The science of well-being
[January 2004 - Novartis Foundation Bulletin] Dr Felicia Huppert (University of Cambridge) broadly defines well-being as a positive and sustainable state which allows individuals, communities and nations to thrive and flourish. This focus on 'life going well' is motivated by the belief that mainstream psychology, medicine and education have, since the second world war, focused almost exclusively on putting right our human illnesses and shortcomings. Hence, this conference aimed to encourage scientists and practitioners to consider what can be learnt from studying positive human emotions and strengths, and positive health and resilience. ...

New Partnership Aims at Changing the Face of Aging
[28 October 2004 - Healthy Aging, LLC] �The only way to predict the future is to invent it.� So says Jeff Rubin, CEO and Co- Founder of Healthy Aging LLC, a new nationwide business venture taking shape in Colorado. Mr. Rubin along with Joni Seivert, Co-Founder and President of Denver based Connections Unlimited LLC expect to do just that as they prepare to launch a membership driven social entrepreneurial company. ... Rubin, former State Director for Benefits CheckUp and a past associate of the National Council on the Aging shares that sentiment. �The answers lie in questioning the status quo. We need to engage individuals and challenge communities to become pro-active in the core areas of capacity building, problem solving, empowerment and change.� ...

Is it possible to retire creativity? You cannot stop being creative
[24 October 2004 - Times of India] You cannot stop being creative till you stop breathing. And this is as true of a painter and a writer as it is of a scientist and a sportsperson. The argument is not: 'I was born an artist so I will die one'. You have to nurture your creativity - intellectually as well as with skill. ...

Optimism and the elderly
[17 October 2004 - Nashua Telegraph] A positive and optimistic attitude can protect elderly people from becoming frail, according to new research exploring the power of positive thinking. Positive attitudes have been known to speed up the healing of fractures, slow the progression of HIV infection and protect against heart disease and stroke. The new study adds to a growing literature on the virtues of being optimistic, having self-esteem, being happy and enjoying life. The seven-year study sampled a large number of elderly Mexican Americans in the Southwest. Frailty was measured using criteria such as weight loss, exhaustion, walking speed and grip strength. People with the most positive attitudes at the start of the study had the smallest declines as time went on, according to University of Texas researchers Glenn V. Ostir, Kenneth J. Ottenbacher and Kyriakos S. Markides. ...

The Nonprofit Boon from Boomers
[18 October 2004 - HBS Working Knowledge] A new study by the Harvard School of Public Health identifies baby boomers as a great potential source of volunteers in the future. But nonprofits better start making their pitch now. ...

Scientists Detect Two Decision-making Pathways in Human Brain
[15 October 2004 - National Institutes of Health] In a classic Aesop fable, the Ant diligently stores food for the upcoming winter, while the Grasshopper lounges in the summer sun oblivious to the impeding change of season. Like the characters in this tale, people are often torn between impulsively choosing immediate rewards or more deliberatively planning for the future. And now new research supported in part by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), suggests why: human decision-making is influenced by the interactions of two distinct systems in the brain which � like the Ant and Grasshopper � are often at odds. The finding, published in the October 15, 2004, issue of Science has broad implications for predicting economic and behavioral health patterns, says Richard Suzman, Ph.D., Associate Director of the NIA's Behavioral and Social Research Program. "This landmark study has the potential to reshape what we should look at as we try to understand how people make both health and economic decisions," Dr. Suzman says. "Since many health and economic decisions involve choosing between short term gratification and long term delays of rewards, this approach and its finding are likely to have a significant impact on our ability to influence health and economic behaviors such as diet, exercise, and saving for retirement." ...

Health, Retirement Needs Challenge an Aging America
[28 September 2004 - National Institute on Aging] The National Institute on Aging (NIA) gathered eminent researchers September 28 to discuss with journalists, �How can we prepare to meet the challenges of an aging population?� The answers, at least according to this NIA-supported group of leading social, behavioral, and economic scientists, will come from creative thinking and new approaches to some of today�s most difficult questions, such as the rise in health expenditures and major gaps in personal savings for retirement. The NIA is part of the National Institutes of Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In just 7 years, the leading edge of the Baby Boom will reach its milestone 65th year. This �birthday� signals the rapid aging of the U.S. population, a time which will pose both challenges and opportunities for the nation�s health care system and the American economy. Today�s day-long media briefing, �Health and Wealth in an Aging America,� offered the latest findings and trends in important areas of research funded by the NIA. The wide-ranging session focused on health issues such as gender differences in health and the value of and variations in medical technologies. It also examined the relationship between health and wealth, the psychology of retirement savings, and ways to measure national well-being. ...

Walking away from work: Retirement looms for many as boomers age
[17 October 2004 - The News & Observer] For months, David McGehee pondered how to break the news to his boss. After 25 years with Progress Energy and a long career as an auditor and project analyst with the electric utility, he was thinking of calling it quits. It shouldn't have come as a surprise to anybody, really. McGehee, who will turn 58 next month, has been eligible for his employer's retirement benefits for nearly three years. But it was still a big, and emotional, step he took that day in June when discussing his pending departure openly for the first time. His company expects soon-to-be retirees to give only three month's notice, but McGehee -- who has not yet set a retirement date -- thought his manager deserved more time. ...

National Institute on Aging, industry launch Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative
[13 October 2004 - EurekAlert!] The National Institute on Aging (NIA) in conjunction with other Federal agencies, private companies and organizations today launched a $60 million, 5-year public-private partnership -- the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative -- to test whether serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), other biological markers, and clinical and neuropsychological assessment can be combined to measure the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study could help researchers and clinicians develop new treatments and monitor their effectiveness as well as lessen the time and cost of clinical trials. The project is the most comprehensive effort to date to find neuroimaging and other biomarkers for the cognitive changes associated with MCI and AD. ...

When Small Ideas Add Up to Something Big
[15 September 2004 - HBS Strategy & Innovation] Managers in hot pursuit of innovative ideas -- ideas that have the potential to jump-start growth and increase profits -- often assume that bigger is always better. Not so, Alan G. Robinson and Dean M. Schroeder argue in Ideas Are Free: How the Idea Revolution Is Liberating People and Transforming Organizations. In the authors' view, a single-minded focus on blockbuster insights blinds managers to the numerous contributions small ideas can afford. Robinson and Schroeder note that by ignoring or discounting small ideas, managers may be shutting the door to an assortment of benefits, such as improved in-house and external processes, increased competitive advantage, a variety of cost-saving devices, and the possibility of building on small ideas to foster larger ones. Learn how heeding minor suggestions could help you foster growth and gain a competitive edge. ...

Old age a 'burden' to employers: Many employers treat older people as a burden, according to a new report
[11 October 2004 - BBC News] Old age is often seen as "an illness" with "no cure", says the report, drawing on four years of research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). It calls for elderly people to be involved in planning the policies and services which affect them, to combat age discrimination. The research found older people's need for a good quality of life was ignored. Instead, they were often seen as a problem to be solved, or as sick and vulnerable "patients" whose rights were restricted by their need to accept health or social care services. ...

'I'm Chris. I'm 61. I had to go back to work to survive'
[10 October 2004 - Guardian (UK)] Ahead of a major report on Britain's pensions crisis, this report reveals a generation running out of money. ...

Is Aging an Altruistic Adaptation?
[27 September 2004 - Betterhumans] A new aging theory has challenged Charles Darwin by proposing that aging is an altruistic adaptation that helps groups of organisms survive. Developed by molecular gerontologist Valter Longo of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, the theory hinges on natural selection through "group" selection. ...

Boomer Health Care Dilemma
[29 Seeptember 2004 - CBS News] Are rising health care costs among the elderly really a bad thing? Does where you live determine the type of medical care you receive after you retire? Why do aging women get sicker while aging men die faster? Those are just some of the questions experts are trying to answer as the first wave of Baby Boomers approaches retirement age in 2011. Rather than rely on their families to care for them in retirement, researchers say Baby Boomers will face a new set of challenges in order to stay healthy longer. ...

Alzheimer's disease is not accelerated aging
[29 September 2004 - EurekAlert] Certain brain changes that are common in normal aging are not the beginnings of Alzheimer's disease. Recent research by cognitive aging experts suggests that changes related to Alzheimer's disease appear in distinct regions of the brain and reflect unique pathology compared with changes that occur in older adults without dementia. "We're getting a better understanding of the complex constellation of factors that change [in the brain] with aging," said Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher Randy L. Buckner of Washington University in St. Louis. "When you start to look across the literature, lots of data points converge suggesting there are certain changes that take place in aging that are not what cause Alzheimer's disease." ...

Exercise Strengthens The Mind Of An Aging Population
[4 October 2004 - TheMatureMarket.com] The latest link between exercise and the brain comes from two studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association. One study based on degrees of walking for exercise of senior men over 70 years of age, discovered that those men who walked very little had twice the risk of dementia as those who walked more than two miles a day. A second study showed that women 70 and older who were more physically active scored better on cognitive tests than those who were less active. Women who walked for at least an hour and a half each week did better on the tests than those who walked for less than 40 minutes. Exercise Improves Brain Chemicals ...