Zoomer Report

A study out of Sweden looks at how personality and stress can effect the risk of alzheimer’s disease, at least in women. It’s a departure because most of the research has been devoted to factors like education, heart and blood risk factors, and family history. The findings in the Journal Neurology found that women who were anxious, jealous or moody and stressed in middle age may be at a higher ris...

Our mothers always told us we should be thankful for what we have. Now there’s evidence that doing just that will make us feel happy and even improve our health. Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California underook the first major study on gratitude. In his book Thanks! he says it’s a crucial element of happiness. Emmons says it’s about wanting what we have, and he adv...

Here’s some work that underscores the importance of the grandparent/grandchild relationship. A study published in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry finds teens who form close, loving relationships with a grandparent have fewer behavioral and emotional problems than less-attached teens. The benefits to the young people were even greater when they were also close to the parent who was the gran...

Why do some people seem to get old before their time while others look like they haven’t aged a day since college? A team of researchers from Duke University studied a nearly 1000 people born within a year of each other and found a huge gulf in the speed at which their bodies aged. The subjects were from the same town in New Zealand and were all born in 1972-73. The scientists looked at 18 differe...

It’s practically an epidemic and it can really interfere with your life! Insomnia is notoriously difficult to deal with. But after reviewing a total of 20 studies, researchers say Non-drug talk therapy can help adults who lie awake in bed most nights. They came to the conclusion that instead of taking pills, insomniacs could benefit from techniques associated with cognitive behavior therapy. The e...

Here’s an encouraging finding for Zoomers who would like to develop musical talent later in life. A study from the University of Chicago finds that adults can be trained to achieve perfect pitch and maintain it for months. Perfect pitch is the ability to identify a note simply by hearing it hLess than one in 10,000 people have this gift. The conventional wisdom was that it is only possible for tho...

Here’s another reason to hate excessive noise. According to Swedish researchers. Exposure to noise from traffic, trains, planes and maybe even deafening restaurants could be linked to a burgeoning belly. The study in Occupational & Environmental Medicine followed 5000 people around Stockholm for four years. It found that women had a 0.08-inch increase in waist size for every additional 5 decibels...

Are you a foodie? It means you’re passionate about food and love trying new dishes. Many people think those of us who fit this description are indulgent and gluttonous, let along pretentious. But a study from the famous Cornell Food and Brand Lab suggests the opposite: Foodies weigh less and could be in better health than the less discerning among us. The researchers asked 500 women about their we...

There’s more evidence about the benefits of exercise, especially as we age. A study out of Norway finds that older men doing three hours of exercise a week lived around five years longer than those who were sedentary. The research tracked 5700 men aged tracking 68 to 77. It found that those putting in the equivalent of six, 30-minute sessions of any intensity, were 40% less likely to have died dur...

Here’s an interesting tidbit for those of us who are pondering the possibility of living to 100. Men are less likely than women to reach that milestone, but according to a study out of London, those who do tend to be healthier than their female peers. The British researchers found that women are now four times more likely than men to hit 100. But they are more likely to suffer broken bones or deve...

How often do you take breaks at work? There is now research showing that office workers who take short, frequent breaks have more stamina and fewer aches and pains when they return to their desks. Researchers from Baylor University surveyed employees between 22 and 67 years old over a five-day workweek. They were not able to pinpoint the optimal number or length of breaks but found that timing is...

Some Israeli psychologists are busting myths about the so-called mid-life crisis. They don’t buy the theory that Zoomers are vulnerable because they face diminished expectations and their own mortality. This idea became current 40 years ago, when the average lifespan was 70 and “mid-life” came at age 35. Dr. Carlo Strenger says now that we’re living longer, mid-life is actually the best time to fl...

Who would know more about the secrets of longevity than Zoomers who’ve reached the age of 100? One hundred centenarians answered a poll on the subject. Topping the list is staying in touch with pop culture and the latest trends such as iPods and text messaging. Being socially active, eating a healthy diet, exercising and getting enough sleep also won’t hurt. According to the the GfK Roper survey,...

This is the time of year to enjoy fresh produce whether it comes from farmers’ markets or your own garden. But you may not realize that many fruits and vegetables lose their nutritional value quickly when they’re stored for more than a few days. Nutritionists say that’s partly because the produce was probably in transit and on shelves before you buy it. Once some fruits and vegetables hit the frid...

Are you a morning person or a night owl? Ben Franklin once famously said that people who are early to bed and early to rise, are healthy, wealthy, and wise. Now you can add “happy” to that list: Early risers are more likely to feel chipper and energetic than late sleepers, according to research from the University of Toronto. Previous work has suggested the same thing. But most of these studies we...

Scientists have just found an easy way to make rice healthier and a lot less fattening. A cup of the cooked grain has about 200 calories, most of which comes in the form of starch, which turns into sugar, and often body fat. Researchers in Sri Lanka cut its calories by 50% with this new preparation method that changes the type of starch in the rice. When the water is boiling before adding the rice...

Springtime means many of us will be getting back on our bikes for exercise and transportation. It also means both cyclists and motorists must relearn how to share the road. Many drivers have fallen out of the habit of looking for cyclists at intersections and stop signs, so if you’re on two wheels, proceed with caution. Then, of course, there’s the shape of the roads at this time of year. Huge pot...

It’s no surprise. A healthy lifestyle will help look good as well as feel good! Living well is not only good for your health … researchers studied the aging differences in identical twins … and found one part was genetics, but the visible signs of aging also depend on the health choices they made. Here’s a list of the top five aging mistakes … and what you can do to fix them. “Yo-yo dieting” alter...

Here’s an important finding about sleep as we age. A review from the University of California, Berkeley suggests that some seniors lose the ability to get deep, restorative rest, and this contributes to medical conditions including depression and dementia. People who wake up multiple times during the night can miss out on the deep stages of sleep and that can cause a vicious cycle. Medical conditi...

For people with type 2 diabetes, a short walk after eating may help lower blood sugar levels more than exercising at other times of the day, a new study shows. A measurement of blood sugar called postprandial glycemia, which has been linked with heart disease risk, averaged 12 percent lower when study participants took a walk after eating, compared with those who exercised at other times. The larg...

If you want to lose weight, here’s something easy to add to your diet – a good night’s sleep! It turns out the amount of the shut-eye you get might be just as important as the food you eat. According to research published in Annals of Internal Medicine, a lack of sleep can hinder our ability to shed excess body fat, with even short periods of sleep deprivation undermining weight-loss efforts. Rese...

It’s a finding that should relieve the anxiety of people searching for answers to the question “Why me?” when they develop cancer. A study from Johns Hopkins University finds that more than two thirds of the genetic mutations that cause cancer occur at random – the result of chance mistakes in DNA replication that occur when normal cells divide. The idea was to quantify those DNA-copying errors –...

Have you checked the expiry dates on your medications and other products lately? Most people do it infrequently, but it’s a good idea to clean out your medicine cabinet twice a year. After the expiry date, medications start to lose their effectiveness, and so do products like sunscreen – so if you keep taking them you may not be getting the treatment or the protection you need. Some drugs even bec...

If you have arthritis, you’re in good company. More than 4 and a half million Canadians are affected. Now a study finds that just a little physical activity seems to go a long way. If you’re a Zoomer with arthritis-related joint pain and stiffness you need to keep moving to remain functionally independent. I have arthritis in my knees and I swear by the healing power of exercise. But the study out...

Most of us probably know at least a few of those uber-Zoomers. Older people you can describe as “sharp as a tack” at the age of 80, 90 and beyond. Well, now researchers have found they have certain brain characteristics that differ from their peers who show more typical age-related memory loss. Scientists from Northwestern University’s Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center identified...