Specifically for Seniors - A New Direction

This is the third episode in Specifically for Seniors podcasts in conjunction with Hebrew Senior Life and Orchard Cove's series on cognitive fitness. In the first episode, we spoke with Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone on Brain Health and Cognitive Fitness, in the second episode of the series, we reviewed the relationship of physical exercise and brain health with Tim Parke and Chris Young. In this episode, Specificaly for Senors wecomes Jodi Bornstein and Melissa Day for a discussion on challenging your brain and learning new things. Jodi Bornstein is an Occupational Therapist with Hebrew Senior Life’s Therapy House Calls program. Jodi has published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy and for the last 6 years has been a guest faculty member at the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Institute of Health Professions. Melissa Day has been a Speech Language Pathologist for more than 30 years working in home care for the last 20 years. Both Jodi and Melissa have an interest in brain health and have been working with a dynamic interdisciplinary team at Orchard Cove, a senior living facility near Boston on optimizing the pillars of brain health in the daily lives and culture in senior living. Links: AARP - STAYINGSHARP.AARP.ORG  COMPUTER BASED PROGRAMS  - BRAIN HQ (BRAINHQ.COM) -LUMOSITY (LUMOSITY.COM) -WORDLE (NYTIMES.COM/GAMES/WORDLE/INDEX.HTML) -SPOT THE DIFFERENCE (SPOTTHEDIFFERENCE.COM) -LANGUAGE APPS -DUOLINGO (DUOLINGO.COM) -BABBEL (BABBEL.COM) -WORDSEARCH (THEWORDSEARCH.COM)

Ageism, according to the World Health Organization, refers to how we think, feel and act towards others or ourselves based on age. It affects people of all ages and exists in our institutions, our relationships and ourselves. Many of us have experienced the effects of Ageism when it comes to older adults in the workplace, in hospitals, in public, in nursing homes, and in both the media and the entertainment industries.  Kyrié Carpenter was trained as a therapist and works as a facilitator and public speaker, specializing in ageism and dementia. She is the editor of the Changing Aging blog, author of Healing Dementia, and is adjunct faculty at USI and Pacifica Graduate Institute, Ryan Backer is an age activist, public speaker and self-proclaimed old person in training. Ryan was a fellow with Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research’s Antibigotry Convening. Ryan does care work, organizes interage events and groups, writes zines, and sits on the board of two community-based nonprofits .Ryan has an undergraduate degree in Gerontology with a minor in Black Studies from York College, City University of New York. Old School curates, creates, commissions and disseminates free resources to educate people about ageism and how to end it; hosts and facilitates spaces where age advocates around the world can connect; collaborates with other pro-aging organizations; and shows up for other social-justice movements. Old School is working towards a world where everyone has the opportunity to live long and to live well. We are advancing the movement to dismantle ageism, and we are leveraging the fact that everyone ages (and experiences age bias) in order to address the intersectional nature of all oppression—and of all activism.

Rob Surette's speed painting performances and fine art creations are a testament to his exceptional talent and passion for the arts. Through his dynamic speed painting displays, he brings art to life in a way that captivates audiences and leaves them in awe. His fine art pieces, on the other hand, offer a glimpse into the creative depth and technical mastery that define his work. Rob Surette's contributions to the world of art are nothing short of extraordinary, reminding us of the boundless possibilities that can be achieved through artistic expression. Rob Surette's motivational messages are an integral part of his artistic journey. He believes that art has the power to ignite positive change, to uplift spirits, and to inspire transformation. THE CHALLENGE Rob and I challenge you to create something new - a photograph, a poem, a story - and send it to me larry(at)specificallyforseniors.com. (Use the @ to substitute for (at), of course) with your name, email address, and title for your work. We will pick about 10 entries to be featured on another podcast with Rob. And just maybe youwill be able to tell your story of creativity on the podcast in person.

The number of Americans over the age of 65 is projected to more than double in the next forty years, increasing from 40.2 million in 2010 to 88.5 million in 2050. As many of us. know from personal experience, we start to have problems remembering names or where our car keys are or whether we took our morning pills. Specifically for Seniors in conjunction with a program instituted by Hebrew Senior Life and the residents of Orchard Cove, a senior living facility near Boston has embarked on a series of presentations about maintaining cognitive health. Today we are going to discuss the benefits of exercise on your brain from the perspective of non-scientists but rather from the viewpoint of those who work on a day-to-day basis with older adults.  Chris Young, has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Exercise Physiology and is senior fitness instructor and Tim Parke, DPT a Board Certfied Clinical Specialist in Geriatric Physical therapy. Both work at Orchard Cove. We discuss the benefits of exercise on both the body and brain, exokines and cytokines, lactate, the brain derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), aerobic exercise and strength training, mind and body exercise, VO2 Max, the benefits of exercise for those with physical limitations and the safety of exercise. Chris and Tim further stress the importance of movement. Tim Recommends: Move the Body, Heal the Mind: Overcome Anxiety, Depression, and Dementia and Improve Focus, Creativity, and Sleep by Jennifer Heisz, PhD (https://a.co/d/1UDyetU)

Today’s podcast is being recorded on June 15, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. we at specifically for seniors and our guest from the national center on elder abuse, encourage you to share this episode of the podcast with friends and relatives who know an older adult who may be in jeopardy.  Lori Mars, JD, LLM, is the Deputy Director of the National Center on Elder Abuse. She is an assistant professor of clinical family medicine in the Department of Family Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. After practicing law for more than 20 years, LORI’S concentration lies at the intersection of law, aging, and elder abuse. She has a master’s degree in law in alternative dispute resolution and serves as a volunteer long-term care ombudsman. She is passionate about elder justice and advocating for the rights of all older adults to live with dignity and respect. Lori and I talk about the role of the National Center on Elder Abuse, elder mistreatment, socio-cultural perceptions of mistreatment, types of elder mistreatment, its impact, the physical, emotional and financial signs of elder mistreatment, the risk factors of abuse and intervention and prevention. We apologize for the technical problems with Lori Mars recording.

Adam Centamore has presented more than 2000 classes and events and written more than 70 articles in magazines like Saveur, Culture Cheese, WGBH and other print and online magazines. He is a professional certified food and wine educator. Adam is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals where his first book - Tasting Wine and Cheese: An Insider's Guide to Mastering the Principles of Pairing - was a finalist for Cookbook of the Year. Adam takes your host, an admitted wine and cheese novice, on a journey through the basics of choosing a wine and pairing that wine with food and cheese. He teaches me about great wines at various price points, choosing a wine as a host gift, the temperature at which wine should be served and the very basics of pairing wines with cheese. We talk about various apps that help with wine selection. Adam also discusses the value of his book - Tasting Wine and Cheese: An Insider's Guide to Mastering the Principles of Pairing.

James Geary is the deputy curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, editor of Nieman Reports, and former editor of the European edition of Time magazine. He is the author of Wit's End: What Wit Is, How It Works, and Why We Need It, I Is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It Shapes the Way We See the World, Geary's Guide to the World's Great Aphorists, the New York Times bestseller The World in a Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism, and The Body Electric: An Anatomy of The New Bionic Senses. James explains metaphors, aphorisms and puns more concisely and humorousy than ever before and explains why they are essential to good writing. And, if you paid attention to the introduction, ...spoiler alert...no, he never uses gnomology in a sentence during the podcast. Book links: Wits End https://bookshop.org/p/books/wit-s-end-what-wit-is-how-it-works-and-why-we-need-it-james-geary/8775565?ean=9780393357592 I is an Other https://bookshop.org/p/books/i-is-an-other-the-secret-life-of-metaphor-and-how-it-shapes-the-way-we-see-the-world-james-geary/8994938?ean=9780061710292 Geary's Guide to the Worlds Great Aphorists https://www.amazon.com/Gearys-Guide-Worlds-Great-Aphorists/dp/1596912529/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1487903585&sr=8-3&keywords=james+geary The World in a Phrase https://www.amazon.com/World-Phrase-Brief-History-Aphorism/dp/1582344302/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1487903585&sr=8-2

Alastair Henry retired at 57, shed his possessions and went to live with a First Nations band in the Northwest Territories. Alastair and I talk about his life-changing 2 years in a fly-in community in northern Canada, his life in Lutsel K'e, the cultural differences and challenging environment. Alastair explains how his experience there led to learning a larger purpose in life. Alastair will return for a second podcast with more adventures and how he endured a double lung transplant.

This episode's guest on Specifically for Seniors is Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone, Medical DIrector of Hebrew Senior Life's Wolk Center for Memory Health and co-author of "A Guide to Cogntive Fitness." This podcast introduces a series of six additional podcasts throughout the year that discuss ways to maintain our cognitive health. Correction: In our introduction on the podcast we mistakenly minimized the number of published articles and patents attributed to Dr. Pascual-Leone. He has authored over 900 scientific papers and several books. He holds 20 issued patents for various methods for noninvasive brain stimulation and modulation. Thomson Reuters has recognized him as one of the “World's Most Influential Scientific Minds”. Research.com has recognized him as a “Best Scientist” and “Neuroscience Leader” ranking #10 world-wide and #6 in the US. LINKS: A Guide to Cognitive Fitnesshttps://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/a-guide-to-cognitive-fitness Wolk Center for Memory Health https://www.hebrewseniorlife.org/services/health-care/wolk-center-memory-health

Sorell Schwartz, PhD is Professor Emeritus of Pharmacology at Georgetown University Medical Center, Senior Pharmacology Advisor at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and has had advisory appointments at the National Library of Medicine, the FDA, the EPA, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the FTC, the U.S. House of Representatives, OSHA, the Department of Defense, the FBI and WHO. Dr. Schwartz explains the confusion between the FDA and CDC and their roles, the importance in taking our medications as directed, the interaction among our mutiple medications, the difference between side effects and adverse effects, the efforts toward deprescribing, the proper way to stop a medication and the current thinking about Mifepristone and Misoprostol. This is a podcast you cannot miss. Your life could literally depend on it.