NYT: Family Relations: An International Comparison
It’s not just you. Compared with elderly parents and adult children in five other industrialized nations, Americans are twice as likely to have “disharmonious” relationships, a new multinational study has found. And we’re correspondingly less likely to have “amicable” relationships marked by strong affection and relatively free of conflict.
NYT on Ringo, Robert Butler, and ageism: Turn 70. Act Your Grandchild’s Age.
“We’re going to make it look like if you’re sick, it’s your own fault; if you’re not having orgasms or running marathons, there’s something wrong with you. We need to think carefully about how to take care of people who are frail. We need to allow people to not feel like failures when they can’t do the things they used to do.”
ScienceDaily: Age doesn’t necessarily affect decision-making, study shows
Many people believe that getting older means losing a mental edge, leading to poor decision-making. But a new study from North Carolina State University shows that when it comes to making intuitive decisions — using your “gut instincts” — older adults fare as well as their juniors.
ScienceDaily sums it up in a headline: Older Adults Watch More TV Than Younger People, Enjoy It Less.
Data from other studies indicate that the average American household spends 4.5 hours watching TV per day and, in those over age 65, about 25% percent of their time is spent watching TV.
Long for this World, by Jonathan Weiner, looks at the possibility of science conquering disease and people living much longer lives.
[One scientist] predicts that when life expectancy reaches multiple centuries, humans may become extraordinarily risk-averse, unwilling to ride in a car or ski because they’ll have too much time ahead, too much to lose.
“When.”
At PsychCentral: Relationships Grow, Improve with Age.
“Older adults report better marriages, more supportive friendships and less conflict with children and siblings.”
So…time to start aging.
Used to be there was no way to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease during a patient’s lifetime. Now, maybe, change.
A PET scan showed amyloid exactly where it would be expected. The Swedish doctors were convinced they were seeing actual plaque. They told Dr. Mathis it was time to celebrate.
From ScienceDaily: Could Dwindling Testosterone Levels Decrease Sleep?
In young men, deep sleep represents 10 to 20 percent of total sleep. By age 50, it decreases to five to seven percent. For men over 60, it can disappear altogether.
Sound familiar…?
An especially alluring set of news headlines at PsychCentral today:
Though talking may go, reading is still possible for many Alzheimer’s patients, reports the NYT:
Caregivers may be surprised to learn that reading ability is not always destroyed by Alzheimer’s. “All of my research demonstrates that people who were literate maintain their ability to read until the end stages of dementia”…
