News of the Week
Observations About Some Things That Caught My Eye
The Mother Who Changed: A Story of Dementia
NYT - When cognitive decline changes people, should we respect their new desires?
These popular board games are getting revamped for older adults
CNN - Hasbro (HAS), in partnership with Ageless Innovation (a licensee of Hasbro (HAS) brands) unveiled new versions of Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and The Game of Life. Each game has been reimagined to make the play experience more appealing and easier for seniors.
Older adults are much happier and healthier than they were 30 years ago
Earth.com - A recent study conducted at the Gerontology Research Center at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä in Finland, has uncovered fascinating insights into the mental well-being of older adults. The study revealed that today, older adults experience fewer depressive symptoms than their counterparts in the 1990s. This notable difference can be partly attributed to the better perceived health and higher education levels of the individuals born later.
Online Therapy: A Mental Health Guide for Older Adults
NCOA - NCOA's new mental health guide for older adults is a resource that breaks down the benefits and structure of online therapy so seniors can feel more comfortable and confident in using this life-enhancing technology.
My grandma has always made the hardest things seem simple — even living to 100
WAPO - The life expectancy for Black woman born in 1900 was 33.5 years of age. If she were instead born in 1950, her life expectancy would nearly double, to 62.9 years of age. But the woman I have in mind was born in 1923, so we will split the difference, for a life expectancy of about 49 years. In 1988, this woman turned 65 and expected to live another 17 years. A decade later, at 75, another 11.2 years of life were probable, but not promised. How likely was a woman who had already faced two encounters with cancer — endometrial and thyroid — to live to 86 or 87? And yet, live she did. And on Aug. 10, she will turn 100.
The Link Between Highly Processed Foods and Brain Health
NYTimes - Eating packaged foods like cereal and frozen meals has been associated with anxiety, depression and cognitive decline. Scientists are still piecing together why.
How the American Dream convinces people loneliness is normal
AP - At the end of “The Searchers,” one of John Wayne’s most renowned Westerns, a kidnapped girl has been rescued and a family reunited. As the closing music swells, Wayne’s character looks around at his kin — people who have other people to lean on — and then walks off toward the dusty West Texas horizon, lonesome and alone.
It’s a classic example of a fundamental American tall tale — that of a nation built on notions of individualism, a male-dominated story filled with loners and “rugged individualists” who suck it up, do what needs to be done, ride off into the sunset and like it that way.
In reality, loneliness in America can be deadly. This month, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared it an American epidemic, saying that it takes as deadly a toll as smoking upon the population of the United States. “Millions of people in America are struggling in the shadows,” he said, “and that’s not right.”
Technology’s role in the ‘loneliness epidemic’
WAPO - One of our national pastimes is guessing who or what is responsible for loneliness, the ancient human condition. Is it social media? Remote work? The nuclear family? Not enough sidewalks?
High school inventors create virtual friend to help seniors with loneliness
McKnight’s - Rishi Ambavanekar and Rohan Kulkarni, high school juniors from Vista Del Lago High School in Folsom, CA, developed Geri, an app using ChatGPT’s artificial intelligence, to provide lonely individuals with companionship. Geri is designed specifically for people living with Alzheimer’s disease or social isolation.
The app works by using ChatGPT’s AI capabilities to converse with users. It employs data to predict what users want to talk about and responds to their questions.
Assisted living reaching ‘breaking point,’ with 40 percent of providers without sufficient staffing
McKnight’s - A recent survey by the Minnesota Long-Term Care Imperative shows that caregivers in assisted living communities are “reaching their breaking point,” as are those working in nursing homes, according to the collaborative. The survey showed that in March, 6,582 referrals to assisted living communities were rejected due to inadequate staffing levels, up from October 2022 levels.
Amid loneliness epidemic, readers share stories of struggle and serenity
WAPO - When U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy issued a sobering advisory on loneliness in American society, he spoke with urgency about the serious public health consequences of an increasingly solitary population. Post readers took note.
Man who defied genetics for decades may hold a clue to preventing Alzheimer’s, scientists say
CNN - Researchers working to unlock the secrets of Alzheimer’s disease say they’ve been given a major clue that could help protect people at risk for this type of dementia.
A man who seemed fated to develop memory loss in his 40s or 50s, based on family history, kept normal function for decades longer than he should have. He seems to have been protected by a rare gene change that enhanced the function of a protein that helps nerve cells communicate.
The grief, guilt and joy of being a caregiver for my mom
WAPO - As much as I may have resented it, cursed it, allowed myself to become embittered at times, I did what I chose to do. And I would do it all over again… by Tracy Grant.
And so…Nurse staffing shortages linked to 10 percent jump in resident deaths
McKnight’s - Self-reported nurse staffing shortages in United States nursing homes during the height of the pandemic were linked to less care per resident and a 10.5% increase in resident deaths, a new study has found.
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Hi Anthony,
Some great grabs on stories about aging. I found the 'John Wayne' piece very interesting, that loneliness amongst men was totally acceptable and expected.
It's unfortunate that many older male baby boomers continue to think that way .....because that's how they were told to think!