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If your New Year’s goals include getting in shape, consider Pilates. This popular exercise program can improve flexibility and build core strength — and it may even offer brain benefits. Here’s how:
Americans have embraced indoor cycling as a way to stay fit while social distancing during the pandemic. Sales of stationary bikes more than doubled in 2020, according to market research firm NPD, with many at-home cyclists pedaling on internet-connected bikes so they can watch a spin class for motivation while exercising.
Benefits of Indoor Cycling.
The last few weeks have seen record surges in COVID-19 infections in most of the country, in large part due to the arrival of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Nursing homes are also seeing a rapid surge in cases among both staff and residents, according to weekly data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There are now more COVID-19 cases in nursing homes than ever before, and deaths are rising as well. Nursing home residents were among the first to be fully vaccinated last year, and the message from recent data is clear: nursing home residents and staff need booster shots now. AARP is calling on nursing homes to require COVID-19 booster shots for residents and staff.
Omicron is Hitting Nursing Homes. Booster Shots Are Critical for This Vulnerable PopulationVision loss is a growing challenge for older Americans. According to the American Foundation for the Blind, 3.2 million people—age 65 and older—experienced visual impairment in 2019. However, it is important to note that although the eye ages along with the body and some vision changes occur, visual impairment is not a normal part of aging.
Living with Vision Loss: Practical Tips for Safety and IndependenceNo matter your age, staying active is key to aging well—and there's scientific evidence to prove it. When adults exercise regularly, benefits include improved cardiovascular and muscle fitness, improved brain health, and better ability to do tasks of daily life.
6 Ways to Stay Physically Active in the WinterVision loss can be as low-level as blurriness and as severe as blindness. There are no generally accepted definitions for “low vision,” “vision loss” or “visually impaired.” However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that about 12 million people over age 40 are visually impaired, including 3 million with corrected and 8 million with uncorrected impairment.
8 Activities for Vision-Impaired Older Adults & ElderlyWhile the holidays are usually thought of as a festive and joyful season of the year, the reality is they can be tough for many older adults. Seniors may struggle with mental health for many reasons—from grieving lost loved ones to health problems that limit their ability to participate in family gatherings—when everyone around them seems to be celebrating.
Senior Wellness: Tips for Avoiding the Holiday BluesGaining weight as you age tends to be one of those things that everyone just assumes is inevitable. Luckily this is not the case, and understanding a bit about how your weight changes as you age can help you maintain a healthy weight.
The hot, humid days of summer can be hard on damaged joints. Older adults with conditions like osteoarthritis often find painful, swollen joints worsening as the mercury rises. Because prescription arthritis medicine can cause tough side effects, ranging from upset stomach to atypical fractures of the femur, some people are reluctant to take them.
Tips for Easing Joint Pain without MedicationHealth crises, natural disasters, emotional trauma and, yes, a global pandemic — it takes mental resilience to rebound from this kind of upheaval. Mental health therapist Rachel Noble, Washington D.C.-based therapist, says resilience means having the mental flexibility to respond and adapt to adversity.
Getting Through Tough Times by Building Mental ResilienceAmericans love their digital devices. We love them so much, nearly 60 percent of us reach for our smartphones within 10 minutes of waking up in the morning, a 2018 survey found. About 1 in 4 Americans grab their phones less than 60 seconds after opening their eyes.
The Challenge of Focusing in a Digital WorldAs we get older the need to feel part of a community and find hobbies becomes more important. Some seniors in Tempe have found this community at Cahill Senior Center. “They provide us joy,” said Alicia Garcia a regular senior at the Cahill Center, after leaving a cooking class at the center.
What Have Seniors Been Up to in Tempe Since the Pandemic?Spending time with friends is important for your health and happiness. A vibrant social life may protect your brain as you age, a Global Council on Brain Health report found, yet in an AARP survey, nearly 40 percent of adults over age 40 said they sometimes or often lacked companionship.
5 Smart Ways to Make and Keep New FriendsMost people know if they’re optimists or pessimists, but a study at Concordia University in Montreal reveals how those perspectives happen at a physiological level.
How Optimism Conquers StressIf you feel lost at night without your phone, you’re not alone. More than 90 percent of American adults own a cellphone, and 44 percent take it to bed with them, one study found. But those late-night texts and calls could be disrupting your nightly appointment with the sandman.
We all know that dreaded moment when we agree to one commitment too many. You can’t think of a good way to say no, so you say yes, and immediately regret it as your stress level rises.
Learn to Set Boundaries to Avoid Stress and AnxietyWhile free Wi-Fi is available virtually everywhere these days — airports, coffee shops, hotels and shopping malls— you might not be aware that you're putting your information at greater risk when you use these public hot spots.
How to Use Your Smartphone as a Wi-Fi Hot SpotThe benefits of improving air quality go beyond happier trees and better breathing. New research presented at the 2021 Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) finds that cleaner air may also improve cognitive function and lower a person's risk for dementia.
Cleaner Air Could Be Better for Your BrainYou might take older adults’ advice about managing money or working through problems with people. After all, their sheer time on the planet gives them more experience to learn from.
A growing number of health experts say many older adults may need to eat more protein than the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) to help them preserve muscle mass, bone health and strength as they age.
Are You Eating Enough Protein?At least two-thirds of the 5.8 million Americans with Alzheimer’s disease are women. “It’s Time to Act: The Challenges of Alzheimer’s and Dementia for Women,” a report from AARP and the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, carries a sobering message: Women are far more likely than men to suffer from Alzheimer’s — and not just because women live longer. A raft of data detail the ways that women’s bodies and brains may predispose them to dementia.
Music can spark joy. Whether you’re grinning to a Dolly Parton tune, thrilling to a Bach concerto or weeping through a Puccini opera, you are engaged in what may be a uniquely human activity — the translation of music into emotions.
Why Does Music Bring Us Joy?As the executive director of the Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH), I am always on the lookout for brain-healthy foods. I scan grocery aisles for chocolate bars with more than 70 percent cocoa, feel that I’m stimulating my brain when I down my morning coffee and even feel virtuous when drinking a glass or two of red wine. Turns out all my assumptions have been wrong.
Older adults have borne the brunt of the coronavirus’ wrath, with rates of hospitalizations and deaths far higher than those of any other age group. And new research shows the pandemic has likely dealt another blow to 50-plus Americans by increasing their risk of falling.
Pandemic Poses Another Risk for Older Adults: Falling