New Book Gives Voice to Wisdom from Our Elders
- Written by jo
Realizing that the older people among us have acquired a lot of wisdom over the years about living and that they might be willing to share what they've learned with folks younger than themselves, Karl Pillemer of Cornell University interviewed nearly 1,500 people aged 65 and older. He shares the results in a book, 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans. A recent PBS News Hour interview with Pillemer also includes brief clips of two of Pillemer's interviewees, ages 86 and 101. Jean Brody of the New York Times shares a few personal thoughts and provides a summary of advice from 30 Lessons for Living, along with this link to many of the interviews.
Nutritious Food Also Appears to Benefit the Brain
- Written by jo
Yahoo! News reports that a new study of elderly folks indicates that a healthy diet, resulting in more of certain nutrients and omega-3 fatty acids in the bloodstream, can be beneficial to people's brains, both for physical volume and for people's performance on tests of cognition. Though the study still needs confirmation, one of its researchers is excited "to think that people could potentially stop their brains from shrinking and keep them sharp by adjusting their diet."
Exercise Benefits the Brain and How
- Written by jo
You knew exercise is good for you, but did you know it benefits cognition?
Several studies summarized in a recent NYT Well posting suggest that exercise improves both memory/recall (even among young males in college) and performance of skilled tasks (such as those performed by airline pilots). The studies also point to a particular protein, BDNF for short---one that's already known to aid in nerve cell health, as an important factor in memory and skilled-task performance improvements with exercise. This news is important for us all. And it could become especially important to those who have a gene variant (common among people of European and Asian "backgrounds") that results in decreased amounts of BDNF with increasing age.
Health
- Written by Chuck Guilford
{module Health}