Aging 101

Brain health is heart health.

• There has been a 25 percent decline in dementia over the last decade, which accompanied a significant decrease in heart attacks and strokes. Controlling your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose, optimizing your diet and physical activity, stop smoking, and losing weight can all decrease your chances of developing heart disease, a stroke, or dementia.

Everybody ages. It's inevitable.

• Do you know anyone who looks and acts the same, decade after decade? From birth onward, life is changing, and that's a natural thing. Resistance is futile. Being in denial about aging is guaranteed to make you miserable. Creatively adapting to changes as they occur will allow you to do what matters most to you.

Some changes ARE due to "normal" aging.

• Needing glasses or hearing aids, or having trouble remembering proper nouns is to be expected as you age. These changes don’t occur in the same order or to the same degree in everyone. What's "normal" doesn't mean that you will like these changes, nor does it mean that there’s nothing you can do about them.

Some changes are NOT due to "normal" aging.

• Learn a lesson from my patient, Harry, who went to see the orthopedist because of pain in his left knee. When the doctor said, "What do you expect? You're 90 years old!" Harry replied, "My right knee is ALSO 90 years old, and it feels fine".

Get a doctor who knows the difference between caring for 80-year-olds versus 50-year-olds.

• Regardless of how well you’re doing, there are physiologic changes that occur with age. Heart attacks can present as shortness of breath without any chest pain, certain medications should be avoided, and the benefits and risks of screening tests and procedures may differ from those for younger people.

Remember to S.O.C.

• When you find you can't do everything you want to do, SELECT what matters to you, OPTIMIZE by practicing and rehearsing what you are able to do (use it or lose it), and COMPENSATE by embracing alternative methods and equipment".

Aging Mythbusters

You still need 7–8 hours of sleep everyday. It just may be harder to get! With aging, it can take you a little longer to fall asleep and your level of sleep may be lighter. Medical and/or psychological conditions may wake you up at night, after which it can be harder to fall back to sleep.

Bed rest is good...for dead people.

• Though there are a few exceptions, bed rest is not good for you. The less you move and the more you stay in bed, the more deconditioned and dehydrated your body will become. This is especially true if you’re in the hospital. Loss of muscle strength happens quickly, while rebuilding it can take a long time.

You still need to worry about safe sex.

• Sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, are becoming more common in the older population. Chlamydia infections among Americans aged 65 and over increased by 31 percent, and syphilis by 52 percent between 2007 and 2011. Attention to safe sex, which includes the use of condoms, remains vital as you age, especially in non-monagamous relationships. You are never too old to be at risk.

Naming your health care proxy is necessary, but not enough.

• You may think that you’ve done your duty to you identify someone who will make medical decisions for you should you become incapacitated. But you’re asking your proxy to act FOR you, to do what they think YOU would want done in a given situation. It’s a real burden if they have no idea what your wishes are. So have the conversation.

No pain, no gain no longer applies.

• You don’t need to feel pain to build strength. Studies show there's a similar gain in muscle strength and size (with fewer injuries) when you use a weight that is tolerable (not the heaviest you can lift) and raise it repeatedly until your muscles feel tired. Once this gets easier, increase the weight or the number of repetitions.

You CAN make new friends.

• Getting older doesn't mean you should isolate yourself. Frequent participation in meaningful activities and relationships decreases loneliness and increases life satisfaction. Do things you enjoy and try to make some new friends.

Exercise

There IS a magic bullet. It's called exercise! It’s never too late to start exercising. Physical activity helps cognition, strength, endurance, and much more. Even 90-year-olds can benefit from resistance training

Decrease pain and increase mobility:

• Breathe deep.
• Slow down, live consciously.
• Stay balanced.
• Decrease your risk of falls.
• Stop your leaks.
• Incontinence can be controlled.
• Train your brain.
• Use it or lose it is real.
• ​Save your shoulder.
• Rotator cuff tears are common in older adults.
• Relax your neck.
• Release tension in your neck and shoulders.
• ​Strengthen your core.
• Tighten your midsection and lower back.
• Strengthen your upper back.
• Improve your posture.
• Strengthen your legs.
• Get up from a chair more easily.

What Caregivers Need to Know about the Loved One’s Second Half of Life