|
|
Oct. 20, 2006
Keeping your mind in shape
Part of staving off aging is keeping yourself busy, healthy, active.
MONIKA ULLMANN
In a recent speech on provincial health care, Premier Gordon Campbell
spoke often and with some concern about the large number of aging
British Columbia residents. Yet many studies have shown conclusively
that aging doesn't have to be negative. This is the wealthiest and
most active group of seniors in history and only 15 per cent are
likely to need ongoing care.
Which is not to say that everything about old age is "golden"
– indeed, ask anyone over a certain age and they'll tell you
that aging isn't for sissies. But there's a fine line between recognizing
that aging brings challenges and buying into the subtle and not
so subtle forms of ageism our culture encourages.
One of these is the belief that people slow down, mentally and physically.
For those who believe it, slowing down becomes a self-fulfilling
prophecy that leads, more often than not, to an early demise. Everything
we know about aging points in the opposite direction - the more
active people are physically and mentally, the happier and healthier
they become and the longer they live.
There is no shortage of positive role models in the Jewish community;
there are thousands of healthy and very active older people ranging
across a wide spectrum from late middle age into advanced old age.
Age, like everything in life, is relative. At the Harry and Jeannette
Weinberg Residence, 80 is definitely the young end of the scale.
"Most of our 60 residents are actually in their 90s,"
said residence leader Vanessa Trester. "But that doesn't mean
they don't know what they want; they tell us when something isn't
to their liking."
Though the Weinberg residents generally have some physical challenges,
they are an active group, engaging in t'ai chi, yoga, crafts, regular
outings and shopping trips. And they are continuing to learn.
"One of our most popular speakers has been an art history lecturer
from Langara, and we have authors and police officers come in and
give talks. It's all part of offering cultural, mental and spiritual
stimulation," said Trester.
This mix of activity, speaking one's mind, social interaction and
continuous learning is exactly what keeps people fit and happy,
say local authors and gerontologists Sandra Cusack and Wendy Thompson
in their award-winning 2003 book, Mental Fitness for Life: 7
Steps to Healthy Aging. They cite a famous study of 678 Catholic
sisters, aged 75 to 106, to prove their case. Researcher David Snowdon
examined the medical histories, cognitive abilities and brains of
the nuns, and found dramatic evidence that the brain doesn't age
the way the body does. Attitude is indeed everything: analysis of
the autobiographies of the nuns, written when they were young, showed
that those who were the most optimistic outlived their more pessimistic
sisters by nearly seven years. In other words, a positive outlook
is in itself a powerful predictor of mental fitness into old age.
Discovering one's creative side also plays a big role in this. Embracing
their creative side is central to the way Arnold and Nassa Selwyn
live their life, for example. They keep themselves so busy that,
according to Arnold, "Things with us are hectic – I need
another day in the week to do everything."
The couple begins their day with a one-hour walk to Queen Elizabeth
Park – and then Nassa might go off to the University of British
Columbia to attend her studio class in sculpture. "UBC offers
free classes to seniors, so I'm taking advantage of that,"
she said. Nassa is also taking classes through the Florence Melton
Adult Mini School at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.
She said it took her two years to figure out just how to program
her time after she retired from her prominent role as a registered
nurse active in her union. "I did too much at first,"
she conceded. "Now, I'm very selective in what I take on."
Aside from her new interest in sculpture, she paints in acrylics
and, together with Arnold, she's an active and enthusiastic member
of JCC Showtime, a group of 22 women and men who put on regular
shows at hospitals and seniors centres.
Both Arnold and Nassa keep up with current events by reading newspapers
and Time magazine, though they caution against too much viewing
of television news. "My 90-plus mother, who is very active
mentally, was watching Newsworld all day; she was just glued to
that screen and it was upsetting her, so we persuaded her to just
watch the news once a day," said Nassa. Arnold also reads articles
on the Internet and makes use of the Isaac Waldman Jewish Public
Library, on whose committee he sits. Indeed, between swimming, cycling,
walking and community activities, there simply isn't any time to
think about being "old."
Contributing to society is another vital aspect of keeping mentally
fit. Karon Shear, co-ordinator of the Jewish Seniors Alliance of
Greater Vancouver, said the organization has 2,000 names in its
database and that age doesn't seem to affect their most active members.
"We just got a new treasurer, David Frankenburg. He's 91 years
old and sharp as anybody; he's just incredible," she said.
JSA is a nonprofit umbrella group comprised of B.C. Jewish organizations
for seniors and works as an advocacy group on behalf of seniors
55 years and older.
One of the regular contributors to the JSA's quarterly newsletter,
Seniors Line, is retired judge Herman Litsky, who said that
keeping both body and mind active is the key to staying healthy.
"I make a conscious effort to do more all the time, but I believe
that body and mind are inextricably intertwined and there has to
be an athletic component," he said. "And you must have
the courage of your convictions – though it's wonderful to
have a wife like mine, who gives me that support and that extra
push."
Litsky has just started to play the piano and said he enjoys the
old Broadway tunes. "I put on the headphones, so my wife doesn't
have to listen," he laughed. Humor is clearly a part of how
he lives his life and reading Litsky's stories bears this out. "I
once wrote this piece called 'What Goes Up Must Come Down,' "
he recalled. "It was about how I fell in love with a blood
pressure device."
Take it from the experts: although aging well isn't rocket science,
it does require getting off one's physical and mental butt –
no buts allowed.
Monika Ullmann is a Vancouver freelance writer and editor.
^TOP
|
|
