Later life News
Good hearing and eyesight may help protect against dementia
Wearing a hearing aid and/or having surgery to correct cataracts in your eyes may help keep your memory and thinking skills sharp, say researchers from Manchester University. The experts carried out two trials
– one into how hearing affects cognitive decline, and the other into correcting cataracts. Writing in two journals – PLOS One and the Journal of the America Geriatrics Society – they explain how the rate of cognitive decline was reduced by half in those having cataract surgery and by 75 per cent in those who started using a hearing aid. Their studies didn’t look at why
exactly this might happen. But the researchers suggest that good vision and hearing may help keep you more physically active and socially engaged in later life, both of which could help reduce your risk of dementia.
later life
The latest health and wellbeing news for those in their golden years
Eat seafood to
age healthily A report published in the
British Medical Journal has found older adults with higher blood levels of the omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood are more likely to stay healthy as they get older. The researchers suggest this could
be the case as omega-3 oils may help regulate blood pressure, heart rate and inflammation.
How active should you be?
If you’re 65 or older, here are the main guidelines that apply to you regarding physical activity:
• Aim to be active daily. Over a week, activity should add up to at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) of moderate intensity activity in bouts of ten minutes or more – one way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least five days a week.
• Also undertake physical activity to improve muscle strength on at least two days a week.
• Older adults at risk of falls should incorporate physical activity to improve balance and coordination on at least two days a week.
• All older adults should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (sitting) for extended periods.
Walking reduces stroke risk
Being active can help reduce your risk of having a stroke. And now researchers from Sweden say walking at least
MINUTES 30
a day may lower your risk of having a severe stroke. The study suggests walking for four hours a week can halve your
risk of a stroke becoming severe compared to someone who is physically inactive. Try walking for a bit more than half an hour a day or take two 15-minute walks a day, they suggest.
42 All About health
Leafy greens boost vision
If you want to prevent a condition that affects your vision called age-related macular degeneration (AMD), try eating more green leafy vegetables and beetroot, say experts writing in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
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