Self Help Tips for Holiday Blues

                                                               
Women of all ages experience holiday blues. We are blasted with "perfect people" on commercials. with "Perfect families. We may look back on past holidays, longing for those times again. We may look back on past sad holidays ... all of it can be a roller coaster ride!

I am not an expert, I do know what I experience in my own life. 

Some things that help me:

* Listening to "white noise" through earphones. I do this throughout the day. "Using earplugs or a white noise machine may also help drown out noise from outside the bedroom that could be keeping you awake. Not only do these behaviors promote sleep, but they can also helpease depression." (according to sleep.org)

* Watching youtube videos. I love watching short videos : funny pets, funny kids, people. I will take time to listen to music videos. I am amazed there are current artists out there who have some awesome music!

* Time Out. I have a childhood friend that I talk to at least once a week. We are more like sisters. She has always been kind of hyper. When I hear it in her voice, I remind her to take time out. Time to do nothing. Time to just be. I really find that it helps me. We are so overloaded with information, constant...just taking a few minutes each day to focus on being still is so important.

Below are some more suggestion. I will post the link to the full article below.

Self-help tips

1: Reach out and stay connected

If you’re depressed, you may not want to do anything or see anybody. But isolation only makes depression worse. On your own, it can be difficult to maintain perspective and sustain the effort required to beat depression. That’s why support matters—so make an effort to connect to others and limit the time you’re alone. If you can’t get out to socialize, invite loved ones to visit you, or keep in touch over the phone or email.

But remember: digital communication isn’t a replacement for face-to-face contact. Do your best to see people in person on a daily basis. Your mood will thank you! And remember, it’s never too late to build new friendships.

Get out in to the world. Try not to stay cooped up at home all day. Go to the park, take a trip to the hairdresser, have lunch with a friend, visit a museum, or go to a concert or a play.

Volunteer your time. Helping others is one of the best ways to feel better about yourself and expand your social network.

Join a depression support group. Being with others facing the same problems can help reduce your sense of isolation. It can also be inspiring to hear how others cope with depression.

Take care of a pet. A pet can keep you company, and walking a dog, for example, can be good exercise for you and a great way to meet people. Dog owners love to chat while their pets play together.

Take a class or join a club to meet like-minded people. Try joining a senior center, a book club, or another group of people with similar interests.

Create opportunities to laugh. Laughter provides a mood boost, so swap humorous stories and jokes with your loved ones, watch a comedy, or read a funny book.

Self Help Tip Guide

Positive relationships boost self-esteem and vice versa

                                                       

                                          

                              Robust reciprocal link found across life span

Date:
September 26, 2019
Source:
American Psychological Association
Summary:
Does having close friends boost your self-esteem, or does having high self-esteem influence the quality of your friendships? Both, according to a meta-analysis of more than two decades of research.

Does having close friends boost your self-esteem, or does having high self-esteem influence the quality of your friendships?

Both, according to a meta-analysis of more than two decades of research, published by the American Psychological Association.

"For the first time, we have a systematic answer to a key question in the field of self-esteem research: Whether and to what extent a person's social relationships influence his or her self-esteem development, and vice versa, and at what ages," said study author Michelle A. Harris, PhD, of The University of Texas at Austin. "The answer to what age groups is across the life span."

The research was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Harris and her co-author, Ulrich Orth, PhD, of the University of Bern, analyzed 52 studies involving more than 47,000 participants (54% female) looking at either the effect of self-esteem on social relationships over time or the reverse effect. The studies, all published between 1992 and 2016, included multiple countries (e.g., 30 samples from the United States, four from Switzerland, three from Germany, two each from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Greece, Russia and Sweden). Participants were 60% white, 2% Hispanic/Latino, 12% other predominantly another ethnicity and 19% mixed ethnicities. Samples ranged from early childhood to late adulthood.

The authors found that positive social relationships, social support and social acceptance help shape the development of self-esteem in people over time across ages 4 to 76. The authors also found a significant effect in the reverse direction. While earlier research had yielded inconsistent findings, the meta-analysis supports the classic and contemporary theories of the influence of self-esteem on social connections and the influence of social connections on self-esteem, according to Harris. The findings were the same after accounting for gender and ethnicity.

"The reciprocal link between self-esteem and social relationships implies that the effects of a positive feedback loop accumulate over time and could be substantial as people go through life," according to Harris.

The authors discuss the idea that positive relationships with parents may cultivate self-esteem in children, which leads to more positive relationships with peers in adolescence, which may further strengthen the self-esteem of emerging adults, and so on into late adulthood. However, the field is still in need of an integrated theory that can explain whether relationships have such a cumulative effect across life, or whether certain relationships become particularly important at certain ages.

When self-esteem or quality of social relationships is low, Harris noted, it can negatively affect the other factor, and set off a downward spiral, making clinical interventions especially important to offset this potentially adverse development.

"The fact that the effect did not differ significantly among studies with different sample characteristics strengthens confidence in the robustness of our findings," said Harris.

"We found a limited number of longitudinal studies on self-esteem and specific relationships in adulthood as well as studies using measures other than self-report, so our findings only begin to speak to these groups, and we look forward to future work oriented towards filling these gaps."


Story Source:

Materials provided by American Psychological Association. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

Michelle A. Harris and Ulrich Orth. The Link Between Self-Esteem and Social Relationships: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2019 DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000265

Cite This Page:

MLA
APA
Chicago
American Psychological Association. "Positive relationships boost self-esteem, and vice versa: Robust reciprocal link found across life span." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 September 2019. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190926092416.htm>.

Senior Moments: How big of a problem is social isolation among older adults?

             
                                                                                     

Senior Moments from H.O.M.E.

How big of a problem is social isolation among older adults?

Bigger than you might think. One just has to look at some of the news articles to know that social isolation is a trend that is only getting worse.

I had the pleasure of presenting Rush Generations members last month, where both Dr. Alexander Sasha Rackman and I both addressed social isolation from our individual perspectives: Dr. Rackman being a geriatrician and myself being a gerontologist and social worker.

Let me first start by saying that social isolation is not just a problem experienced by older adults. It can occur among younger and older people alike.

So, I hope that the take-aways you get from this post will help you initiate a dialogue with friends or family or a primary care physician that helps get someone on the path of either reducing or even preventing social isolation from happening.

I have found that people who are socially isolated often do not even recognize it is happening to them, before it is too late.

Dr. Rackman made a very important distinction between isolation and loneliness.

He described loneliness as subjective in that it is how people perceive their situation and whether they feel isolated.

Hence, one might feel lonely but not be isolated.

Someone who is isolated lacks meaningful and unfulfilling relationships in their lives, has a minimal number of social contacts, and doesn’t feel like they belong.

Some of the risk factors for social isolation include:

a decrease in mobility that limits engagement in social activities
less exposure to opportunities for building relationships
fear of falling or unmanaged incontinence that causes one not to leave their home
limited family or friends, family or friends who live at a distance, being unmarried, and living alone

These risk factors may come as no surprise, but what is surprising is that social isolation is on the rise. Yet, these risk factors have the potential to be addressed if only people were aware of the issue and addressing the issue.

The challenge is that social isolation can go unnoticed if no one is paying attention.

Reports vary with the number of older adults who are social isolated. Some numbers have been as high as forty-three percent (Nicholson, Molony, Fennie, Shellman, & McCorkle, 2010; Smith & Hirdes, 2009).

The Administration on Aging reports that about twenty-nine percent of older adults live alone. Well, since we know that living alone is a risk factor, we, as a society should be thinking of ways to engage and connect these individuals.

If the previous numbers don’t “jump start” you to begin paying attention to yourself and those around you, perhaps the following findings will:

Social isolation is twice as likely to cause premature death in older adults. The mortality rate of socially isolated older adults is comparable to that of smokers.
Social isolation is both bad for one’s health and is costly. AARP and Stanford University found that that the lack of social contacts among people with Medicare cost an estimated $6.7 billion in additional Medicare spending. 
Forty percent of adults admit to being lonely. Reducing isolation could possibly reduce loneliness and vice versa.

intergenerational_theresnoplacelikehomeHere are a few resources to help an older adult stay connected:

CJE SeniorLife’s Virtual Senior Center

H.O.M.E.’s Good Life Senior Residences

Mather Lifeways Telephone Topics

Little Brother’s Friends of the Elderly

H.O.M.E.'s Intergenerational Housing Program is designed to offer engagement that reduces isolation and increases quality of life. As a result, our residents often report that their health improves after they move into our buildings. Residents are also offered opportunities to attend community outings including movies, museums, and shopping. In many instances, our residents refer to residential managers, coordinators, and neighbors as the “H.O.M.E. family,” an extension of their own family and support system.

Posted by Tricia Mullin on Sep 3, 2018 3:06:00 PM

About H.O.M.E.

Founded in 1982, has helped thousands of low-income seniors in Chicago maintain their independence by providing a home repair service, shopping bus, moving program, and three affordable apartment buildings where seniors can live comfortably in an intergenerational environment.

Best-selling album of all time says about baby boomers’ spending power

                                  What the best-selling album of all time says about baby boomers’
                                   spending power     

Sept 2, 2018 10:06 a.m. ET

 
They’re not the ‘Take It Easy’ generation


Michael Jackson fans worldwide are celebrating what would have been his 60th birthday this week, a testament to his enduring reign as the king of pop.

But that title took a hit this month.

Classic rockers The Eagles dethroned Jackson’s 1982 masterwork “Thriller” as the top-selling album of all time when the band’s “Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975” surpassed 38 million copies sold.

Regardless of what it says about their relative musical talents, the milestone is evidence of the awesome spending power of the generation that’s just a few years older than Jackson’s Generation X fan base: baby boomers.

‘You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave’
Representatives for the band and its music label didn’t have an exact demographic profile of Eagles fans available, but the band formed in 1971, and it’s safe to assume that the bulk of the band’s fans are baby boomers, the group born between 1946 to 1964 and now in their mid-50s to early 70s.

Research has shown that musical taste freezes in your early 30s. That’s how old millions of boomers were when the Eagles were churning out chart-toppers like “Hotel California,” which included the immortal lines “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”

Most people (69%) who like similar artists of that era — including Eric Clapton, The Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac, and Paul McCartney — are 45 and older, said Russ Crupnick, managing partner of the research firm MusicWatch. And those fans have had ample opportunity to buy the record-setting Eagles’ greatest hits album again and again.

“The millennials may represent the future of marketing, but the future isn’t here yet,” Hubbell said. Millennials are still five to 15 years away or so away from their peak earning years. Hubbell has seen some long-established companies panic when they realize their core customers are now in their 70s and awkwardly try to pivot to selling to millennials. “That’s a wrong move,” Hubbell said. “They should be going after the people who actually have money.”

Read complete article

Moving? Should You Buy or Rent?

                                                                   

By Jane Bryant Quinn, AARP Bulletin

To rent or buy again? That is the question retirees face when it comes to real estate and downsizing.
It's zero hour. You've decided to sell your house and move to something smaller or to another town. As a homeowner, you naturally think of buying again — a house or maybe a condo. But should you? Maybe you should rent instead.

Ownership is solidly entrenched among retirees. They weren't even shaken by the real estate collapse. From the peak of the housing bubble in 2006 to the present, the rate of homeownership for people 65 and up has held steady at about 80 percent, the Census Bureau reports. It runs to over 90 percent among married couples in which one person is 65 or older.

For those 55 to 64, however, it's another story. The portion who own the place where they live has dropped to 76 percent, compared with 81 percent in 2006. Some in this age group switched to renting because they couldn't manage a mortgage anymore. Others, however, rent by choice.


That leads to the question of how to dispose of the proceeds when you sell a house. You can use part or all of it to buy another house or condo, with or without a mortgage. That pot of money is now tied up. You could tap it at some point in the future, by taking a home equity loan or reverse mortgage, but that probably isn't your plan.

Read Complete Article

Press Release Study: Medicaid work requirements and health savings accounts may impact people’s coverage, access to care

                                         

                                               Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health


                                              Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
For immediate release: June 20, 2018

Boston, MA – Current experimental approaches in Medicaid programs—including requirements to pay premiums, contribute to health savings accounts, or to work—may lead to unintended consequences for patient coverage and access, such as confusing beneficiaries or dissuading some people from enrolling, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The study will be published online June 20, 2018 in Health Affairs.

“There’s been a lot of recent research showing that expanding Medicaid leads to improved access to care and better quality of care—which suggests that any expansion will be better for public health than not expanding,” said Benjamin Sommers, associate professor of health policy and economics at Harvard Chan School and lead author of the study. “But our findings suggest that some of the benefits of expanding Medicaid may be at least partially compromised by some of the current innovations in use.”

Under the Trump Administration, which has prioritized increased flexibility for state Medicaid programs, some states have been experimenting with new approaches. Most recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved proposals from Kentucky, Arkansas, and Indiana for the first-ever work requirements in Medicaid, and other states, including Kansas, have expressed interest in following suit.

The researchers sought to assess views about new Medicaid approaches in three Midwestern states with different policies: Ohio, which has a traditional Medicaid expansion without premiums and with minimal cost-sharing; Indiana, which expanded Medicaid coverage in 2015 but which requires enrollees to pay premiums and contribute to health savings accounts; and Kansas, which did not expand Medicaid and where only very poor parents and disabled adults are eligible.

The researchers conducted a telephone survey in late 2017 of 2,739 low-income adults in the three states. The survey gathered respondents’ views on health insurance, access to and quality of care, financial well-being, experiences with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), health savings accounts, work requirements, and private vs. public insurance coverage.

The study found:
In 2017, health insurance coverage rates were significantly higher in the Medicaid expansion states (Ohio and Indiana) than in the non-expansion state (Kansas).
Cost-related barriers to care were more common in Indiana than in Ohio. Indiana’s health savings accounts were confusing for many enrollees, with nearly 40% saying they had never even heard of the required accounts and only 36% making regular required payments—meaning that two-thirds of beneficiaries were at risk of losing benefits or coverage for non-payment.
In Kansas, 77% of low-income individuals said they supported Medicaid expansion. Although Kansas is considering work requirements for its Medicaid program, most potential enrollees in the state were either already working or had a disability that prevented them from working. Only 11% of potential enrollees said they would be more likely to seek work if required to do so by Medicaid.


“For both work requirements and health savings accounts, the policies may operate as intended for modest numbers of Medicaid beneficiaries who understand or react to the incentives. But there’s a real risk that even greater numbers of low-income adults will be adversely affected because they don’t understand the new policies, can’t afford them, or get tied up in administrative complexity. For these reasons, it’s critical that there be ongoing independent monitoring of these approaches,” Sommers said.

Other Harvard Chan School co-authors of the study included Carrie Fry, Robert Blendon, and Arnold Epstein.

Funding for the study came from the Commonwealth Fund and the REACH Healthcare Foundation.

“New Approaches in Medicaid: Work Requirements, Health Savings Accounts, and Health Care Access,” Benjamin D. Sommers, Carrie E. Fry, Robert J. Blendon, Arnold M. Epstein,Health Affairs, online June 20, 2018, doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.0331

Visit the Harvard Chan School website 

Just for laughs - Older Women

                                                   

                                                                  Phyllis Diller


Maybe age is kinder to us than we think. With my bad eyes, I can't see how bad I look, and with my rotten memory, I have a good excuse for getting out of a lot of stuff.
Erma Bombeck

I've always felt there are two things a woman should never do after the age of thirty-five: stand in natural light and have a baby.
Erma Bombeck

"You know you're old if your walker has an airbag."  Phyllis Diller

"Photos of me don't do me justice. They just look like me. " Phyllis Diller


"The best way to get rid of kitchen odors is to eat out." Phyllis Diller


"I really don't think I need buns of steel. I'd be happier with bus of cinnamon.""You should never assume.You know what happens when you assume. You make an ass out of you and me because that's how it's spelled." Ellen DeGeneres

"There's lotion for your face,lotion for hands. lotion for your fee, lotion for your body. What would happen in you put hand lotion on your feet? Would your feet get confused and start clapping?" Ellen DeGeneres

"If you want to get rid of stuff, you can always do a good spring-cleaning. Or you can do what I do. Move."  Ellen DeGeneres

Women Celebrities who Joined the 60's Club in 2018!

         



                                                           

                                                 Madonna (image Instagram/Backgrid

I turned 60 last year and I've wondered about women celebrities who will join the 

"60's Club" this year.

Madonna turns 60 August 16, 2018. 60, sounds so old, until you get there...

So, the photo on the left is a wonderful selfie Madonna took, in a bathroom. The photo on the right was taken late after a night out. Hey, that one on the right is a beautiful as the one on the left!

                                         

                                                                     bustle.com 

Age is only a number. That's something many Twitter users have quickly found out after learning Ellen DeGeneres is turned 60 on Jan. 26. It truly is mind-blowing to think that The Ellen DeGeneres Show (director: Liz Patrick) host could be 60. She has such a youthful spirit that her age is understandably sometimes forgotten by her fans (*raises hand*). Ever since she tweeted on Jan. 20 about her 60th birthday, Twitter users have been reacting quite hilariously. They cannot get it through their minds that DeGeneres is 60 years old.

On Saturday, she tweeted, "I can’t believe I’m going to be 60 this week! I love rating your babies but this week I want to rate the 60 year olds in your life. #EllenRateMy60YearOld."

For those unaware, she regularly has a segment on her daytime talk show called, "Ellen Rate My Baby". On Jan. 8, she even showed a special edition of "Ellen Rate My Baby: Staff Edition." Obviously, she is changing it up in honor of her birthday and wants to "rate the 60 year olds" people have in their lives.

Click on the link at the to Bustle to read the replies on Twitter

*BTW. I think Ellen looks Amazing!

********

                                                            

                                                                    Michelle Pfeiffer 

Michelle Pfeiffer joined the 60's Club April 29, 2018

As her kids grew up, Pfeiffer “took for granted how nice it was to not be under the spotlight,” she told the New York Times. “I remember thinking, ‘Do I really want to step back into [acting]?’ And I just realized that I’m not done. I have a lot more to do and a lot more to say. I’m never going to be one that retires.”

*Michelle is a genuine beauty. She is just as talented as far as I'm concerned!

                                                   

Best Foods for Women 50 Plus!

                                                         

                                 The Best Foods to Eat For Women 50 Years Old and Beyond


                                       
MD Monthly  March 21, 2018  Senior, Women's

The Best Foods to Eat For Women 50 Years Old and Beyond

By: Josh Elizetxe
Women’s bodies undergo different changes as time passes by. Apparently, these changes have huge impacts on health and wellness. At the age of 30, every woman’s metabolism begins to decline. The same is true for bone density and hormone levels.  So, imagine your overall health condition in your fifties and sixties.

In totality, it is not only your preference for music and clothes that change as you get older. You must understand that your body is no longer functioning as efficiently as it was when you were 20 or 30. And being much more selective to the food you are eating is a must. Hence, here are the best foods to eat when you are in your fifties.

Oats
Heart diseases are very common for older people – 45 and above. Women normally have a much higher risk of getting such diseases starting at the age of 55. So, including cholesterol-lowering foods and snacks is a great move.

Now, oats are natural cholesterol-lowering foods. And eating this regularly will not only help you lower your risks of heart diseases, but they can also decrease the risk of dying at an early age. Essentially, oats contain high levels of beta-glucan which is a soluble fiber that decreases cholesterol levels. A cup of this every morning will do the work effectively.

Apples
Apples are a great choice of fruit too when aiming for a clean and healthy diet. They are rich in fibers that are great for keeping your heart healthy. Also, eating more apples every day can largely decrease the risks of immobility as you age.

Alongside these benefits, apples have a lot of antioxidants that fight free radicals which are usually the causes of immunity decline.

Berries
For your brain improvements, berries are the greatest option to choose along with the other dark-colored berries. They contain phytochemicals that increase the blood flow to the brain and reduce inflammation. As a result, these fruits can help you improve your brain functions and decrease the risk of having the common short-term memory loss tendencies.

Walnuts
You may want to resort to nuts as well, instead of munching on crackers and chips for your snacks. Recently, studies show that nuts, especially walnuts and peanuts, reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death by 28%. In addition, they improve brain functionality which is great for women over 50.

Try to have at least one cup of walnuts or peanuts per day. You may include fruits while munching on them.

Lean Meats & Fish
As you reach the age of 50 and older, you must be very careful in counting your calories. Instead of focusing on calorie-dense foods, switch to foods that are nutrient-dense such as lean meats and fish meats.

These kinds of foods are very rich in protein and fiber that are significantly needed for your body in these age groups.

Soy Milk
Your hormones may act strangely and differently during this stage in life. As you get older, the menopausal stages and symptoms that you experience are evident. You will want to choose to consume foods that are high in isoflavones since they mimic how estrogen hormones function.

Soy milk, tofu, and miso are the most appropriate choices for your hormonal concerns at this age. However, be mindful of consuming too many soybeans especially when you are a cancer survivor. It is essentially advisable that you consult with your doctor first before consuming such foods.

Yogurt
Another common concern of every mid-aged woman today is their bone health. During this stage of life, the bone apparently gets thinner making it very susceptible to fractures and osteoporosis. Hence, the need for vitamin D and calcium is much higher.

The green varieties of yogurt are great sources of fiber. As for milk yogurts and non-dairy types, they are quite rich in calcium. And they are the best foods to eat regularly to help and strengthen the bones in totality.

Broccoli
Today, there are a lot of “green superfoods” to choose from. But, one of the best choices in this line of food is broccoli. You could actually gain a lot of benefits from eating broccoli on a daily basis. A daily serving of this green can help you improve brain functions and health due to its antioxidants and anti-inflammatory contents. Also, the calcium contents of broccoli are significant and makes it great for your bone health as well.

Oranges
An orange a day can keep you active and well-functioning even at an older age. Also, the antioxidant that they contain slows the aging process which preserves your younger health states.

Apparently, the benefits of eating oranges are already established. Nevertheless, they are found to be helpful not only in strengthening your immune system but also in decreasing the risk of having physical impairment due to aging.

Eggs
Eggs are another great food to add to your diet and meal plans. They are high in protein and this helps you maintain a great shape and figure. Also, they contain significant numbers of nutrients which are beneficial to your overall health and wellness especially when you reach 50 and above.

Try to eat one or two eggs per day.

All of the foods listed above are not the surprising and unique kinds. They are the ones you always hear or read about when it comes to having a healthy lifestyle. But, even though there’s not a major “wow-factor” in these foods, they can effectively help you manage your fitness states and health conditions during your mid-ages.
                                   
 Source : MD Monthly

More from MD Monthly : Senior Health
                                       

Everyday Fashion Women Over 50

         
                                                                     

When I look at what's "in" for women over 50 as far as fashion, so many times I find women with too much makeup, fancy hairstyles, and dressy clothes. So, I am glad when I find something more what I would wear. 

I found the following on The Best Fashion Blog:

EVERYDAY CLOTHING IDEAS FOR WOMEN OVER 50 2018

We have already spoke about formal apparel for women over 50 and today I want to show you best everyday clothing ideas for women over fifty. The first rule is to let go of baggy garments which weigh you down. Indeed, try to buy apparel which makes you look fresh and cute, like fitted and bright color tops, as well as adding bright accessories with sparkling details. Never wear drab and boring looks, it's better to try on flattering and slim-fit styles. I personally advice you to accentuate your natural curves and purchase slimming garments. Well, talking about shapeless tops, boxy sweaters, roomy blouses and outerwear, then, everything depends on your shape and personal tastes, since most of these styles are more suitable for younger generation. Anyway, you can always try on wrap blouse to add an edgy appearance. Look for patterned knits in cashmere, mohair and rich yarn. Some women go for long, elongated cardigans, which add that special layering effect to your overall look. The most important thing in 50's women wardrobe is to choose ageless spirit, which will make you look 10 years younger. That's why I have made this awesome Polyvore compilation of sophisticated and trendy clothing sets:

Look at the Clothes

Take a look at Pinterest Everyday Casual Chic

Style Craze Fashion For Women Over 50 – Style Guide And Wardrobe Tips

Hey, do you have something or some place online to share that have casual styles for women over 50? Let me know, or feel free to share in the comments!

Science Daily: Weight changes associated with reduced bone strength

                                                   

June 1, 2018

Source:

Hebrew SeniorLife Institute for Aging Research

Summary:

Researchers have found evidence that weight loss can result in worsening bone density, bone architecture and bone strength.

Researchers from Hebrew SeniorLife's Institute for Aging Research, Boston University, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and University of Calgary have found evidence that weight loss can result in worsening bone density, bone architecture and bone strength. The results were published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

Douglas P. Kiel, MD, MPH, principal investigator for the study said, "The study is significant because it used data on weight changes over 40 years in participants in the Framingham Study. We showed that men and women with both shorter term weight loss over 4-6 years and longer term weight loss over 40 years had more micro-architectural deterioration of their bones than persons who did not lose weight."

Continue Reading Article

sciencedaily.com

New Research Results! Reversing cognitive impairments in mice with dementia

                                           
                                                               

Date:

June 8, 2018

Source:

Temple University Health System

Summary:

Reversing memory deficits and impairments in spatial learning is a major goal in dementia research. A lack of knowledge about cellular pathways critical to the development of dementia has prevented significant clinical advance. Researchers are breaking through that barrier. They show, for the first time in an animal model, that a drug can reverse tau pathology -- the second-most important lesion in the brain in patients with Alzheimer's.

The following report is from Science Daily

Reversing memory deficits and impairments in spatial learning is a major goal in the field of dementia research. A lack of knowledge about cellular pathways critical to the development of dementia, however, has stood in the way of significant clinical advance. But now, researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) are breaking through that barrier. They show, for the first time in an animal model, that tau pathology -- the second-most important lesion in the brain in patients with Alzheimer's disease -- can be reversed by a drug.

"We show that we can intervene after disease is established and pharmacologically rescue mice that have tau-induced memory deficits," explained senior investigator Domenico Praticò, MD, Scott Richards North Star Foundation Chair for Alzheimer's Research, Professor in the Departments of Pharmacology and Microbiology, and Director of the Alzheimer's Center at Temple at LKSOM. The study, published online in the journal Molecular Neurobiology, raises new hope for human patients affected by dementia.

The researchers landed on their breakthrough after discovering that inflammatory molecules known as leukotrienes are deregulated in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. In experiments in animals, they found that the leukotriene pathway plays an especially important role in the later stages of disease.

"At the onset of dementia, leukotrienes attempt to protect nerve cells, but over the long term, they cause damage," Dr. Praticò said. "Having discovered this, we wanted to know whether blocking leukotrienes could reverse the damage, whether we could do something to fix memory and learning impairments in mice having already abundant tau pathology."

To recapitulate the clinical situation of dementia in humans, in which patients are already symptomatic by the time they are diagnosed, Dr. Praticò and colleagues used specially engineered tau transgenic mice, which develop tau pathology -- characterized by neurofibrillary tangles, disrupted synapses (the junctions between neurons that allow them to communicate with one another), and declines in memory and learning ability -- as they age. When the animals were 12 months old, the equivalent of age 60 in humans, they were treated with zileuton, a drug that inhibits leukotriene formation by blocking the 5-lipoxygenase enzyme.

After 16 weeks of treatment, animals were administered maze tests to assess their working memory and their spatial learning memory. Compared with untreated animals, tau mice that had received zileuton performed significantly better on the tests. Their superior performance suggested a successful reversal of memory deficiency.

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Women Positive Quotes

                                               

 "One is not born a woman, one becomes one." Simone de Beauvior 

  

"Perfect is boring, human is beautiful." Tyra Banks 

  

 "Turn toward the light , it's easy to turn away, women don't choose what's easy." Marjorie Farrington

  

 "The moon brightens the darkness, reflecting light from the sun..be the reflection of light in someone's darkness." Marjorie Farrington

 "Don't be afraid of your own shadow, look at your shadow as your impact on the world around you." Marjorie Farrington

Harvard Business Law : Older Women Are Being Forced Out of the Workforce

                                                 

Below is an article found on the Harvard Business Law website


Many women who feel discriminated against because of their age feel that their only recourse is to sue their employers—but they have a daunting road ahead if they choose to do so.  Even as state and federal laws prohibit age discrimination, a 2009 Supreme Court decision made it much harder for plaintiffs to win by shifting the burden of proof in these cases to them. This creates bookend barriers to senior women who are seeking to change jobs or re-enter the workplace.

For many of the women I spoke with, these challenges arose just as they were freed from the family responsibilities that slowed their career progress when they were younger.  As mothers, they were subjected to assumptions about whether their family obligations interfered with their commitment to work.  And when their children grew up, they raced back into the workforce, only to see their careers stalled by a reduced tolerance for aging women at work.

This observation appears to be backed up by recent research. A study that came out last fall by economists at the University of California at Irvine and Tulane University found “robust evidence of age discrimination in hiring against older women.” The data show that it is harder for older women to find jobs than it is for older men.

The researchers created 40,000 job applications for fictional job seekers and submitted them to a variety of online job postings. They made resumes for older applicants (ages 64-66), middle-aged applicants (49-51), and younger applicants (29-31). After monitoring employers’ responses to these dummy applications, the researchers concluded that the evidence shows it is more difficult for older female workers to find jobs. For example, the authors reported that the callback rate for middle-aged female sales applicants was lower than for younger ​female​ applicants, while callback rates for middle-aged and young male applicants were similar.

The authors suggested two possible theories for why older women may suffer from age discrimination more than older men: one is that age discrimination laws do not deal effectively with the situation of older women who face both age and gender bias; the other possibility touches on society’s focus on the physical appearance of women, a scrutiny that does not seem to similarly impact men. For example, this appears to be playing out in Hollywood, as actresses like Catherine Zeta-Jones and Kim Cattrall decry the industry’s lack of roles for women in their 40s and older.

For too long, this nexus between age and gender discrimination has been discussed in whispered anecdotes and quietly filed lawsuits. Although this study is a great step in raising the issue, it is striking how little research actually exists on the topic. In order to address and root out age and gender discrimination, there will need to be more future research scoping out the problem and offering recommendations to fix it, and organizations have to take stock and be willing to make changes.

One in three Americans are 50 or older, and by 2030, 1 in 5 will be 65 and above.  As women continue to outlive men, they are more likely to have increased healthcare needs, are more likely to be widowed, and will have fewer years in the workforce to accumulate post-retirement savings and sufficient social security.

Managers need to recognize and root out these biases against older women to ensure a workforce where all generations are embraced for the talents they bring. For 50 to truly become the new 30, we need a workplace that provides equal opportunities for women.

Susan* is a woman in her 60s who has spent decades working in the insurance business. After years of performance reviews describing her outstanding work ethic, her fortunes turned once she started reporting to a woman 20 years her junior. Under her new manager, Susan felt set up to fail—she was assigned more cases and held to much higher standards than her younger colleagues. Susan’s manager issued a formal performance evaluation that characterized her as failing in her duties.  Although Susan was supposed to have 90 days to improve, her manager fired her after a few days. Susan has since sued her employer for age discrimination.

Below are examples given in this article:

Mary* is a 72-year-old sociology professor with significant scholarship credentials, several teaching awards, and an illustrious record, including three stints as department chair.  Her positive career recognition came to an end when the university hired a much younger dean, who denied her funding to hire needed full-time faculty, accused her of poor leadership, and favored her younger colleagues.  The dean eventually told her that he would not approve an additional term for her to serve as department chair.  Mary filed a lawsuit against the university for age discrimination, which was recently settled.

At the age of 64, Jane* had worked as a bartender at a neighborhood bar for more than a decade. The bar was being sold, however, and the buyers told Jane that she was too old to be a bartender, disparaging her age and gender in front of other employees and customers before the sale was finalized.  They did not keep her on, and instead hired significantly younger women. Jane has since filed suit for age and gender discrimination.

Susan, Mary, and Jane represent a variety of backgrounds and positions, but their stories share a theme that is both commonplace and all too often ignored: senior women are being phased out of the workplace. For the past five years, I have traveled across the U.S., speaking and conducting research on women’s leadership and advancement and bias in the workplace. Hundreds of women in their 50s and 60s have shared their stories of demotions, job losses, and the inability to find another job—outcomes they attribute primarily to their age and gender.  These women often have long histories of career success, but they have seen their responsibilities assigned to younger workers, their compensation lowered for inexplicable reasons, and their career mobility impaired by a workplace that seems to value youth over experience.

World Health Organization: Top Issues Women's Health

                                    
                                             
                                                        Top Issues Women's Health 


I found the following information on the World Health Organization

Dr. Flavia Bustreo, Assistant Director General for Family, Women’s and Children’s Health through the Life-course, World Health Organization
We've come a long way since 1995--and it is time to celebrate women and their achievements. But it is also time to take stock of how women’s rights are fulfilled in the world --especially the right to health. Twenty years after countries signed pledges in the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, women still face many health problems and we must re-commit to addressing them.

Issues regarding women's health that keep me awake at night:

Cancer: Two of the most common cancers affecting women are breast and cervical cancers. Detecting both these cancers early is key to keeping women alive and healthy. The latest global figures show that around half a million women die from cervical cancer and half a million from breast cancer each year. The vast majority of these deaths occur in low and middle income countries where screening, prevention and treatment are almost non-existent, and where vaccination against human papilloma virus needs to take hold.

In 2015, in too many countries, “women’s empowerment” remains a pipedream - little more than a rhetorical flourish added to a politician’s speech...

Dr Flavia Bustreo, ADG




HIV: Three decades into the AIDS epidemic, it is young women who bear the brunt of new HIV infections. Too many young women still struggle to protect themselves against sexual transmission of HIV and to get the treatment they require. This also leaves them particularly vulnerable to tuberculosis - one of the leading causes of death in low-income countries of women 20–59 years.

Sexually transmitted infections: I’ve already mentioned the importance of protecting against HIV and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection (the world’s most common STI). But it is also vital to do a better job of preventing and treating diseases like gonorrhoea, chlamydia and syphilis. Untreated syphilis is responsible for more than 200,000 stillbirths and early foetal deaths every year, and for the deaths of over 90 000 newborns.

Violence against women: Women can be subject to a range of different forms of violence, but physical and sexual violence – either by a partner or someone else – is particularly invidious. Today, one in three women under 50 has experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a partner, or non-partner sexual violence – violence which affects their physical and mental health in the short and long-term. It’s important for health workers to be alert to violence so they can help prevent it, as well as provide support to people who experience it.

Mental health: Evidence suggests that women are more prone than men to experience anxiety, depression, and somatic complaints – physical symptoms that cannot be explained medically. Depression is the most common mental health problem for women and suicide a leading cause of death for women under 60. Helping sensitise women to mental health issues, and giving them the confidence to seek assistance, is vital.

Noncommunicable diseases: In 2012, some 4.7 million women died from noncommunicable diseases before they reached the age of 70 —most of them in low- and middle-income countries. They died as a result of road traffic accidents, harmful use of tobacco, abuse of alcohol, drugs and substances, and obesity -- more than 50% of women are overweight in Europe and the Americas. Helping girls and women adopt healthy lifestyles early on is key to a long and healthy life.


Getting older: Having often worked in the home, older women may have fewer pensions and benefits, less access to health care and social services than their male counterparts. Combine the greater risk of poverty with other conditions of old age, like dementia, and older women also have a higher risk of abuse and generally, poor health.

When I lie awake thinking of women and their health globally, I remind myself: the world has made a lot of progress in recent years. We know more, and we are getting better at applying our knowledge. At providing young girls a good start in life.

And there has been an upsurge in high-level political will – evidenced most recently in the United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health. Use of services, especially those for sexual and reproductive health, has increased in some countries. Two important factors that influence women’s health – namely, school enrolment rates for girls and greater political participation of women - have risen in many parts of the world.

But we are not there yet. In 2015, in too many countries, “women’s empowerment” remains a pipedream - little more than a rhetorical flourish added to a politician’s speech. Too many women are still missing out on the opportunity to get educated, support themselves, and obtain the health services they need, when they need them.

That’s why WHO is working so hard to strengthen health systems and ensure that countries have robust financing systems and sufficient numbers of well-trained, motivated health workers. That’s why WHO, with UN and world partners, are coming together at the UN Commission on Status of Women from 9-20 March 2015 in New York. We will look again at pledges made in the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action with a view to renewing the global effort to remove the inequalities that put decent health services beyond so many women’s reach.

And that is why WHO and its partners are developing a new global strategy for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health, and working to enshrine the health of women in the post 2015 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. This means not only setting targets and indicators, but catalysing commitments in terms of policy, financing and action, to ensure that the future will bring health to all women and girls – whoever they are, wherever they live.

Women Over 60 Staying Healthy: Exercise

                                            Women Over 60 Staying Healthy : Exercise 
                                                                   

Women over 60 who exercise for at least 30 minutes three times per week have the heart, lungs, and muscles of a woman ten years younger. The kind of exercise that you do depends on what effect you want to see. Stretching promotes flexibility, makes movement easier, and decreases the risk of muscle injury; strength training promotes muscle strength and builds up bones; endurance exercises strengthen the heart and improve overall fitness. The best workouts will combine all three types of exercise.

Each time your foot hits the ground you apply a stress to your bones, which respond by maintaining or sometimes increasing their strength, which can be measured in terms of increased bone mineral density (BMD). The higher the impact of the activity contact, the greater the benefit to your bones. This is why weight-bearing exercises that include running or jumping are of greater benefit to your bone health than gentler weight-bearing exercises such as walking.
These exercises encourage mobility and preserve muscle strength and tone.  Try to do each set at least 10 times a day.

Source:

Check out their website for more women's health info!

Women Fitness

Baby Boomers Defined

                                                 
                                                 
                                                                 

BABY BOOMERS 

Baby boomers are all those born in the United States between 1946 and 1964. As illustrated in Figure 1, in the post–World War II period the General Fertility Rate (GFR) in the United States rose from what had been an all-time low in 1936 of 75.8 children per 1,000 women of childbearing age to a high of 122.7 in 1957—and then fell to a new all-time low of 65.0 in 1976. All races, religions, and ethnic groups participated in the boom. Total births per year during that period grew from 2.3 million to 4.3 million and then fell to 3.2 million. The baby boom is defined as having occurred during the peak years of this roller coaster ride: its legacy was a population bulge destined to leave its imprint on each phase of the life cycle. That imprint included the creation of an "echo boom" of births during the 1980s and 1990s.

Because the baby boom lasted nearly twenty years, many have objected to treating the baby boomers as a single cohort, associating younger baby boomers more with "Generation X" than with older baby boomers—but the original appellation has held through the years, and tends still to refer to the entire population bulge produced during the boom.

Source

My Life Journey

                                                         

My Life Journey 

Look at the lines on my face as my life journey. There is no need for me to cover them up. There is no reason for me to be ashamed.      

I have known a lot of people who didn't live long enough to have lines on their face. Their journey ended too soon.

Trees have rings for their map of life, that can only be seen when cut down. We get to show our life journey while we are still here.

I have the privilege of having a journey long enough to be seen and I am grateful.

                                                                                                                              

                               

                                                                                          Marjorie Farrington 2018

Grateful to be part of the 60's Club

                                                                               60's Club

I am proud to be part of the 60's club. So many people don't make it to age 60, I realize how fortunate I am to still be here

Our society has always focused on youth. Not just the young, but selling the older people that they need to do all they can to look younger. Some how, natural aging is "against the rules." I know one thing, when I looked at my grandmother, I loved how she looked. Her beautiful white hair and blue eyes. She would wear a "house dress" with a sweater draped over her shoulders. There is nothing I would've changed about her!

I have been a grandmother since I was 40. My older grandchildren know me differently than my younger ones. That's only natural.

Our society doesn't look to older people as having wisdom. Isn't it odd how we honor and preserve so many historic homes, people love antiques.Yet older and elderly people are ignored, not cherished or respected.

We should not have to be subconscious about the lines on our face, the aging of our skin, graying hair, slowing down, needing people to help us when we need.

Maybe looking at us, being around us, younger people see their future. They should realize, we've been where they are and where they are going. They should want to learn from us. With so many people wanting to know about their ancestry, talk to the older people who are here, get to know them. We are part of the present, we are part of the past.

Look at us for who we are, not what we look like. We have given so much, yet have so much left to give..so much left to live...

Don't ignore us, don't look at us as a burden, don't shun us.

If you're fortunate, you too will join the 60's club and beyond. Treat those now in that age group the way you will want to be treated.

Face Book Messenger, "The Next Best Thing to Being There"

                         That's me in the blue, my youngest daughter & my youngest grandchildren

We took a trip to see our youngest daughter, in Florida. I miss her and her family so much, the time together was precious.

My daughter and I call each other on Face Book messenger and we also do video calls. It really helps to be able to see her and then to see the children. At their age, they grow up so fast.

If you have a Face Book account and want to be able to keep in touch with people far away, this is a great way to do it! If you use a cellphone, you don't have to worry about your minutes because you're online. It's very easy to use. It's a great way to send photos back and forth, too.

Remember the old phone commercial, "Long distance is the next best thing to being there." Well, now, for me, it's through Face Book messenger!