cognitive impairment – can benefit from offering a helping hand to others. For seniors who are still active and independent, community service can help maintain social connections after retirement. Studies have confirmed that volunteers over the age of 65 have healthier hearts and a lower mortality rate than non-volunteers in the same age range. Additionally, these volunteers suffer …
Last year, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was chatting with a group of seniors in the conference room at the Selfhelp Benjamin Rosenthal Senior Center in Queens. Well, strictly speaking, not everybody involved was “in” the conference room. A few participants, peering in from a large screen, were able to join the conversation from their bedrooms and watch from their own computers as the mayor spoke. “We all think that technology is just for the young people,” said Bloomberg at the time. “That’s not true. Seniors have a need and they look for ways to solve their problems, and technology …
Dancing has brought us together, at all stages of life; for our most joyous celebrations and landmark experiences. You may not recall every detail about your senior year of high school, but no doubt you remember the words to the songs you danced to at your prom. If the details of your wedding ceremony are a bit blurry, you probably remember the first dance you shared with your spouse. Dance has provided nearly every culture on earth with its own unique means of celebration and expression. Like language, this ancient physical form of expression puts on a different face from one culture to …
After a series of medical complications affecting his mobility, one Youville House resident decided to give up driving and donate his car. He no longer has to deal with the costs of car maintenance, gas, insurance or other expenses related to car ownership. The choice to give up driving is not always so easy. An estimated 600,000 seniors a year must stop driving due to changes in health and other age-related factors. We all age at a different pace, and while some of us may still be driving into our 90s, others are pressured to give up the keys much earlier. The decision can be a complicated…
Throughout human history, our lives have been enriched by the tales we’ve shared with one another. Even today, with so many advanced, high-tech entertainment options, we still find pleasure in the simple act of telling and hearing stories with friends and family. When and how did our tale-telling habits begin? Because storytelling is likely as old as language itself, we can’t say for sure when the first storyteller enchanted his first audience. The question, “When was the first story,” unanswerable by science, demands its own story. But some experts believe that such unanswerable …
Youville House resident Anna Pier is no stranger to Alzheimer’s disease. She cared for her husband throughout his long struggle with the disease, and also saw it claim the life of her sister in law. In September, Anna participated in the “Walk to End Alzheimer’s,” an event in which she has taken part since 2009. Organized by the Alzheimer’s Association, the “Walk” has spread to more than 600 communities nationwide, helping to fund significant advances in our knowledge of Alzheimer’s. But there’s still a long way to go, and no one is more aware of the need for progress in Alzheimer’s care …
A few years ago, archeologists dug up a 12,000-year-old human skeleton in Israel. This prehistoric Israelite had been laid to rest with his favorite wolf pup, and the skeleton was found with the hand of the human resting on the head of the dog. This may be the oldest surviving record of our human capacity for affection toward animals. Twelve millennia later, our propensity to love our pets – whether they are furry, four legged, have gills, beaks, or slither about in a cage – is just as strong as it was in ancient times. What we know today, is that there is a growing body of research that …
When was your last eye exam? If it’s been so long that you can’t remember, now might be a good time to call your ophthalmologist–– especially if you are over 60. Today, over 7 million seniors suffer from decreasing vision. Over the next few decades, that tally is expected to double as the senior population increases. Research is still making important discoveries about the causes of vision loss. Some conditions, like cataracts, now have surgical cures that work for almost everyone. Others, like macular degeneration, have less effective treatments and the root causes are still unclear. The…
Who doesn’t want a healthy brain? According to recent research, we can make our brains healthier by watching what we eat. Like other organs in our body, the brain requires specific nutrients and adequate blood flow, both of which are influenced by diet. By supplying our brains with the right foods, we can improve our mental sharpness and help keep our brains healthy. The battle of the fats A typical brain is made up of 60 percent fat. With this composition, it is one of the fattiest organs in our body. Most of the brain’s fat is comprised of the Omega 3 fatty acid DHA. Our bodies cannot …
Even after all this time, The sun never says to the earth, “You owe me.” Look what happens with a love like that. It lights the whole sky. –– Hafiz of Persia In the mid-1980s my wife, two young daughters and I lived in a poor urban neighborhood on the outskirts of Quito, Ecuador. While running water and electricity were erratic, trash pickup took place every day save Sunday. As was customary each day for all of us in the neighborhood, one spring morning I placed our small container of garbage on the sidewalk just outside the front door. Just as I was turning to go back inside, I could see…
Apart from the crystalline beauty of a first snow, the surprising October storm brought upheaval to large swaths of the Northeast, more even than the formidable hurricane Irene did on her visit several months earlier. As these thoughts were being put to paper, the unrelenting, muffled growls of chain saws still rumbled in the near distance and, of more concern, many thousands of households from New Jersey to Maine had neither the heat to warm themselves nor lighting to read these words. This is the story of an elderly woman in Lexington, a visiting nurse and the staff and residents of …
When is the last time you spent an afternoon with a friend? For many Youville residents, the opportunity to meet new people and enjoy a more social lifestyle is one of the biggest advantages of living in a Youville community. From daytime shopping trips and in-house presentations, to evening movies and Bingo, residents have the opportunity to take part in social activities within the community. New friends made at Youville help to make each moment more vibrant and enjoyable. It turns out that friends are good for more than just a good time – research has shown that people who maintain …
Influenza, commonly known as “the flu,” has been around for centuries. In 1918, the Spanish Influenza caused one of the most devastating pandemics in world history, claiming as many as 50 million lives worldwide. Luckily, pandemics are not frequent occurrences, and no outbreak since 1918 has come close to causing such widespread harm, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website Flu.gov. On average, global outbreaks of influenza occur every 30 or 40 years. Most recently in 2009, the H1N1 "Swine Flu" got its start in Mexico, and has caused upward of 18,000 deaths …
It’s a quiet Saturday afternoon, and you’re in the midst of fall cleaning. After hours spent rummaging through stacks of old papers and magazines, you make your way into the bathroom. Opening the cabinet above the sink, you confront a dense wall of amber medicine bottles. Some of them have expiration dates from nearly five years-ago. These bottles take up so much space in the cabinet that you no longer have room for all of them. What do you do with all the old medication? Is it safe to flush down the toilet, or to throw in the garbage? Given how little is known about the way …
While conventional medicine has made enormous progress over the last century, the role it plays in our overall wellness is far from complete. Prescription drugs, surgery and other more conventional approaches are still the most popular when treating ailments. However, we can all enhance our general health and well-being by utilizing alternative resources as well. Underlying most alternative therapies is the belief in the unity of mind, body and spirit. This means that our mental, physical and spiritual health all affect one another. For example, research has shown that patients suffering from…
