Greg Nicholaides

By Ernie Mundell – HealthDay News

Published Jun 11, 2024

Key Takeaways

• Shortening the time you spend sitting in front of the TV could pay big dividends in terms of healthy aging
• As rates of exercise and healthy sleep replaced sitting, the odds for living to 70 or beyond in a healthy state rose
• Folks often do other unhealthy stuff — eating junk food, being isolated — when they’re watching TV

It’s tempting to binge-watch TV, but yet another study finds that when it comes to healthy aging, the less time on your sofa, the better.

The study looked at 20 years of data on more than 45,000 people taking part in the Nurses’ Health Study. All were at least age 50 in 1992 and free of chronic disease when they entered the study.

Researchers tracked lifestyle habits like time sitting at work, home and watching television, as well as their hours at home or work spent standing or walking at home. All that data was compared to information on how healthily (or not) they had aged over time.

What defined “healthy aging”? According to the team from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, it meant living to be 70 plus having no major chronic diseases, no impaired memory, and overall good physical and mental health.

One activity — watching TV while sitting — seemed particularly unhealthy, the researchers found.

“Replacing television time with light physical activity, moderate to vigorous physical activity, or sleep (in participants with inadequate sleep) were associated with better odds of healthy aging,” wrote a team led by Dr. Molin Wang, an associate professor of medicine in the department of epidemiology at Harvard.

More specifically, every hour per day where sedentary TV watching was replaced by even “light” physical activity in the home (for example, routine housework) upped a person’s odds of living to a healthy 70 or beyond by 8%.

If that hour of TV watching was replaced by “moderately vigorous” physical activity (for example, a workout), the odds of healthy aging rose by 28%, the study found.

Even folks who got less than the recommended seven hours of sleep per night gained a benefit in healthy aging if they got an extra hour of sleep each day instead of an hour spent watching TV from their sofa.

The findings were published June 11 in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Speaking with CNN, Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver, said TV watching appears to be a particularly unhealthy pursuit — and not just because you’re not moving around.

“When people sit in front of TV, it usually brings all these other co-morbid activities, like eating junk food, TV dinners, failing to connect with others, and it even can interrupt sleep,” Freeman noted. He wasn’t involved in the new study.

And exercise — any way you can get it and for any length of time — can turn all that around. It’s “truly an unbelievable way to reduce cardiovascular risk and blood pressure,” Freeman said.

“My very strong suggestion is you should consider at work getting a standing desk if you can, or even a treadmill desk if you’re able and you have the space,” Freeman said. “If you’re sitting down for more than 30 minutes at a time, in my book, that’s probably too long, and you really want to try to move a little bit.”

Explore Tips To Empower Aging Parents For a Healthier, More Independent Lifestyle

Feb. 28, 2024

One of the challenges of getting older is finding ways to maintain one’s independence, even as physical and cognitive abilities start to decline. For those of us with aging parents, we often have to balance giving them the support they require with helping them be as independent as possible – for as long as possible. This can not only enhance our parents’ mood and self-esteem, but it can also extend their physical and cognitive health by helping them maintain the ability to do daily tasks.

Here are six tips for helping your parent feel more independent.

1. Utilize their strengths

Rather than focus on your parents’ limitations, consider all the activities they’re still able to do, both physically and cognitively.

“Too often, we define getting older by all the negatives – the things we aren’t able to do anymore or the faculties that are in decline,” says Catherine Schneider, Director of Memory Care Operations and Programming at Atria Senior Living. “But if instead we start by recognizing all the things our parent can still do, we can view their situation in a more positive light.”

Schneider suggests highlighting the attributes that can improve as we age. For example: though we often think of post-retirement aging as a decline in cognitive ability, this is an oversimplification.

“Cognitive ability waxes and wanes over the course of our lives,” she says, “and certain abilities can actually increase in our senior years, such as crystallized intelligence, emotional intelligence and vocabulary. Finding ways to engage your parent’s cognitive strengths can help keep these abilities sharp.”

2. Help your parent find purpose

Older adults often feel a lack of purpose – they’ve retired from their careers; their kids are grown, and they have more time to themselves without a clear sense of how they should spend it. This can lead to feelings of uselessness and depression, but there are many ways for seniors to renew their sense of purpose.

Mentoring provides an excellent opportunity for older adults to share their knowledge and experience in a way that can be socially and psychologically rewarding – friendships with younger people can reduce loneliness and boost mood and energy levels.

Similarly, volunteer work provides seniors with a chance to give back to their communities. They can also devote more time to hobbies and passion projects or take classes to learn new skills like painting or playing an instrument. Having a mix of familiar and novel activities can stimulate an older adult’s brain and help them feel engaged and fulfilled.

3. Optimize their living environment

Your parents will feel more independent and autonomous if they can navigate their living space with minimal difficulty. Anything you can do to reduce the risk of falls, remove clutter and improve accessibility to everyday items will go a long way toward making them feel more comfortable.

“If the built environment around them is not safe or not conducive to their mental and physical state, they’re not going to feel confident moving around in it,” Schneider says. “It’s important to look for ways to improve their living space by doing things like putting handrails in the bathroom or getting rid of rugs that are easy to trip over.”

It can also help to incorporate technology into their living space to make things more convenient. For example, smart speakers make it easier to adjust the thermostat, hear a podcast or listen to music through voice commands.

4. Don’t offer to help unless they really need it

Continuing to do a variety of everyday tasks – even if they are challenging – is one way your parents can feel more independent.

“If they can still do things like prepare meals or get in and out of a car by themselves, don’t interfere or hover over them,” Schneider says. “It may be tempting to help them and get things done faster, but the longer they’re able to do these tasks on their own, the more independent they’ll feel.”

We tend to lose the skills we don’t use, so in addition to the confidence boost your parents will get from doing things themselves, they’ll also be able handle everyday tasks longer.

5. Offer choices

Older adults can lose their autonomy faster when their ability to make choices is restricted, so it’s important to include them in the decision-making process whenever possible. Rather than dictate their decisions or daily routines, make it a habit to offer your parents some options and let them choose what they want.

For example, instead of telling your parents you’ll be serving them eggs for breakfast, provide them with several options to choose from. This gives them a chance to exercise some control over the process. However, too many choices can be overwhelming, so rather than asking them, “What do you want for breakfast?” you could ask, “Would you like eggs, oatmeal or cereal for breakfast?”

6. Support your parent’s independence in assisted living – but don’t smother it

Moving to an assisted senior living community doesn’t mean your parents have to surrender their independence. In fact, the transition may provide them with opportunities to explore their independence in new ways.

“Assisted living communities offer classes, programs and social events that can help seniors be more engaged and autonomous than they might be on their own,” Schneider says. “What’s important is that older adults find the most beneficial environment for their personal situation.”

Sometimes the best way to help a parent feel independent is by giving them time and space to settle into their new home without “helicoptering” over them. Experts estimate that adjusting to assisted living can take anywhere from a couple weeks to six months, depending on the individual. Be mindful of balancing emotional support for your parents with allowing them to maintain their independence during the transition.

By checking in with your parents and supporting their needs, you can help foster their independence – and in turn promote a healthy outlook and overall well-being.

written by Richard Bitner May 3, 2024

As any memory care provider can tell you, there’s nothing simple about dementia care, treatment, and diagnosis. Certain factors, however, can make dementia care even more complicated than usual.

Alcohol is a perfect example. Heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk of dementias such as Alzheimer’s, but it can also lead to brain damage that mimics symptoms of dementia. This results in countless cases where dementia is misdiagnosed as alcohol-related brain damage, or where alcohol-related brain damage is misdiagnosed as dementia.

The situation is complicated further by the effects of alcohol intoxication, which itself mimics symptoms of dementia. As a result, family members and friends can easily misinterpret signs of drunkenness as a sign of dementia or misinterpret signs of a dementia as signs of drunkenness.
If you suspect that a loved one’s use of alcohol is masking or contributing to cognitive decline, you might be confused about whether they need medical attention, addiction treatment, dementia care, or a combination of the above. Here’s a closer look at what may be causing your loved one’s cognitive difficulties, along with next steps you can take.

Understanding Alcohol & Dementia

Heavy consumption of alcohol is linked with a host of health problems, including cognitive impairment and decline. From a dementia care perspective, three conditions are particularly concerning: alcohol-related dementia, alcohol-related brain damage, and Korsakoff’s syndrome. These are conditions that include dementia or that are easily mistaken for dementia.

• Heavy alcohol consumption is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s and other dementias, such as vascular dementia. Alcohol is linked with compromised cardiovascular health, which is a major risk factor for the development of Alzheimer’s disease and the need for dementia care. Individuals who drink heavily also tend to lead unhealthy lifestyles in terms of diet and exercise, which further increases the risk of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
• Alcohol also increases the risk of brain damage. Brain injuries, for example, are more common among heavy drinkers, who are more likely to suffer falls and get into fights. In these situations, alcohol can indirectly lead to long-term brain damage. Alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) can also occur directly. Alcohol is a toxin which, over time, causes nerve damage and reduction in grey matter. The result is sometimes referred to as alcoholic dementia, though it isn’t technically considered a type of dementia. Despite this, many dementia care providers include ARBD as one of the conditions for which they provide care.
• Korsakoff’s syndrome is a common condition among individuals who suffer from alcohol dependency, though less common than alcoholic dementia. Korsakoff’s is caused by a lack of thiamine, also known as vitamin B1. Insufficient levels of thiamine can result in damage to important brain centers, including regions of the brain responsible for short-term memory. Korsakoff’s syndrome most typically occurs after Wernicke’s encephalopathy, which is triggered in alcoholics by sudden withdrawal from alcohol. As with ARBD, many dementia care providers will cover Korsakoff’s syndrome as part of their services.

So how can you tell if your loved one is developing dementia, alcohol-related brain damage, or Korsakoff’s syndrome? One sign may be the age at which they begin to show signs of decline. Signs of ARBD typically occur before the age of 55, whereas most cases of Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia occur after the age of 65.

Another sign may be the type of cognitive difficulties your loved one is experiencing. In cases of Korsakoff’s syndrome it’s usually limited to short-term memory and the ability to make new memories, whereas ARBD and dementia typically have a wider range of cognitive and behavioral symptoms.

Ultimately, the best way to tell is to have your loved one examined by a medical professional. In cases of dementia or brain damage, it’s critical that you seek advice from medical experts, who will provide advice about whether to seek out dementia care, emergency treatment, and/or addiction treatment.

Medically reviewed by Dr. Dana Zeig, General Dentist

Practicing good oral hygiene – brushing your teeth, flossing, and regularly  visiting the dentist – is a great way to keep your teeth and gums healthy. However, some bad dental habits can wreak havoc on your oral health. Here are seven of the worst dental habits and how you can stop them.   

Nail biting   

Does biting your nails ruin your teeth? It certainly can. This nervous habit can not only chip and crack your teeth, but it can also negatively impact your jaw. The repetitive and often uneven pressure placed on the jaw when biting nails can strain the muscles and joints of the jaw, contributing to TMJ disorders.    

Crowns, veneers, and fillings are not designed to withstand the type of pressure and stress that comes from biting hard objects like nails. If you’re a chronic nail biter, your dental restorations can become damaged or dislodged, necessitating costly repairs or replacements.  

Additionally, nail biting can introduce bacteria from the nails and fingers into the mouth. This can increase the risk of developing dental cavities and gum disease, as the bacteria can contribute to plaque buildup and infection in the gum tissues.  

To help break your habit, consider using bitter-tasting nail polish to stop yourself from putting your fingers in your mouth. Stress reduction techniques can also help curb your need to bite your nails.    

Brushing too hard   

You may think vigorously  brushing your teeth  is the best way to remove plaque and keep your teeth clean, but you might do more harm than good. Brushing too hard can wear down your enamel and irritate your gums, making your teeth and gums more prone to decay, damage, and sensitivity.   

When you’re brushing your teeth, think massage, not scrubbing. Since plaque is soft and loose, you can remove it by gently massaging your teeth.   

Using the wrong toothbrush   

In addition to brushing your teeth too hard, you may use the wrong toothbrush for your oral routine. While firm toothbrushes can help remove tooth stains, they aren’t recommended for everyday use because they may wear down your enamel, irritate your gums, and make your teeth more sensitive.    

If you’re using a firm-bristled toothbrush regularly, switch to a soft-bristled toothbrush with the American Dental Association (ADA) Seal of Acceptance.    

Teeth grinding   

Teeth grinding  or clenching, also known as bruxism, can lead to several dental problems, including chipped teeth, fractured fillings, cracked crowns, damaged dentures, and joint pain. Stress and anxiety may trigger this bad habit, but you might also have an abnormal bite that causes you to grind and clench your teeth.    

When it comes to solutions, night guards are an excellent way to protect your teeth while you sleep. Since it’s hard to stop something while you’re sleeping, it’s best to protect the teeth and jaw with the night appliance. As long as your teeth and jaw are protected, clenching and grinding will not be a problem. 

Consuming sugary foods and drinks   

Indulging in a bag of candy or a bottle of soda is okay in moderation. However, consuming sweet snacks and drinks on a regular basis is detrimental to your oral health. Sugar is consumed by the normal flora bacteria that cultivate the oral cavity. The byproduct of bacterial consumption of sugar (glucose) is an acid which erodes the enamel leading to tooth decay.  

The best solution is to avoid these sugary foods and beverages, but if you decide to treat yourself, rinse your mouth with water afterward to clean away any remaining sugars. Wait an hour or so to brush after consuming acidic substances, to allow your dental enamel to recover.  

Using your teeth as tools   

Relying on your teeth to open packages, remove tags, or perform other tasks can also be harmful. This habit can put you at higher risk of cracking your teeth, injuring your jaw, or accidentally swallowing a foreign object. Your teeth are made for chewing food, so take a second to find a pair of scissors, bottle opener, or whatever other tool you need to complete your task.   

Chewing ice cubes   

Break this habit because chewing ice can really harm your teeth. Each time you crunch down on some ice cubes, there’s a chance of cracking or chipping your tooth enamel, which can lead to a dental emergency. And if you have dental restoration work, you run a real risk of damaging it and having to pay to get it done again.   

If you find yourself chewing ice mindlessly, chill your beverage before you drink it, avoiding ice altogether. If not, drink from a straw so you won’t be as tempted to chew that ice. Note that a strong desire to chew ice may indicate that you have anemia, check in with a doctor to see if you need treatment.