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In a study published online Jan. 25, 2021, by General Psychiatry, people who took afternoon naps performed better on cognitive tests (scoring better on location awareness, verbal fluency, and memory) compared with people who didn’t nap.
In a study published online Jan. 12, 2021, by Annals of Internal Medicine, people who wore stable, supportive shoes reported greater reductions in knee pain than people who wore flat, flexible shoes.
Isolation is associated with the potential for cognitive decline, so it is important to reach out to others and stay socially connected. Ways to do that include using social and video apps to see and chat with friends or join an online club; making phone calls to family and friends to catch up; or signing up for a buddy-call service at a senior center to be paired with a volunteer who will call and offer conversation.
There are many ways to maximize lung health. For example, exercising gets the heart and lungs pumping, causing a person to take deep breaths. Those deep breaths open up all areas of the lungs and assist in clearing out accumulated lung secretions (mucus). Other ways to maximize lung health include avoiding exposure to air pollution, quitting smoking, practicing deep breathing exercises, controlling weight, and getting out of a chair at least once per hour to take some deep breaths.
Several types of physical rehabilitation are available to assist with recovery after medical problems such as a fall, illness, or surgery. Inpatient rehab is prescribed after a hospital stay, when one isn’t well enough to go home; it offers comprehensive care from doctors, nurses, therapists, and other health professionals. At-home rehab sends skilled professionals—including nurses and therapists (physical, occupational, or speech)—into a person’s home for therapy sessions. Outpatient rehab is for people well enough to get to a rehab facility throughout the week.
Compared with people who didn’t take aspirin, people ages 70 or older who took aspirin at least twice per week had a 20% lower risk for developing colorectal cancer—but only if they had begun the therapy by age 65.
Age-related macular degeneration can be slowed or treated. There is hope for future treatments, and many approaches are being studied, such as gene therapy and stem cell therapy. For now the only advice to help ward off AMD is to practice healthy lifestyle habits such as exercising, not smoking, controlling blood pressure, and eating a healthy diet. Getting regular, comprehensive eye exams is one of the best ways to detect eye disease early and save vision.
Scientists are beginning to understand the natural biological processes that control aging, and they have made exciting discoveries about tinkering with the process. For example, they’ve been able to make aged cells act like brand-new cells in lab experiments; they’ve figured out how to make worms live five times as long as they normally would; and they’ve been able to keep mice from becoming obese and from developing diabetes, kidney failure, and heart failure.
High cholesterol and chronic inflammation together raise the risk for heart attacks, strokes, and related problems. Several approaches can fight both at the same time. One is eating a heart-healthy diet that includes vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds, lean proteins (fish and poultry), low-fat dairy foods, and olive oil. Another is controlling weight, since fat tissue triggers chronic inflammation. Other approaches include increasing physical activity and addressing sleep and stress issues.
Many chronic conditions seem to be related. Examples include obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease; hearing loss and dementia; obstructive sleep apnea and high blood pressure; various autoimmune diseases; and obesity and joint problems. People with chronic conditions should ask their doctors about the risk for associated diseases.In some cases, they should have certain health screenings to check for them. In other cases, additional screening isn’t automatic.