Which vehicle is the right vehicle?

Last Friday evening, the first batch of snow fell from the sky. It was such a pretty sight- a sight that I watched for an hour and a half while stuck in traffic on the typically 12-minute drive home. Although it was a frustrating experience, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like for an older adult who suffered from arthritis or diminished vision.

Driving is a luxury that gives individuals the ability to get from point A to point B. Not only is it a source of transportation that enables travel through the city, but it is also, in large part, a source of independence. It grants flexibility, reliability and freedom.

However, many aging adults that fill the 65 and up generation could be struggling with this. As we grow older, it’s normal to have the expected signs of aging, but we don’t always consider the symptoms, such as failing eye site and discomfort in joints. What’s even more telling, is that although these are recognized symptoms that can be tended to with medication, it more often than not goes unrecognized how these symptoms can affect daily living, and that includes driving.

According to Autos.ca, with data gathered from a recent AAA survey, “only one in 10 senior drivers with aging health issues are driving a vehicle that has features like keyless car entry and larger dashboard controls that can assist with conditions.” AAA aims to assist the ‘silver tsunami’ by addressing this issue and providing older adults with a list of vehicle features that can enable a safer and more comfortable driving experience.

Some of the recommendations from AAA’s Smart Features for Older Drivers include:

·      “Drivers suffering from hip or leg pain, decreased leg strength or limited knee range of motion should look for vehicles with six-way adjustable power seats and seat heights that come between the driver’s mid-thigh and lower buttocks. These features can make it easier for drivers to enter and exit a vehicle.”

·      “Drivers with arthritic hands, painful or stiff fingers or diminished fine motor skills benefit from four-door models, thick steering wheels, keyless entry and ignition, power mirrors and seats and larger dashboard controls with buttons. These features reduce the amount of grip strength needed and reduce pain associated with turning or twisting motions.”

·      “Drivers with diminished vision or problems with high-low contrast will find vehicles with auto-dimming mirrors, large audio and climate controls and displays with contrasting text helpful. These features can reduce blinding glare and make controls and displays easier to see.”

In one of our previous posts, Can technology help you on the road?, we addressed how technology is being used to assist researchers who are trying to help keep older drivers on the road longer. Sometimes, it isn’t just about the newest gadget installed in the car, but what can provide comfort and stability that will instill confidence in its driver. Safe driving during the winter weather everyone. Vroom vroom!

What's Your Must-Have Gadget or Gizmo?

This week is an exciting week for high-tech gadgets, and even more so for older adults. The IFA, which is the leading trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances, opened its doors Friday for its annual six-day trade show in Berlin.  Companies flocked to show off their latest tech-savvy development. What’s even more impressive? This year, the electronics fair is offering guided tours for the over-60 age group, to show them what’s new and hot for the market of a certain demographic.

According to Eurostat, Berlin had the most inhabitants over the age of 65 in Europe. Along with the latest smart TVs, tablets and high-end coffee-makers, you could find new mobile phones with bigger buttons, robotic vacuum cleaners to make household chores a little easier, and the latest in hearing aid technology, reports Bangkok Post. 

With all these new developments, the aging adult will have a wider selection of technological toys to play with that will not only be fun to explore, but can help improve daily tasks. If doctors are starting to turn to the uses of smartphones and tablets to help them help their patients understand a diagnosis or prescription, then shouldn’t technology be developed so that anyone, regardless of age, can use it?

Leana Wen, 29, who is completing her medical residency in emergency medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, say’s that she “finds her smartphone as handy as her stethoscope. Its apps help her quickly figure out proper medicine doses for critically ill patients, or translate medical instructions for Spanish-speakers. That means she doesn't have to wait for a hospital translator to arrive, and she thinks it makes patient care safer,” reports the Calgary Herald.

As the health care industry moves toward the development of applications for phones that help patients monitor their own prescription doses, or set a reminder for when they should take their next pill, development of easy-to-use gizmo's are important, and demand for them is increasing.

So tell us – what is your must-have device? What gadget do you think needs to be improved? How do you think they can be improved? We want to hear from you!

Google Something... Anything

If you haven’t already heard it before, I will kindly remind you once again, using the Internet benefits your brain for the long haul. It’s actually been said that doing an Internet search stimulates aging brains even more than reading a book. Just ask Jean Carper, award-winning medical journalist and the author of 100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer’s.

Carper’s research lead her to Gary Small, MD, director of the UCLA Center on Aging, who said, “Internet searching engages complicated brain activity, which may help exercise and improve brain function.” See? I told you so. Small, using MRI scans, measured the intensity of activity in the brains of middle-aged and older adults while they searched something on the Internet. 

He discovered that activity picks up dramatically in the brains of experienced surfers – mainly in regions related to decision-making and complex reasoning, which are not stimulated simply by reading. And, as an added bonus, the MRIs showed that the more frequent Internet user had twice as much brain activity than beginners.

What’s even more jaw dropping? “Small found that people ages 55 to 78 who rarely used the Internet previously were able to trigger these key centers in the brain after only one week of surfing the Web for an hour each day.” One reason as to why perusing the Web may be so beneficial, is because of the multiple decisions you are forced to make with the click of your mouse to get to the root of the information you are looking for. With this constant decision making process, we engage important cognitive circuits in our brain, giving ourselves a mental workout!

Mental exercise, like physical exercise, appears to strengthen your brain’s resistance to mental decline and Alzheimer’s, writes Carper. And our world is full of technology that encourages us to do this without realizing it because it’s fun, engaging and you can challenge yourself without breaking a sweat!

A great way to stimulate your brain is to play quick “brain games” that can be found online, such as Posit Science. Here, they offer the 60-Second Brain Game, the Brain Speed Test, the Word List Recall and more. Posit Science not only offers a Total Training Package, but also offers Brain Training products that focus on enhancing different parts of your brain, such as auditory or visual.

Does this peak your interest? Want to check it out? Well SERC is more than happy to announce that you can experience it in person! Come out and participate in our free eight-week computer-based brain-training program at the Iroquois Branch of the Oakville Public Library. For more information as to how you can join please click on our flyer below. More locations to be announced soon!

And remember, it’s never too late to start browsing the web – happy surfing!

Seniors & Social Networking

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Technology surrounds us. A lot of it has to do with keeping up-to-date with the rest of the world.  Instant messaging, email, video chat… they are all quick tools that have enabled many individuals to connect with the next person instantly.  As a result, there has been a paradigm shift in the networking realm – socializing.  Technology may read as “the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, esp. in industry” on Google definitions – but in simple terms, it’s all about how we stay connected.

Social networking is more popular, and probably more common than socializing face to face.  Don’t get me wrong, this still happens, and quite frequently, but, how did you find out about Dave and Sally’s barbecue? When were you invited?  And what method was used to bring you to this event?  A majority of the time these questions are answered with one word: Facebook. 

According to the article, Facebook 101: Seniors Learn To Use the Social Network by Jessica Tully, spurred by a desire to stay connected to their children and grandchildren, more seniors are diving into Facebook, and as a result, social-networking instructions are popping up in libraries and even community centers.

A recent Pew Internet study found that 53 per cent of American age 65 and older use the Internet or email; of which, 34 per cent use social networking sites such as Facebook, and from that, 18 per cent use it daily.  In a study by Statistics Canada, it was found that of a possible total of 26 online activities, seniors aged 65 and older averaged 7.6 of activities used.  One-half of online senior home users qualified as “intensive users,” at 47 per cent.

“Retirees who use the Internet regularly are 20 to 28 per cent less likely to be classified as depressed, according to a study published in March in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, by Shelia Cotten, a sociology professor at the University of Alabama-Birmingham,” Tully writes.  Cotten explains that this is because of the connection and sense of community that the Internet provides.

Social networking is a large portion of how society operates today and has quickly become an integral part of how we communicate, whether it’s good news, or bad.  SERC’s Business of Aging: Information Exchange Network (BA:IEN) feels it is an important asset to keep seniors integrated within their community, and is reaching out to invite you to an exciting event on Wednesday, July 25, 2012.

To learn more, click on the image below: