Healthy aging and longevity Archive

Sleep is a key pillar of health, and countless influencers on social media are touting a concept called sleepmaxxing. But what exactly is it? And how likely is it to deliver on claims of amped-up energy, a boost to the immune system, reducing stress levels, and improving your mood?

Overhead reaches become more challenging with age. This is due to reduced range of motion, declining balance, and weak muscles. As a result, simply reaching up for an object can lead to shoulder injuries, neck injuries, or falls. Avoiding these injuries requires extra care when reaching up: estimating if something is too heavy before lifting it, using a step stool to reduce the reach, finding something to hold on to while reaching, and determining in advance where to set down an object.

Anorexia of aging affects about one-quarter of older adults, and women more often than men. The condition is marked by diminished appetite and can prompt a breakdown of muscle and bone mass that can lead to frailty, falls, delayed recovery from illness or surgery, and earlier death. Risk factors include changes in smell and taste, swallowing problems, slower digestion, medications that lead to dry mouth, dental problems, cognitive decline, and loneliness or social isolation. Treatments can include exercising, boosting protein intake, and medications.

We can learn much from people who continue to live productive lives into their 80s and 90s. Doctors in this demographic have a unique perspective as they have the lessons from their decades of medical practice and their personal experiences dealing with Father Time. Here, two Harvard physicians - Dr. Marshall Wolf, 87, and Dr. Mitchell Rabkin, 94 - share lessons they've learned over the decades from their practice and personal life about how they keep their body and mind strong, healthy, and thriving.