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Preventing delirium protects seniors in hospital
August 24, 2022
Author: George A Heckman
Schlegel Research Chair in Geriatric Medicine, Associate Professor, University of Waterloo
Imagine a health condition that leads to the death of up to one-quarter of those hospitalized with it.
It’s a condition that can convert a independent older person into one stuck in hospital awaiting a bed in a long-term care home. A condition that affects up to 25 per cent of older persons presenting to hospital, and is acquired by a further 25 per cent while in hospital. A condition that prolongs hospital stays, ties up beds and backs up emergency rooms.
The costs of this condition exceeded $160 billion in the United States alone in 2011. Finally, consider how this condition occurs in almost every hospital around the world, essentially making it a pandemic.
No, this is not COVID-19, monkeypox or influenza.
4 things are needed and 4 factors must change for seniors
January 7, 2021
Authors:
Stauffer-Dunning Fellow in Global Public Policy and Adjunct Professor at the School of Policy Studies, Queen's University, Ontario
Professor of Health Services and Policy Research, Queen's University, Ontario
To age well, seniors have four interrelated needs:
1. Housing appropriate to their needs and preferences.
2. Flexible health and personal care, and household support appropriate for each individual or elderly couple as their needs wax and wane.
3. Socialization is another of the four key needs of aging well.
4. Meeting seniors’ lifestyle and/or recreational needs is also vital to aging well, especially as they’re integrated with the individual’s or couple’s social needs.
Four factors that must change:
First, as COVID-19 has clearly demonstrated, care homes are dangerous places in which infectious diseases can spread easily.
Second, given the increased number and advancing age of the baby boomer generation, continuing with our warehousing propensity is doomed to failure.
Third, to reiterate, few seniors want to live in long-term care, preferring strongly to remain in their own homes and communities or in various alternative forms of communal housing in which they have access to home and community services.
And fourth, the cost of institutional accommodation and care — to residents, their families and the public purse — exceeds by far what it would cost to provide an extended range of seniors’ needs through beefed-up home and community support services.
6 Ways to 'Reboot Your Brain' after COVID-19
December 31, 2020
Authors:
Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology, University of Cambridge
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Cambridge
Professor of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence , Fudan University
Here are six evidenced-based ways to change our brains for the better.
1. Be kind and helpful
2. Exercise
3. Eat well
4. Keep socially connected
5. Learn something new
6. Sleep properly
Can We Prevent Depression?
February 16, 2022
Can we prevent depression in older adults by treating insomnia?
Depression is common among older adults. By some estimates, more than 10% of adults over the age of 60 have struggled with major depressive disorder (MDD) within the past year. There are a number of symptoms of MDD, including depressed mood, loss of interest in pleasurable activities, difficulty concentrating, thoughts of worthlessness or guilt, thoughts of death or suicide, fatigue, sleep disturbances, unplanned weight loss/gain or a change in appetite, and slowed or agitated movement.
Six Steps to Cognitive Health
February 15, 2021
So how do you keep your brain healthy, stay cognitively fit, and build your cognitive reserve?
Researchers at Harvard Medical School have identified six cornerstones to any effective brain health and cognitive fitness program. Though we refer to them as "steps," they should all be done together rather than sequentially:
Step 1: Eat a plant-based diet
Step 2: Exercise regularly
Step 3: Get enough sleep
Step 4: Manage your stress
Step 5: Nurture social contacts
Step 6: Continue to challenge your brain
The Worst Habits for Your Brain
April 1, 2022
1. Too much sitting.
2. Lack of socializing.
3. Inadequate sleep.
4. Chronic stress.
According to the Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit and co-director of the McCance Center for Brain Health at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital, Rudolph Tanzi, many habits contribute to poor brain health, but four areas can have the most influence. They are too much sitting, lack of socializing, inadequate sleep, and chronic stress. "The good news is that they also can be the easiest to change," says Mr. Tanzi.
For more details about this article posted by the Executive Editor on Harvard Men's Health Watch, please click the yellow button below.
5 Surprising Benefits of Walking
June 10, 2021
The next time you have a check-up, don't be surprised if your doctor hands you a prescription to walk. Yes, this simple activity that you've been doing since you were about a year old is now being touted as "the closest thing we have to a wonder drug," in the words of Dr. Thomas Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of course, you probably know that any physical activity, including walking, is a boon to your overall health. But walking in particular comes with a host of benefits. Here's a list of five that may surprise you.
1. It counteracts the effects of weight-promoting genes.
2. It helps tame a sweet tooth.
3. It reduces the risk of developing breast cancer.
4. It eases joint pain.
5. It boosts immune function.
Routes to Happiness
January 21, 2022
Positive emotions are linked with better health, longer life, and greater well-being. On the other hand, chronic anger, worry, and hostility increase the risk of developing heart disease.
This relatively new field of research has been exploring how people and institutions can support the quest for increased satisfaction and meaning. It has uncovered several routes to happiness:
- Feeling good: seeking pleasurable emotions and sensations
- Engaging fully: pursuing goals and activities that engage you fully
- Doing good: searching for meaning outside yourself
- Gratitude: expressing appreciation for what you have in your life
- Savoring pleasure: placing your attention on pleasure as it occurs and consciously enjoying the experience as it unfolds
- Being mindful: focusing your attention on what is happening at the moment and accepting it without judgment
- Self-compassion: consoling yourself as needed, taking the time to nurture yourself, and building the motivation to try again.