ElderAuthority.com

MLK and Inauguration Day Smile–with Oxytocin*

ElderAuthority wishes you all a groovy Martin Luther King Day and Inauguration Day with this feel good video.
* Oxytocin is the hormone which induces labor contractions and milk ejection in new mothers.  It lowers heart rate, depression, and stress hormones.  It is also the chemical behind the human-animal bond. Animal contact raises our oxytocin levels.
For more about oxytocin, read Made for Each Other: The Biology of the Human-Animal Bond, by Meg Daley Olmert.… More

SENIOR JOBS: HOUSE SITTER AND PET SITTER

WORKING AFTER RETIREMENT AGE
As I written many times, most of us are going to need to keep working long after the traditional retirement age of 65.   The obvious reason is that we need the money.   Medicare and Social Security may still be there when we need them, but we don’t know how supportive they will be.  If we only have Social Security income we will need to find ways to earn extra money. Many people lost savings and investments in the last couple of economic downturns.… More

ASSISTED LIVING IN HOUSTON TX (Special Perks)

Sometimes I get a bit loopy from writing so much about serious topics as aging, death and dying, elder abuse, affordable housing, senior jobs, and all the challenges that face me and my fellow greying Baby Boomers.
If this seems a bit off topic, forgive me.  Sometimes I need a giggle.

Kudos to “Baylor” and “Tupelo” in the elephant assisted living facilities at the Houston Zoo.
 … More

THE POWER OF TOUCH

THE FELINE ALARM CLOCK
Each morning, just as I am finally pulling myself out of bed, my aloof Maine Coon cat, Jack, jumps on the bed to snuggle.  Since I can’t resist, it is usually 15 or 20 minutes later when I finally get on my feet.  (I can never get him to jump on my lap when I call him.  It is always on his terms.) 
I always start the day happy when Jack is my alarm clock.  I can’t help laughing at his catness, which immediately releases any anxiety I am feeling about… More

ALSHEIMERS or ALZHEIMER’S? SLEEP DISORDER or DREAM?

Sometimes we need to lighten up.   The things that make each of us go bump in the night vary.  The attached video reminds me that sometimes a dream is just a dream.  Maybe we think too much.  Here is your daily dose of oxytocin–my favorite hormone.… More

COPING STRATEGIES: PETS AND OXYTOCIN

Reading Time: 1 -2 minutes
I never had a pet until about six years ago when I rescued/adopted two Maine Coon kittens from the same litter.  How could I have survived into my 50′s without pets?  I just didn’t know any better.  (Yet another reason to celebrate living long enough to think about aging, death, and dying.)
Pets are a better coping mechanism than any kind of drug or therapy.  In fact, Meg Daley Olmert in her book, Made For Each Other: The Biology of the Human… More