Music Improves Sleep Quality in Older Adults
Music Improves Sleep Quality in Older Adults Older people with sleep problems reported a 35 percent improvement after listening to soft music at bedtime. Sleep, a vital ingredient in life, can sometimes become difficult as humans get older. The research, published in the February 2005 edition of The Journal of Advanced Nursing, found that older people (those over 60) with sleep problems reported a 35 percent improvement after they started listening to 45 minutes of soft music before bedtime. Those who listened to carefully selected music experienced physical changes that aided restful sleep. This included lower heart and respiratory rates. People in the music group showed significantly better scores in overall sleep quality that included better and longer nighttime sleep and less dysfunction during the day. Sleep disorders can result in tiredness, fatigue, depression, greater anxiety, irritability, pain sensitivity, muscle tremors and lack of daytime alertness. Source: http://www.cwru.edu

Making End of Life Decisions
Making End-of-Life Decisions What every family should know End-of-Life decisions pull families apart if the patient’s wishes haven’t been made clear beforehand. Americans seem to avoid planning for death. The Family Caregiver Alliance offers these suggestions, whether you are caring for someone who is incapacitated or making decisions for yourself: • Whom do you want to make decisions for you if you are not able to make your own, both on financial matters and health-care issues? The same person may not be right for both. • What medical treatments and care are acceptable to you? Are there some you fear? • Do you wish to be resuscitated if you stop breathing or your heart stops? • Do you want to be hospitalized or stay at home if you are seriously or terminally ill? Know your preferences about hospice. • Do you have adequate insurance? • What actually happens when you die? Will your loved ones be prepared to make decisions they have to make? • Know about advanced directives. (see End of Life Choices section on this web page, www.caregiver.org)

A Good Night’s Sleep
I have trouble falling asleep. Is that what I should expect at my age? Now information about sleep and aging is only a mouse click away at www.nihseniorhealth.gov. The Web site also offers hints for sleeping well. For example, exercising regularly improves the quality of your nighttime sleep and helps you sleep more soundly, and doing the same things each night tells your body that it’s time to wind down. Adequate sleep is essential to good health and quality of life. For example, older adults who have poor nighttime sleep are more likely to have a depressed mood, attention, and memory problems, excessive daytime sleepiness, more nighttime falls, and to use more over-the-counter or prescription sleep aides. Disturbed sleep and waking up tired every day are not part of normal aging. NIHSeniorHealth now has accurate, up-to-date information to help older Americans get a good night’s sleep.” Source: http://www.nih.gov/

Body Fatness and Heart Disease
Body fatness was associated with more heart disease risk factors even among healthy, aerobically fit men, according to a report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. (4/19/05). A study of 135 healthy men who varied widely in body fatness and aerobic fitness found that fatness was consistently associated with heart disease risk factors, while fitness was associated with only selective risk factors. Findings provide justification for risk-factor management strategies that emphasize prevention of weight gain in normal weight men and long-term weight reduction in overweight and obese men. They studies 135 volunteers, ages 20-79, all of whom had passes a rigorous health screening that excluded men with such problems as high blood pressure, overt coronary heart disease, irregular heartbeats and men who smokes or were taking medications. Men who are overweight or obese should be encouraged to reduce body fatness regardless of their aerobic fitness. Weight management and prevention of excess adiposity should be a health goal for men. Men who are sedentary should be encouraged to increase their physical activity and improve aerobic fitness, regardless of their body fatness. Physical activity and aerobic fitness should be viewed as an effective partner to weight maintenance in the primary prevention of heart disease. The National Institutes of Health funded the study. Source: http://www.americanheart.org/

Happy and Healthy: the more moments of happiness you experience in life, the healthier you’ll be.
19 April 2005—Scientists at UCL have found that a happy state of mind can lead to a healthier heart and lower levels of stress-inducing chemicals. The research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says that people who have more moments of happiness over a day produce less harmful chemicals such as cortisol and are likely to be healthier long-term and less likely to suffer from heart disease. The research shows the health effects of happiness by testing middle-aged individuals- 116 men and 100 women- in a number of different situations including at work, leisure and in laboratory. In men, happiness also had an impact on heart-rate — men who were happiest had a lower heart rate (between 68 and 70 bpm) than those who had a lot rate of happiness (these men clocked in at over 76 bpm). The associations between happiness and biological responses were independent of psychological distress. Depression and anxiety are related to increased physical health risk; this study raises, perhaps, that the effect of happiness is separate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) April 18th Source: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/

Enlarged waist + elevated triglycerides= heart, stroke risks for women
A tape measure and a simple blood test may be a good way to gauge cardiovascular risk for postmenopausal women, according to a report in an Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. (4/19/05) Women who had an enlarged waist and elevated levels of blood fats known as triglycerides had almost a fivefold increased risk of fatal cardiovascular events compared to women without those traits. 35.2 inches and a triglyceride level of at or 128 milligrams per deciliter are levels described as risk factors. The other risk factors are elevated blood pressure, low HDL “good” cholesterol, and impaired fasting blood sugar. Obesity poses a cardiovascular risk in women who deposit extra pounds centrally in the intra-abdominal area, and do not follow the pattern of depositing – hips, thighs, and buttocks. Researchers evaluated 557 postmenopausal women ages 48 – 76 years. They followed the women for about 8.5 years to evaluate the cause of death. For these women, weight loss is highly recommended to reduce the almost five-fold increased risk for dying of cardiovascular disease.

Mediterranean Diet Leads to Longer Life
The Mediterranean diet is associated with longer life expectancy among elderly Europeans, finds a recent study (British Medical Journal April 7th). The Mediterranean diet is characterized by a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and cereals; a moderate to high intake of fish; a low intake of saturated fats, but high intake of unsaturated fats, particularly olive oil; a low intake of dairy products and meat; and a modest intake of alcohol, mostly as wine. The study involved over 74,000 healthy men and women, aged 60 or more. A higher dietary score was associated with a lower overall death rate. So for example, a healthy man aged 60 who adheres well to the diet can expect to live about one year longer than a man of the same age who does not adhere to the diet. This diet is consistent with that recommended by the government as healthy.

Partners in Care News: Older Adults Use Alternative Medicine
Nearly three out of every four adults over age 50 use some kind of alternative medicine, such as acupuncture and herbal medicine, according to a new study. Gong-Soog Hong, co-author of the study and professor of consumer sciences at Ohio State University. This study found that 71 percent of older adults used some form of alternative medicine. “Many types of alternative medicine have not been tested for safety and effectiveness, and yet a large majority of older adults are using them. This tells us there is a serious need for more consumer education.” They presented their research April 9 in Columbus at the annual meeting of the American Council of Consumer Interests. The researchers used data from the 2000 Health and Retirement Survey, conducted by the University of Michigan and funded mainly by the National Institute on Aging. The survey included 848 respondents aged 50 and over. About 63 percent of respondents who said they were not satisfied with their health care also tried alternative therapies classified as preventive or curative. “More scientific research is needed to examine the safety and effectiveness of alternative medicines, especially about possible interaction effects when they are used along with prescription drugs.”

Walking: Key to Good Health
Walking is the most popular form of exercise in the United States. The average American takes between 8,000 and 10,000 steps per day. Podiatrists tout walking as one of the best exercises for your feet because it contributes to circulation, maintains weight control, and promoted overall good health. The American Podiatric Medical Association recommends that those who walk for exercise need to take these precautions: • Warm up and cool down. Stretching improves circulation and decreases build up of lactic acid – the chemical byproduct that causes muscles to ache. • Choose proper footgear. Buying shoes is virtually the only necessary expense for walking; don’t cut corners on your shoe purchases. • Pay attention to your feet. Changes and/or pain in the feet and ankles could indicate a foot ailment or circulatory problems. • Walk on soft ground. With age, the natural shock absorbers (or “fat padding”) in your feet deteriorate, as does bone density. • Cold weather can cause numbness, limiting ability to detect trauma, or wounds to the feet, so be more cautious. • If you have diabetes, use extra care. Diabetics are prone to infection from minor injuries. • Exercise smart. Knowing your limits and exercising with caution can avoid injuries and frustration.

Cognitive Therapy Successful Against Depression
When provided by experienced psychotherapists, cognitive therapy may be as effective as antidepressant drugs initial treatment of moderate to severe depression, a new study suggests. The study published in the April issue of the journal Archives of General Psychology included 240 people with moderate to severe depression. One group of 60 people received cognitive therapy, another group of 120 received antidepressant medication (usually Paxil), and a third group of 60 received a placebo pill. According to University of Pennsylvania researchers, patients in the cognitive therapy group attended two 50-minute sessions a week for the first four weeks of the study. They went to one or two sessions a week for the middle eight weeks and to one session a week for the final four weeks of the study. After eight weeks of treatment, response rates were 50 percent in the medication field group, 43 percent in the cognitive therapy group and 25 percent in the placebo group. After 16 weeks of treatment, response rates were 58 percent for patients receiving either medication or cognitive therapy. “It appears that cognitive therapy can be as effective as medications, even among more severely depressed outpatients, at least when provided by experienced care therapists,” they wrote. More Information The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about depression.

Older Adults Use Alternative Medicine
Nearly three out of every four adults over age 50 use some kind of alternative medicine, such as acupuncture and herbal medicine, according to a new study. Gong-Soog Hong, co-author of the study and professor of consumer sciences at Ohio State University. This study found that 71 percent of older adults used some form of alternative medicine. “Many types of alternative medicine have not been tested for safety and effectiveness, and yet a large majority of older adults are using them. This tells us there is a serious need for more consumer education.” They presented their research April 9 in Columbus at the annual meeting of the American Council of Consumer Interests. The researchers used data from the 2000 Health and Retirement Survey, conducted by the University of Michigan and funded mainly by the National Institute on Aging. The survey included 848 respondents aged 50 and over. About 63 percent of respondents who said they were not satisfied with their health care also tried alternative therapies classified as preventive or curative. “More scientific research is needed to examine the safety and effectiveness of alternative medicines, especially about possible interaction effects when they are used along with prescription drugs.”