The Decade of Healthy Ageing

 The United Nations has declared 2021-2030 as the decade of Healthy Ageing. The UN recognizes health as central to the experience of ageing. The initiatives are to: “change how we think, feel and act towards age and ageing; facilitate the ability of older people to participate in and contribute to their communities and society; deliver integrated care and primary health services that are responsive to the needs of the individual, and provide access to long-term care for older people who need it.”.

The prevalence of ageing in our society is much revealed by the world crisis. Have you heard anybody say, "They were in long-term care anyway, so they shouldn't get the same level of care as younger people"? We probably haven't heard that belief spoken right out loud, but it has been at work. No person is expendable. Everybody should have the same rights, whether they are old or young.

We need to create a new normal. We must not return to the way things were. We should emerge from this strange world of masks and distancing with renewed expectations. When this is all over will there be a new recognition of the human rights of everyone? This will take vigilance and effort. Perhaps the care homeowners who put greed and profits ahead of their responsibilities to provide for their residents in appropriate ways will reform themselves, but we all know that is unlikely to happen. It is up to governments to ignore the lobbyists and adopt federal standards.

See more information at https://www.who.int/news/item/14-12-2020-decade-of- healthy-ageing-a-new-un-wide-initiative.

Brain Health

 Six Ways to Promote Brain Health and Reduce Your Risk of Dementia from McMaster University

Physical Activity and Weight Management

Follow the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines. Engage in 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous−intensity aerobic physical activity per week, in bouts of 10 minutes or more. Add muscle and bone−strengthening activities using your major muscle groups at least two days per week. Pick activities that you enjoy so you are more likely to stick with it. Eat a balanced diet to assist with weight management.

Diet and Nutrition

Adopt the Mediterranean Diet to optimize brain health. There is no evidence that vitamin and mineral supplementation will promote brain health.

Blood Vessel Health

Actively manage conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes to promote blood vessel health.

Smoking and Alcohol Use

Quit smoking and stay within Canada’s Low−Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines, which advise:

•        For women: no more than 10 drinks a week, with no more than 2 drinks on most days.

•        For men: no more than 15 drinks a week, with no more than 3 drinks a day most days.

•        Plan non-drinking days every week to avoid developing a habit.

•        For women aged 65+: no more than 1 drink per day, and no more than 5 per week.

•        For men aged 65+: no more than 1-2 drinks per day, and no more than 7 per week.

•        A standard drink is 142 ml (5 oz.) of wine, 341 ml (12 oz.) bottle or can of beer or 43 ml (1.5 oz.) of liquor.

Brain and Social Activity

Strive to maintain higher levels of brain activity in mid to late life. Being socially active is an important predictor of well-being in general and brain health throughout life. For optimum effect, incorporate activities that provide both cognitive and physical elements such as yoga or tai chi.

Health Conditions and Drug Side Effects

Watch for medications that have the potential for adverse effects on memory and cognitive function (e.g., benzodiazepines, ‘Z−drug’ sleeping pills and certain pain medications such as those that contain opioids.

Treat depression, get adequate sleep, manage conditions that lower your oxygen levels, like heart failure, COPD or sleep apnea. Get help with hearing loss.

I can’t hear you!

My thanks to Dennis for this article. 

For those with varying degrees of hearing loss, there is help.

Remember the days when we used to turn up the volume on audio devices or use the speakerphone option on telephones. Now there are more choices.

For those who only need a sound amplifier for short or designated times consider using a pocket talker.  My wife is now deaf in her left ear and has limited hearing in her right ear.  She has used pocket talkers for years - for conversation, watching TV (which offers closed captions), when shopping and when driving.

The Williams Sound Pocket Talker has two models: the Ultra for about $169.00 and the 2.0 for about $288.00, from the Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility, one location being at 2005 Quebec St. (at 4^th Ave.) Vancouver.  Shipping costs are between $10 and $15.

Ph: 604 736-7391.  www.wavefrontcentre.ca

Formerly known as the “Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing” (WIDHH). Amazon also offers these Williams Sound Pocket Talkers.

Headsets or earbuds.  Earbuds are contoured to fit either the left or right ear. Earbuds are easier to use, are easily removed and less visible.

For those requiring a prescribed hearing aid, it is best to consult the professionals in that expanding business.  Prescribed hearing aids are expensive.  Some health plans offer some compensation.  There may be Income tax rebates.

The comfort of familiarity

A minister was giving what I call an “audition sermon” at a church, in hopes of being called as their pastor. After the sermon, members of the congregation were invited to ask questions. Like many churches, this one was becoming smaller and grayer as the members age. One person asked the minister what he would do to “grow” the church. He responded, “That depends on what you are willing to risk. Everyone like you is already here.”

This is true for many of us in our individual lives as well. We seek the comfort of familiarity – with people, events, ideas, beliefs. We shun whatever causes us discomfort. Pause for a moment and consider what might fall in that category. Take an honest inventory. Something might surprise you.

For example, I found that in certain circumstances, I was more concerned by what other people think than I realized. Even more, I was concerned by what I thought they might think. Since I generally see myself as someone who boldly marches to the beat of my own drum, I felt a little disappointed. That disappointment also caused some discomfort. I can also get impatient with people who do not behave the way I think they should. And I can feel awkward, and sometimes envious, around people who have what I describe as an “artist’s eye” on the world, a perspective that often seems mysterious and incomprehensible to me.

So, what happens if I stop defending the borders of my sphere and instead allow my sphere to expand to include whatever arises in my awareness? Nothing is denied. Go back to my list. Can I allow within my sphere my occasional concern with what other people think? And my related self-judgment? Can I accept that I am sometimes impatient or awkward? Can I recognize my absence of control over what other people think, say or do? And my attendant frustration? If I’m unable to embrace what I reject, can I embrace my rejection?