Ellen Waldman

In past years, I have attended the annual Oregon Geriatrics Society conference in Sunriver.

You might recommend this event (oregongeriatricssociety.org) to your own medical provider. I always loved the first presentation, which was a synopsis of the best research conducted over the previous year. Here are some of the nuggets related to aging matters that crossed my desk in 2023. I’m only providing the headlines, not all the research details.

Why birds and their songs are good for our mental health. Two studies published last year said that seeing or hearing birds could be good for our mental well-being. Recent research also suggests that listening to recordings of their songs can alleviate negative emotions. Here are some local resources that provides access to birds:

Northwest Bird Club https://nwbirdclub.org. They offer guest speakers and other events.

Rogue Valley Audubon Society https://www.roguevalleyaudubon.org. They have chapter meetings, newsletters, field trips and bird walks.

What is ‘normal’ body temperature? Some experts say it’s not really 98.6. Medical experts have complained that normal body temperature varies widely, from 97.3 to 98.2 degrees, and should be personalized for each patient. Here is a link from Stanford University that can calculate what is normal for you. http://normaltemperature.stanford.edu. Knowing what’s normal for you is important information.

The good life: Lessons from the world’s longest scientific study of happiness. After tracking thousands of people over the course of 85 years, the Harvard study has found the factor that correlates with good living: good relationships. “The people who were happiest, who stayed healthiest as they grew old, and who lived the longest were the people who had the warmest connections with other people. In fact, good relationships were the strongest predictor of who was going to be happy and healthy as they grew old.”

Pick a word of the year — a ‘nudge’ word. This word-of-the-year exercise can help you reflect on your values, intentions and hopes for the coming year. My own personal word this year is “flexibility.” I’m not referring to body flexibility, although that’s important, too. I’m referring to flexing, and not breaking apart, when life presents a challenge, particularly around aging.

The American Society for Nutrition suggests adopting eight healthy lifestyle habits. By middle age, these can result in a substantially longer life. Those habits include: being physically active, being free from opioid addiction, not smoking, managing stress, having a good diet, not regularly binge drinking, having good sleep hygiene, and having positive social relationships

Specific personality traits may influence dementia risk. People who are extroverted and conscientious, and have a positive outlook may be at lower dementia risk, whereas those who have a negative outlook may be at increased risk.

These three simple lifestyle changes can add years to people’s lives.

Hearing aids. People with mild hearing loss had nearly double the risk of developing dementia, threefold for those with moderate hearing loss, and to nearly fivefold for patients with severe hearing loss.

Exercise. Just 75 minutes a week — or about 11 minutes a day — brought about a 17% reduction in cardiovascular disease, a 7% decrease in cancer risk and 23% lower chance of early death.

Social connections. Social isolation increases the risk of heart disease by 29% and dementia by 50%.

With all this inspiring research, and with some simple “flexing,” it’s possible to enhance your life this year.