It’s Linky Sunday – put on the coffee and prepare your cursor :)
We’ve gathered up some of the week’s best stories from around the web.
Happy 114th! Brooklynite Susannah Mushatt Jones turned 114 on July 6 and celebrated with family and friends on Friday; “wearing a navy blue dress covered with small white flowers,” the New York Times reported, “she held her head high.” Jones, who was born in the final year of the 19th century in Alabama, is the third-oldest person in the world and the second-oldest in the U.S. She lived independently into her 90s; today, with failing eyesight and hearing, she lives in a Brooklyn senior center, where she celebrated her milestone. Click here to read more.
And happy 80th. Neurology professor and best-selling author Oliver Sacks turned 80 and wrote an ode to aging, published in the New York Times. In “The Joy of Old Age. (No Kidding.),” the octogenarian expresses gratitude (“‘I’m glad I’m not dead!” sometimes bursts out of me when the weather is perfect’”); discusses the subjective experience of “age” (though he’s a little slower in some respects, he often feels “feel full of energy and life and not at all ‘old’”); and talks about “completing a life” – continuing to love and work until the end, “freed from the factitious urgencies of earlier days, free to explore whatever I wish, and to bind the thoughts and feelings of a lifetime together.” Click here to read this wonderful essay.
Drink up. A new research study out of the UK suggests that moderate consumption of a sparkling wine or champagne can help keep memory in shape. Scientists studying the effects on rats (tipsy rats?) found that the polyphenol compounds in red grapes that are believed to improve spatial memory and assist in memory storage are also present in champagne. Click here to read more.
Older workers are thriving.The earnings of U.S. workers in their 60s and 70s are rising faster than earnings for people in their prime working years – among men, at least – and in contrast to the stereotype, older workers today are not less productive. And, the number of people who are still working into their 70s is rising, too. That’s according a new study looking at the dramatic gains since 1985 that have been achieved by U.S. workers age 60 to 74. Click here to read more.
Depression rates are tumbling. As we age and our personal worlds change, our risk of becoming clinically depressed grows – in fact, depression has long been a major health issue for people in their 80s and beyond. The good news: Depression rates are decreasing steeply, especially among those age 80 to 85. Researchers are not sure if the reason has to do with better treatment or something else. We like to think it’s a result of increased use of digital technology to stay connected with the world. Click here to read more about the study.
Ageist or protective? NPR asked: Should doctors ask older people and their caregivers if they have guns at home, the way they ask parents if there are guns in the house? The question came up after the author of an academic paper pointed out that older men are at high risk of suicide and are more likely to kill themselves if they have access to firearms. You can read more, and browse through 220 comments people have written in response, by clicking here.
Seniors – a life of crime. In 2012, almost 25 percent of all shoplifters in Tokyo were over age 65 – a steep rise in numbers that can’t just be explained by the aging of the population. The Japan Times reported last week that about 70 percent of the stolen items were food. Click here to read more.
Quick fixes for independent living. A major research project in Baltimore will bring handymen, occupational therapists and nurses into the homes of 800 low-income seniors in to test if some inexpensive fix-ups and strategies for daily living can keep them independent longer. It’s called The Capable project – Community Aging in Place, Advancing Better Living for Elders – and while at this stage it’s focused on retrofitting individual’s homes, the project should yield a set of useful tips that anyone can use. Click here to read more.
Your Weekly Lol
Happy clicking, and enjoy your Sunday!