Community Update (2/1/26)

Wellness

Positive Approach to Care – Normal vs. Not Normal Aging

Tuesday, February 24, 11:00am – 1:00pm

Join RAFT for this interactive webinar, designed for care professionals and family caregivers. Register online

Workshop Objectives:

• Compare and contrast normal aging versus not normal aging related to various cognitive functions
• Describe the five sensory input and processing systems, highlighting the dominant role of vision, and the major differences between protective and discriminating sensation in each.
• Discuss the impact of changing sensory awareness and processing as dementia progresses

An Age is Merely a Number—Or So It Is Said!                                                             By Joan Smith

Birthday wishes change so much over the years: in our youth we so desperately want to be older, to be 4, or 18, or 21! But then things change as we mature and realize that time does indeed pass, and it seems to do so more quickly, as we reach 60, 70, 80, 90 and up! So we say, “age is just a number”.

But in reality, to some extent that is true! Much recent research has identified several different facets of aging differently, despite chronological ages. Meeri Kim in the Washington Post (Nov. 29, 2025) cites research on mental activities in four realms of creative pursuits—dance, music, visual arts, and strategy video games—and their relationship to “mental age”. The researchers analyzed imaging data of the brain activity of 1,467 healthy adults from around the world, by using “brain clocks” to estimate the difference between a person’s chronological age and their brain’s biological age. This is a very sophisticated and complex computational method that is too technical to go into here, but the research is touted as using strong, well-validated methods. The brain age gap apparently is used to assess accelerated or delayed brain aging.

Accelerated aging means a person’s brain appears older than their actual age, while delayed means the opposite. Results here indicated that all four creative and challenging pursuits were associated with delayed brain aging! And the more expert the practitioner became, the more delayed was brain aging. However, even participants who learned a creative skill without becoming experts reaped antiaging benefits. Researchers trained 24 people to play “StarCraft II”, a video game requiring strategic thinking and imagination; a control group was trained on a different game with limited improvisation. After 4 weeks, the “StarCraft II” group showed slower brain aging than the other group, although both groups benefited from the exercise.

Interestingly—out of all participants, highly skilled tango dancers seemed to have the most youthful brains, an average of seven years younger than their chronological age!

Good news—even passive activities have protective effects! Taking in a play, art museum or concert offers a buffer for brain aging, and other research suggests these help preserve cognitive function later in life.

Family/hereditary history is often pointed to, but we now know that is but one factor; research points out that even those without a family history of longevity who frequently participated in hobbies such as reading and attending concerts, plays and musicals were able to match the same level of good cognitive functioning as those with familial longevity.

How to benefit? Here are a few tips:

• lean into activities and experiences that keep you fully engaged and deeply focused, where stress and time fade away
• participate in a hobby club or group
• combine creativity with movement (since keeping the heart healthy keeps the brain healthy)
• know that it is never too late!

So, go ahead, join that chorus, pick up the guitar (piano, flute, banjo, ukulele), learn to play cards, and TAKE TANGO LESSONS!!!

Brief addendum from the Independent Living Community Diaries

My new Village of 1,950 residents recently looked at the “numbers”. Here is the breakdown:

Age (65-74): 23 persons; (75-84): 856 persons; (85 and above): 968 persons, including 23 over 100!! This means that roughly 83% have already exceeded the current lifespans for men and women. I guess all that push to walk, join, engage, exercise, socialize pays off. So, New Year’s Resolution #1, I now resolve to join Yoga next week!