If you’re looking for a way to keep dementia at bay, Rush University Medical Center (Illinois, USA) researchers suggest you consider developing a firm purpose in life —a tendency to find meaning from life experience, to be intentional and focused.

Patricia Boyle and colleagues looked at data ascertained from a short psychological test given to 246 older people who later died and underwent autopsies that explored the state of their brains. Among those subjects whose...

The ill state of the nation’s economy is headline news, and we are all facing the challenges of a difficult and uncertain economic future. You can plan for yourself and your family’s financial security by readying your personal health. By extending the number of your productive healthy years, you reap the benefits of an enhanced quality of life, and reduce the costs of disease and disability to society. As American philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) wrote, “The...

Today, more than half of American adults use the Internet to look up health information. In that an estimated 74 percent of adults in the U.S. use the Internet, The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) collected data on the use of health information technologies (HIT), or applications of information processing via computers that access, retrieve, store, or share health care information. The Survey found that:

Following the tenets of the anti-aging lifestyle may be a predominant factor in prolonging how long, and well, you live.

Intergenerational bonds forged as a result of leisure-time activities help seniors to maintain a positive outlook on life. The adage that “A family that plays together stays together” has been confirmed by researchers from Concordia University (Canada).

Making positive and sustainable changes in one‘s daily routine can result in measurable improvements in quality of life. Florence Clark, from University of Southern California (USC; California, USA), and colleagues enrolled men and women ages 60 to 95 years in a five-year long study, during which at six-month intervals, licensed occupational therapists assisted the subjects to develop sustainably healthy lifestyles and assess subsequent changes to the participants’ overall quality...

Community gardens are neighborhood spaces that are accessible to people across the lifespan—regardless of age, race, socioeconomic status or educational background. Jill Litt, from the University of Colorado School of Public Health (Colorado, USA) found that community gardeners cultivate relationships with their neighbors, are more involved in civic activities, stay longer in their neighborhoods, eat better and view their health more positively.

In that aging successfully has been linked with the “positivity effect”, a biased tendency towards and preference for positive, emotionally gratifying experiences, German neuroscientists reveal the physiological basis for positive, emotionally gratifying experiences to promote well-being as we age. Stefanie Brassen, from University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (Germany), and colleagues used neuroimaging to evaluate brain engagement in young and old adults while they performed...

In many aspects, the workplace has displaced the neighborhood and civic activities as the focal point of one’s social structure. Rabina Cozijnsen, from VU University Amsterdam ( The Netherlands), and colleagues found that one’s workplace serves a primary role in prompting social interaction and developing personal relationships.

The ability of a person to independently perform everyday tasks, such as gripping, walking, rising from a chair and balancing on one leg, may help to predict longevity. Researchers from the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing (United Kingdom) reviewed 57 studies of physical capability assessments of community-dwelling seniors and identified 28 that assessed these traits in people of any age and recorded subsequent mortality.

In that kinship, friendship alliances, and perceptions of others’ beliefs guide social interactions and are central to cohesive group behavior, Fenna M. Krienen, from Harvard University (Massachusetts, USA), and colleagues studied how the medial prefrontal cortex region of the brain processes social information.

More Americans are living to 90 and beyond, and by 2050 their ranks could reach almost 9 million, finds the U.S. Census Bureau’s report titled “American Community Survey Reports: ACS-17, 90+ in the United States: 2006–2008.” Revealing that the number of nonagenarians has nearly tripled—from 720,000 in 1980 to 1.9 million in 2010, and by 2050 their ranks could reach almost 9 million.

Providing support to a loved one offers benefits to the giver, not just the recipient, reveals a brain-imaging study by University of California/Los Angeles (UCLA; California, USA) scientists.

Periodontitis and obesity are both chronic health problems, and some studies suggest an association between the two conditions. D. Lakkis, from Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine (Ohio, USA), and colleagues studied 31 obese people who underwent treatment for gum disease. <\p>

Half of the patients (average body-mass index [BMI] of 39 kg/m2) had gastric bypass weight loss surgery and also had fat cells removed from their abdomen. The other patients (average...

While most men and women in their 40s acknowledge that maintaining a low cardiovascular disease risk profile may associate with better health outcomes in older age, few middle-aged adults actually attain such a profile.

Many of us are well-intended to commit to a routine of regular exercise; however the reality often falls short of the intention.

Previous studies have suggested that yoga helps to improve stress-related nervous system imbalances. Chris Streeter, from Boston University School of Medicine (Massachusetts, USA), and colleagues submit a neurophysiological theory of how yoga affects the nervous system.

Not only does lifting weights improve muscle power and promotes cardiovascular health, but doing so enhances quality of life as well. Researchers from the University of Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro (Portugal) and the Federal University of Rio Grande del Sur (Brazil) report that 12 weeks of strength training is highly effective for improving functional capacity, as well as for enhancing quality of life. The researchers observed that such a four-month long regimen

Discussion groups, games, gardening, and other mentally stimulating activities help to boost cognition, among men and women with mild to moderate dementia. A team from Bangor University (Wales, United Kingdom), reviewed 15 clinical studies involved in the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group Specialized Register, involving 718 patients.

Age-related delays in neural timing are not inevitable and can be avoided or offset with musical training. Northwestern University (Illinois, USA) researchers provide key biological evidence that demonstrates that a lifelong musical experience has a beneficial impact on the aging process.