Independent Living Archive

A 2024 study found that people with erratic sleeping habits-going back and forth from sleeping less than seven hours to more than nine per night-had a 50% higher risk for diabetes than people who regularly slept the recommended seven to nine hours.

Older adults who consume ultra-processed foods as a substantial part of their diet have a higher risk of early death than those who eat less of these foods.

A recent study found that engaging in high-intensity interval training may be better for brain health than other less vigorous routines.

People who have trouble swallowing pills can try several strategies, such as changing head position when swallowing, adding pills to food that's easy to swallow, and breaking up pills into smaller pieces.

Intermittent fasting is a weight-loss approach that involves not eating for a designated amount of time over the course of the day. One popular approach is called 16/8. Here, people eat during an eight-hour period followed by 16 hours of fasting. Intermittent fasting is often used to help with weight loss by placing the body in short-term ketosis, where the body burns fat for energy. While the supporting research is mixed, there's not much downside to trying intermittent fasting, and it also may help people manage their eating habits.

Older adults typically sit for about 65% to 80% of their waking hours. One problem of prolonged sitting is pain due to gluteal amnesia. It occurs from a weak gluteus medius-one of the three gluteal muscles that help stabilize the pelvis and maintain the body's proper alignment. Moving more often during the day and doing exercises that strengthen weak gluteal muscles can help prevent this problem.

Many single older adults say that they are not looking for a relationship, and that hesitation may be connected to the anxiety about how to pursue a new relationship. But men should explore dating if they are interested. There are now easier ways for singles to meet, such as online dating. Another option to meet other singles is to explore a new activity or hobby, like signing up for a class or workshop or joining a fitness group or club.

Men can avoid "dribbling" (leakage of urine after using the bathroom) by manually pushing out remaining urine from their urethra and doing exercises to strengthen weak pelvic floor muscles.

In a 2024 randomized controlled trial, older adults (average age 71) who took part in an intensive weight training program (three times per week for one year) had better leg strength four years later than people who had taken part in more moderate strength training.

In a 2024 Harvard study involving more than 49,000 women (average age 79), those who reported feeling the most grateful had a 9% lower risk of dying over the following three-year period, compared to those who reported feeling the least grateful.