Did you ever wake up and wonder?

Every day we wake up to a new reality. Do you ever think that your reality today and every day is based entirely on your own hopes and fears, thoughts, and feelings, words, and deeds?

Believe it, act on it so your world becomes easy to understand

Alzheimer's: Can a challenging job and exercise keep the condition at bay?

As we age, many of us fear the onset of dementia or Alzheimer's, there is some interesting research that shows that you can train your body and your mind to help, if not prevent, the onset of dementia. The following is taken from a story written by Yella Hewings-Martin, Ph.D., published in July 2017. The full story is here.

Needless to say, understanding how lifestyle and targeted interventions affect the brain is complex. However, keeping the brain and body active throughout life certainly seems to have positive effects on brain health.

A study presented by Bianca Bier, Ph.D., from the University of Montreal in Canada, looked at the effects of two different types of brain training.

Single attention training allowed participants to focus on one of two tasks and practice it repeatedly. But in the divided attention training group, participants performed two different tasks at the same time, controlling which one they paid the most attention to.

In a study of 30 healthy adults, these two different training schemes had very different effects on the brain. For instance, divided attention training activated those regions of the brain responsible for multitasking, but this plateaued halfway through the study.

Meanwhile, single attention training resulted in rapid activation of regions responsible for the particular task the participants were performing up to the halfway study point, but it declined afterward.

Dr. Bier explained that this is important as it means that all brain training exercises are not equal and that it will be important to choose the right type for individual patients.

This assessment was echoed by Narlon Silva, a Ph.D. student at Western University in Ontario, Canada, who looked at physical exercise and cognitive function.

His study included seniors who had all self-reported some cognitive decline. He compared regular mixed physical exercise - which consisted of aerobic and strength training - with an additional group that performed a new form of mind-motor training.

In this type of training, an instructor demonstrates a stepping pattern on a mat that is marked with four columns of equal squares. As the instructor moves along the mat, he places his feet on different squares, creating a stepping pattern that can range from simple to complex.

Participants were then asked to copy the stepping pattern demonstrated to them in an exercise lasting 15 minutes. These exercises were repeated three times per week for 24 weeks.

Both groups improved their cognitive function after 24 weeks, but there was no difference between the groups. However, during a subsequent follow-up at 52 weeks, the mind-motor training group had improved significantly more than the exercise-only group.

This led Silva to speculate that the training tested in the study had a delayed effect, and that, as Dr. Bier had found, all training is not equal.

The data presented at AAIC certainly point to exercise, cognitive training, and cognitive complexity in daily life as all having a positive influence in preventing a decline in old age. But do scientists know anything about the underlying causes?

The findings were only significant for white study participants, who showed that one particular variant of this gene was associated with higher exercise levels during the study period. However, regardless of which variant of the gene a particular participant carried, all had reverted back to pre-intervention exercise levels at the 12-month follow-up.

Prof. Rosso speculated that higher dopamine levels may play a role in sticking to exercise regimes in lifestyle interventions, but more work is needed.

Scientists are continuing their search for the best methods to keep our brains young and protect them from the deadly neurodegeneration that occurs in Alzheimer's disease.

Top online courses to improve writing

In retirement, many people take on new adventures and new hobbies. Some take up writing so the following would be of great interest to those bloggers and writers who are interested in improving their writing skill sets. A blogger named Arthur Gutch has chosen his 10 ten online writing classes. The full story is here, but I have listed the top three from Arthurs list below:

Some of the courses are free, some cost as much as a normal college class, but all of them give you the opportunity for real growth in your writing career

1.           Writing Science Fiction   Offered by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), this class is free and includes all assignments and materials. It's a non-credit class focusing on the world of science fiction writing.

2.           English Composition  Offered by Arizona State University, this class includes a number of writing projects, and helps you to develop research and critical thinking skills. The class is free to take, and students who earn a C or above can pay $600 to receive a college credit for the class.

3.           How to Write About Murder  The Australian Writer's Centre offers this course for true crime writers, as well as crime fiction authors. It teaches how to research murder cases, using both sides of the story as POV. The price is $195.

How well do you compare

 A report called Living below the line, Economic Insecurity and Older Americans, Insecurity in the States Published in September 2016 by Jan E. Mutchler, Yang Li, and Ping Xu, looked at costs faced by seniors over the age of 65.

The Elder Economic Security Standard IndexTM (Elder Index) measures the costs faced by households that include one or two older adults age 65 or older living independently. Developed by the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Wider Opportunities for Women, and maintained through a partnership with the National Council on Aging (NCOA), the Elder Index defines economic security as the income level at which elders are able to cover basic and necessary living expenses and age in their homes, without relying on benefit programs, loans or gifts.

The Elder Index is calculated for every county in the United States; statewide and national averages are also generated. Elder Index expenses include housing, food, transportation, health care, and basic household items including clothing, a telephone, hygiene and cleaning supplies.

The Elder Index is a basic budget, allowing no vacations, restaurant meals, savings, large purchases, gifts or entertainment of any kind.

The 2016 Elder Index for the United State for older adults living in their own homes without a mortgage, the Elder Index is $20,064 annually for an older adult living alone, and $30,576 for an older couple living together.

Estimated costs are higher for renters ($23,364 for singles and $33,876 for couples) and for those who are paying off a mortgage ($30,972 for singles and $41,484 for couples

According to the report half of older adults living alone, and one out of four older adults living in two-elder households, lack the financial resources required to pay for basic needs.

National averages suggest that 53% of older adults living alone, and 26% of older adults living in elder couple households (with an older spouse, partner, or some other older adult), have annual incomes below the Elder Index value.

In every state, more than four out of ten elder singles are at risk of being unable to afford basic needs and age in their own homes.

If you want to see the figures for your state, the full report is here. The numbers for each state start on page 5

As the older adult population grows, the federal government and each state must learn to recognize the economic security gap and those who fall into it. They must also consider whether or not policies contribute to the economic security of older adults living above the poverty line, as they require services and supports beyond emergency aid that contributes to intermediate- and long-term stability goals. Helping all older adults reach economic security is the goal to which elders and those who represent and serve them should aspire.

The report does not offer any solutions to the problem but they do say at the end of the report

Protecting Social Security benefits is essential for older adults, including not only those who are poor but also for those “in the gap,” more than half of whom rely on those benefits for a large majority of their incomes.