ElderAuthority.com

Longevity Factor: How Much Do You Laugh?

Laughter is a Longevity Factor
Researchers in Norway found that near death patients who maintained a good sense of humor increased their odds of survival—by 31 percent!
Caregivers: How much do you laugh?  Invalids: How much do you laugh?
Humor expert Allen Klein gives this advice for increasing the laughter in your life.
Place Laughter Reminders
Hmmm.  I need to do this.  I think I will start with putting pictures of laughing animals on my office walls.  That should give… More

Senior Care: Turn Up the Music

Image by thelefty via Shutterstock

I woke up crabby, achy, and feeling old. Had nothing to give until these videos surfaced.  As a follow-up to my last post, Jobs with Elderly: Personal Trainer, here is inspired senior care that reinforces Jame’s Brown’s urging to ““Get Up Offa That Thing!!”

Who is Caring for Whom?

Dress for Success!!

I think Nana is keeping her granddaughter young.
Get Up Offa That Thing!!  We have no excuse.… More

Life of Pi: Insights for the Intentional Life

Image by mikebaird via Flickr

Drifting or The Intentional Life
I saw the movie, Life of Pi, this weekend.  It is true art in its soulfulness, beauty, wisdom, and ability to make us want to be better people.
Life of Pi is about a 16-year-old boy, Pi, who is shipwrecked and survives adrift in a lifeboat with an adult Bengal tiger.  His relationship to God, religion, art, family, nature, death and life are transformed along the way.  At one point Pi gives up hope and collapses in the… More

“Anything Goes” in Ann Arbor

Seeking Out Fresh Experiences
Thirty days after moving to Ann Arbor from Dallas we have taken advantage of very few of the delightful and unique opportunities offered in our new town.  We did manage to catch a movie at the Michigan Theater.  Otherwise, most of our time has been spent completing renovations, unpacking boxes, hanging pictures, making trips to Lowe’s, paying bills, and getting to know our neighbors.
There were at least a dozen events I wanted to attend… More

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

Relocation and Finding a New Hair Salon

A trip to a new hair salon can be a traumatic event.   Ten days after moving into my new home in Ann Arbor, MI, the urgent need to do something about my hair outshouted the claims of boxes still waiting to be unpacked.  Reluctantly, I made an appointment for the dreaded first visit.
Plan Ahead
There are things you can do to make the transition to a new salon less stressful.
I have been very lucky in my selections for the past 15 years.  When I left New York City eight years ago, I asked… More

Senior Transportation: Wake Up Call

If you are hoping that this article will point you toward a menu or cookie cutter program that will solve your transportation needs, you are out of luck.  As far as I can tell, there ain’t any such animal.
Autonomy in Transportation=Independence
Maintaining mobility is crucial to the health and wellbeing of older people.  One of the strongest predictors of premature death among the elderly is social isolation.
The primary reason seniors are anxious about the possibility… More

What is an Ombudsman?

Definition of Ombudsman
An ombudsman is someone who represents the interests of, and advocates for, individuals who have complaints or issues with institutions such as large corporations, businesses, or governments. The word ombudsman can be traced back to the 16th century and the old Norse word for representative.
Long-Term Care Ombudsman
A Long-Term Care Ombudsman advocates for people who live in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and adult family care homes… More

Seniors are Force for Changing Weed Laws

Pot Stigma Declines
Baby Boomers, now moving into their senior years at a rate of 10,000 per day, will cast a less harsh eye toward marijuana criminalization than do current seniors. The change has already started.
While weed has always been around, it began to become less stigmatized during the Age of Aquarius in the late 60’s.  As Hippies and other Boomers began to get haircuts, paychecks and mortgages, pot began to seen as more mainstream and socially accepted.
Boomers… More

HAPPY YOU-WOULD-HAVE-MADE-A-GREAT-MOTHER DAY!

This morning my darlin’ husband woke me up singing, “Happy You-Would-Have-Made-A-Great-Mother Day!” I was gifted with coffee in bed, peonies, and Godiva chocolates.   Since I achieved motherhood in a non-biological way, his celebration got me thinking.
THE UNMOTHERED
My mother did not have a clue about how to be a mother, which makes sense because her own mother did not have a clue either.  I knew from an early age that I did not want to be a mother.
Yet… More