Dementia, Age, and Rage Against the Dying of the Light
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
—Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas 1951
Are you over 30? If so, there have been changes taking place in your body that will affect how you age.
Age is in the news and people have conflated age and illness. First, there is a difference between being old and having dementia. Dementia is more likely when people are older with Alzheimer’s being the most common cause (there are three other types including vascular dementia from blood clots).
However, after people turn 60, only 5% to 8% have dementia. Importantly, the National Institute on Aging says, “Forgetfulness can be a normal part of aging. However, dementia is not a normal part of aging.”
The Virginia Rehabilitation and Wellness, Inc. organization talks about symptoms of dementia:
“People with dementia often have difficulty orienting to time and place or difficulty with language. Other signs of dementia include changes in personality, mood, or behavior. Dementia often is associated with impaired judgement, difficulty with abstract thinking, and misplacing objects where they do not belong.”
Others may have mild cognitive impairment (which is not dementia) including having trouble coming up with words than other people of the same age, losing things, or forgetting to go to appointments.
There are a lot of things people can do to deal forgetfulness including:
Getting enough sleep
Eating well and avoiding or limiting alcohol
Staying involved with friends, activities, or church
Controlling high blood pressure
Using lists and calendars
Exercise
My personal belief is that exercise may be the most important. Regular exercise keeps blood flowing to the brain which is necessary for cognitive functioning. But according to the Department of Health and Human Services, 70% of people 65 and older are not physically active.
First, many perhaps are intimidated by weights or think they are only for the young people curling barbells while admiring themselves in floor mirrors.
It’s not true. If you want to maintain autonomy and independence, weight training is an excellent way to start. It doesn’t have to be free weights—weight machines are an excellent way to go. The reason for weight training is, from the time you were 30, you started to lose muscle mass (3-5% loss every 10 years), a condition called sarcopenia. Older people without muscle protection are three times more likely to die following a ground level fall than younger people.
If you are over 65, you may not be aware that there is a program called SilverSneakers that is covered in Medicare Advantage that you can take in own home or get no-cost access to gyms and fitness locations nationwide.
It’s not just weight training, you also need aerobic activity either 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity of 75 minutes of vigorous intensity. That’s according to CDC but, if you’re retired and you have more time, the more you do, the better your brain will function and the better you will sleep. For me, it often leads to a short nap which is also great.
Don’t stop there, add balance training which will help you navigate those rocks across streams and help to prevent falling. Also add in core exercises which can help with back pain and keep your gut in check. Don’t forget walking as it is good for “people with recurrent back pain who kept it at bay for almost twice as long if they walked regularly.”
Finally, with any exercises, start with warm-up exercises and always, always, finish with a good stretching program. All of this may take a lot of time, but it also buys you a lot of quality time when you are not exercising and postpones a lot of chronic issues as well.
Once you get started, you’ll find yourself wanting to go, not wanting to miss a workout. It is the still far and away the best medicine.
I’ll finish with this. There is one type of exercise that should be done alone and not too fast. A quiet walk in the woods where, you will find, as John Muir said,
“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.”