elderly

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Oldsters Behind Counter Boost McDonald's Sales

(Newser) - Having workers in their golden years is key to the Golden Arches' success, according to a British study. Researchers found that customer satisfaction levels were 20% higher in outlets where people over 60 were employed. The boost comes from the older workers' better people skills, strong work ethic, and influence...

Alzheimer's: Vision May Play a Role

(Newser) - Moments of forgetfulness attributed to Alzheimer’s disease could in fact be caused by a loss of vision, the Boston Globe reports, and new research asserts that cranking up contrast—by using colored dinner plates, for instance—could help. “Let’s say you put keys down on the counter...

High Cholesterol in 40s Tied to Dementia Later

Lowering it won't necessarily help, studies suggest

(Newser) - High cholesterol in middle age may increase a person’s future risk of Alzheimer’s disease, NPR reports. “Our study shows that even moderately high cholesterol levels in your 40s puts people at greater risk for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia in later life,” says one researcher, who...

Wii Bowling a Strike With Seniors

(Newser) - Seniors are wholeheartedly embracing Wii Bowling as a fun social activity mercifully devoid of the weight of an actual ball, the Chicago Tribune reports. “Can you think of anything better to do?” says the president of a league at a Chicago-area retirement community. “It's the piece de resistance ...

Video Games May Stave Off Mental Decline
Video Games May
Stave Off Mental Decline
glossies
Jul 11, 2009 7:23 PM CDT

Video Games May Stave Off Mental Decline

(Newser) - Shelling goblins and building medieval empires may be perfect ways to stave off cognitive decline, Anita Hamilton writes in Time. Research already shows that challenging tasks can keep brains sharp in old age, but now multi-million-dollar studies are getting the elderly to play video games—not puzzle or math games,...

Live With It: Retirement Must Shrink
Live With It:
Retirement
Must Shrink
OPINION
Jun 26, 2009 12:13 PM CDT

Live With It: Retirement Must Shrink

Longer lifespans, older population mean quitting age has to rise

(Newser) - With people living longer and having fewer children in developed countries, the population is aging even as the workforce shrinks. And with retirement ages in the 60s, retirees are living longer on pensions. Those demographic shifts make a policy shift inevitable: we’re all going to have to work longer,...

Woman Dies in Midair as Flight Diverts Too Late

(Newser) - An elderly woman suffered a heart attack and died today on an AirTran flight from New York to Palm Beach, Fla., WNYW-TV reports. The plane diverted to Philadelphia in an attempt to save the 80-year-old but was too late, BNO News adds. “There was a doctor on board who...

Grandma Hates Email? Snail Mail Service to the Rescue

(Newser) - If grandma is too obstinate or tech-befuddled for email, a few services have cropped up to help, Jeninne Lee-St. John writes in Time. The latest one, Sunnygram, actually prints up emails and photos in a weekly newsletter and mails them. Others, like Presto and Celery, deliver messages via fax and...

Inner-Ear Woes Linked to Many Elderly Tumbles

More than half of Americans over 60 have the disorder

(Newser) - Researchers have shed light on the frequent, debilitating, and sometimes life-threatening falls among the elderly: many tumbles may be caused by inner-ear imbalances, Time reports. Some 35% of Americans over 40 have such vestibular dysfunction; the condition affects more than 50% of Americans 60 and older. An inner-ear imbalance multiplies...

States, Congress Mull 'Silver Alert' for Missing Elderly

(Newser) - States across the US are moving to create procedures that would alert the public about older people in the grips of dementia who’ve gone missing, the AP reports. The so-called “Silver Alert” system has already been taken up by 15 states, and the House has approved a national...

As Memory Slips Away, Music Lingers

(Newser) - The Alzheimer’s patient had forgotten nearly everything, including his own name, but the sound of Frank Sinatra moved him to grab his wife and dance. The phenomenon demonstrates how deep-seated music is in the human brain, Sara Davidson writes for the New York Times’ New Old Age blog. “...

States Ax Programs for Elderly, Kids

(Newser) - States are slashing social services across the US, crippling programs for children and the elderly that might save money in the long run, the New York Times reports. Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan is easing the pain by helping low earners, but at least 34 states are cutting aid...

Seniors Scrambling for Work
 Seniors Scrambling for Work   
Feb 23, 2009 1:37 PM CST

Seniors Scrambling for Work

(Newser) - The recession is hitting elderly workers much harder than in the past, thanks to an increase in the number of older workers—especially those over 75—and a severe shortage of jobs, the Wall Street Journal reports. In past recessions, these workers just retired; now, they're scrambling to find a...

Feds Slam Nursing Homes for '1-Star' Care

(Newser) - Rife with mistreated patients and poor conditions, nearly one quarter of US nursing homes received 1 out of 5 stars in a new Washington rating program. “The conditions described are grim and, at times, deadly,” Sam Roe writes in the Chicago Tribune of Illinois’ one-star homes. Cold food,...

93-Year-Old Left to Freeze Leaves $500K to Hospital

Estate may be worth more than $500K

(Newser) - The 93-year-old Michigan man who froze to death last month after his electricity was cut off was a World War II medic who left his estate—possibly more than $500,000—to a local hospital, CNN reports. Despite the savings, Martin Schur was $1,000 behind on his utility bill....

Elderly Man Freezes to Death Over Unpaid Bill

Mich. neighbor finds 93-year-old in house after city cut power

(Newser) - A 93-year-old Michigan man who failed to pay his electricity bill froze to death in his home after the city cut his power supply, the Bay City Times reports. Marvin Schur suffered what a pathologist called "a slow painful death" from hypothermia several days after city workers installed a...

Seeking Surgery at 80? You're Not Alone

Operations on elderly patients raise questions about aggressive treatments

(Newser) - Folks over 80 are increasingly going under the knife despite critics who say it's unethical or financially perilous, the Sacramento Bee reports. New medical technology has persuaded doctors to violate tradition and perform operations like cancer and open-heart surgery on octogenarians. But one doctor has sparked controversy by saying patients...

107-Year-Old Virgin Lookin' for Love

Elderly Chinese woman overcomes life-long fear of marriage

(Newser) - A 107-year-old Chinese woman has decided now's the time to start looking for Mr Right, the New York Daily News reports. Wang Guiying decided early on that marriage was too scary but now, fearing she's becoming a burden on her nephews and nieces, she's decided to take the plunge. Wang...

Science Probes 'Senior Moments'

Researchers discover why an aging brain is prone to distraction

(Newser) - Science has found clues to why older people tend to lose their train of thought so easily: Slower internal brain communications are behind those misplaced names, words, keys, and other “senior moments,” the Wall Street Journal reports. A 200-millisecond difference in an older person’s ability to quickly...

Elderly Trapped in Houses That Won't Sell

Lack of buyers forces frail elderly to postpone plans for assisted living

(Newser) - The collapse of the housing market has left many elderly people marooned in their own homes, the New York Times reports. Retirement communities require hefty down payments that many elderly were expecting to raise by selling their homes. With no buyers out there, frail people requiring daily care are stuck...

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