The Gift Of Aging Well
Posted by Radiance PVL on Tue, Dec 06, 2011 @ 09:20 PM
December is sort of an interesting time to talk about wellness, given the abundance of festivities and indulgent eating (let's face it, we usually pass on the fruitcake in favor of the real cake!).
News out last week from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester encourages us to pause from the holiday celebration and consider a new term: healthspan. As opposed to the frequently used term lifespan, which generally does not differentiate between living well and living with pain or illness, one's healthspan assumes a certain quality of health present regardless of age.
The term surfaces in the context of a Mayo study finding that tailoring one's cell profile may influence the onset of age related problems. Mice in the study suffered less from the effects of aging, and the notion is drugs might be able to be developed to customize the levels of those cells that build up with age and contribute to age-related illness, or things as simple as aching joints, or wrinkles.
CBS news cites the research as its Number one reason to be thankful: We know how to age well.
According to the Star Tribune article on the topic of the Mayo study, many participants in the study gladly signed up to be part of the research. Pamela Rotty, a 54-year-old from Rochester "has seen the difference in healthspan in her own family: Her father's poor health left him unable to travel or fulfill all his retirement dreams, while her grandmother farmed and even took a belly-dancing class in her 90s."
"You don't think about it as much in your 30s and 40s," she said. "But now you're just over the hump of 50 and all of a sudden you're looking over the other side and you're a little more focused. You start looking at the longevity of your parent and grandparents."
The topic is one, which, no matter the time of year, tends to inspire hope in the face of often frustrating facts and figures associated with the aging process. Provision Living focuses on creating communities of hope, whether the challenges be ones of assisted living, or serious issues involving memory impairment. We're enthusiastic about the research and look forward to covering future developments.
Till then, we expect to update you on the many festive activities taking place at our communities this season, in an effort to promote active healthspans for our residents and associates.
(Image Courtesy of Primuscare on Flickr)
