_ Skin Skin HealthIt’s Melanoma Monday! By articleMay 5th 2014 is Melanoma Monday, and the entire month of May is Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month, according to a release from the American Academy of Dermatology. (The observances are registered trademarks of the academy). The academy encourages all of us to learn how to detect skin cancer. An estimated one in five Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer in the course of their lifetime, and one person dies from melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer – every hour.
_ Mental & Emotional Health Stress Management Stress-Free LivingStress Is Contagious By articleWatching somebody else try to cope with a stressful situation, even on TV, can be enough to bump up your own level of the stress hormone called cortisol. That is the finding of research done at the Max Planck Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig and the Technische Universität Dresden and published on April 17th 2014 in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.
Beauty & Style HairEverything You Need to Know About Gray Hair By articleBy Jon Yaneff Gray hair is often regarded as a clear-cut sign of getting older. That first gray hair can arise when you least suspect it. Although it’s typically seen in older adults, even people in their 20s and late teens may see silver strands. There are people of all ages doing their best to cover up gray hair while others wear it proudly. But why does it happen, and what can you do about it if you want to get rid of it to look younger?
_ Healthy Diet & Nutrition Mental & Emotional Health Stress Management Stress-Free LivingChronic Stress Makes Junk Food Even Worse for You By articleFile this under “That’s not fair!” People who are not dealing with chronic stress can get away with eating a lot of high-fat, high-sugar food without upping their risk of metabolic syndrome, but stressed out people can’t. That’s the finding of research done at the University of Califorina, San Francisco.
_ Skin Skin HealthSkin Tags and Cysts: When You Should Worry By articleThe Family Health Teamat the HealthHub of the Cleveland Clinic offers expert advice about skin tags and cysts:
_ SexTips to Spring Clean Your Relationship By articleWinter weather is behind us and the signs of spring are everywhere: temperatures rising, buds budding, birds chirping, and bees buzzing. Now’s the time to spring-clean our homes—and also our relationships.
Aging WellWe Feel Younger Than Our Years! By Sondra Forsyth articleGood news about Boomers and Beyond! The ninth annual 100@100 survey by UnitedHealthcare reported that Americans at age 65 say they feel 55 on average. Not only that, but our hardy centenarians say they feel as though they are 83 “years young” on average, and more than half live independently without the support of a caregiver to help them with their daily activities.
_ Aging Well Spiritual HealthReligious Music Lifts Our Spirits as We Age By articleIf you need an emotional lift, try listening to hymns. Better yet, choose gospel music. A team of researchers from four top universities reports that listening to religious music is associated with a decrease in anxiety about death and increases in life satisfaction, self-esteem, and sense of control over our lives as we age. In particular, listening to gospel music is linked to reducing anxiety about death and an increase in sense of control.
Aging WellResilient Older Women Show Compassion By Sondra Forsyth articleIf you’re 50+ and you’ve recently been through a tough time but you’ve bounced back, chances are you would score high on a compassion test given by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. The study, published in the April 2014 issue of the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, reported that resilient older women who have suffered a recent major loss are more likely to be compassionate toward those they don’t even know than are other older adults.
Skin Skin HealthSkin Disorders and Aging By Jane Farrell articleYour skin changes with age. It becomes thinner, loses fat, and no longer looks as plump and smooth as it once did. Your veins and bones can be seen more easily. Scratches, cuts, or bumps can take longer to heal. Years of sun tanning or being out in the sunlight for a long time may lead to wrinkles, dryness, age spots, and even cancer. But there are things you can do to protect your skin and to make it feel and look better. Here are tips from the National Institute on Aging: Dry Skin And Itching
_ Aging WellThe Future of Aging, 2014 By articleHere’s a link to a video of the General Session from the 2014 American Society on Aging "Aging in America" Conference in San Diego. JoAnn Jenkins (AARP); Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D. (Age Wave); Joe Coughlin, Ph.D. (MIT AgeLab); and Fernando Torres-Gil, Ph.D. (UCLA) present their views about the future of aging.
_ Aging Well Beauty & Style Skin Skin HealthAnti-Aging Tricks to Banish Dark Circles By articleBy Soriyya Bawa Without proper anti-aging skin care, the process of aging can take a heavy toll on the eyes, especially because the skin in that area is so sensitive. One of the most visible signs of aging on the face is the appearance of dark circles around the eyes, which, while not necessarily dangerous to human health, are unpleasant to look at, making them one of the main focuses of anti-aging skin care.
_ Aging Well Spiritual Health Well-beingReligion + Spirituality = Healthier Aging By articleReligion and spirituality have distinct but complementary influences on health as we age, according to research done at Oregon State University and published in March 2014 in the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. A release from OSU quotes gerontology professor Carolyn Aldwin, director of OSU’s Center for Healthy Aging Research, as saying, “Religion helps regulate behavior and health habits, while spirituality regulates your emotions, how you feel.”
_ Aging WellHelping Boomers Age in Place By articleAs the Baby Boom generation ages, the number of older adults living in America will double by 2050, with nearly 19 million of those adults age 85 or older. While the needs of this older adult population continue to grow and change, the current paradigm of care—institutional settings like nursing homes and assisted living facilities—is an inflexible and expensive way of caring for older adults with physical limitations or chronic health conditions.
_ Aging WellWatch: 5 Reasons Getting Older Rocks By articleHere's another addition to our ThirdAge Video Collection. Press play to start learning!
_ Money MattersIs It Smart To Buy A Condo? By Jane Farrell articleEditor’s Note: As we get older, many of us think about downsizing from a house to a condo, because it’s easier to manage our lives in a simpler place. And we’d like to save as much money on home repairs as possible, because fixed incomes and Medicare don’t cover all essential expenses. Sometimes, though, the decision to buy or lease a condo isn’t as clear-cut as you’d like. Here, from a top expert, are some smart questions to ask yourself before making a move.
_ Aging WellHelping Us Use Age-Friendly Technologies By articleBoth public and private entities must consider the needs of older adults in order to help them optimize the use of new technologies from smart phones to smart cars, according to the latest issue of Public Policy & Aging Report (PP&AR), entitled “Aging and Technology: The Promise and the Paradox.” A total of eight articles, all from authors affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab, are featured.