One of the easiest and most beneficial exercises you can do is to simply switch hands to do daily activities like eating, buttoning a shirt, brushing your teeth and so on.

-       Anne Marie Gattari, GrossePointeToday.com

As we age, the brain tends to slow down.  We process information more slowly and as a result, our reflexes, which tend to move at the same pace as our mind, also slow. And keeping focus is even harder. It’s rather depressing really but, before you resign yourself to giving up all hope, take heart because there is some hope.

According to Anne Marie Gattari of GrossePointeToday.com, this downward trend is not an inevitable part of the natural aging process.  “Because our brains are constantly making new neurons, we can maximize the positive impact of new cell growth by practicing good habits and behaviors,” says Gattari.

The brain may represent one, to one-and-a-half-per cent of the body’s mass, but it needs 20 per cent of the body’s total oxygen.  And the best way to feed it is through healthy, active living.

Exercise, healthy eating, and a good night’s sleep are essential to the brain’s operating system, as well for your body.  And the exercise component doesn’t have to be strenuous.  “Walking and dancing are two of the most effective exercises.”  See how it can significantly improve your health in this 9-minute video:

23 and 1/2 hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health?

Gattari particularly stresses the importance of stimulating the brain by taking part in brain games activities.  “Inevitably people want to know if they take care of their brain this way will they stave off Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately, there’s no scientific evidence suggesting that Alzheimer’s can be prevented,” Gattari writes, but there is no harm in participating in activities that could help delay the disease-symptoms onset.

Ultimately, as Gattari has said, whether an adult has Alzheimer’s or not, taking care of yourself can make the difference between aging well or not.

- Posted by Megan

Last week we were invited to a great lunch at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. The occasion was a meet-and-greet for new research assistants in Sheridan’s SERC (Sheridan Elder Research Centre) program, and business partners involved in SERC’s project, Aging in Place: Optimizing Health Outcomes through Technology and Social Innovation.

It was an afternoon of casual introductions, amazing food and presentations by SERC partners (including PointerWare).

We were blown away by some of the work our colleagues are doing in the field of aging and thought you might want to know about it too. Here’s a partial list of senior focused companies partnering with SERC.

Recreational Respite – Provides meaningful respite solutions through individualized therapeutic programming in the home or in a small group setting.

Dynamic Brain – Distributes brain training software scientifically designed and developed by Posit Science Corporation, co-founded by Dr. Michael Merzenich, a leading pioneer in brain plasticity research.

Vintage Fitness – Fitness for 50+ – Offers personal training, group exercise classes, workshops, exercise products and on-line coaching designed to help clients achieve their health and wellness goals.

Acclaim Health – Provides in-home health care support, home and personal support aid, day programs, education and support.

Lifetimes, the Game of Reminiscence – 500 heartwarming memory prompts help loved ones share life experiences, compare histories and tell their story.

Schlegel Villages – Each Village has a Long Term Care component, with Full Service Retirement Living, Assisted Care, Memory Care and Independent Living options being added in stages.

We were born before the end of WWII

We were born before television, penicillin, frozen foods, Xerox, plastic, contact lenses, Frisbees and before the PILL.

We were born before radar, credit cards, split atoms, and laser beams.

Before tights, dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip-dry clothes – and before man walked on the moon.

We got married first – and then lived together.  How quaint can you be?

Bunnies were small rabbits and rabbits were not Volkswagons.

We were before “house-husbands,” “gay rights,” “computer dating,” and “dual careers.”

We were before day care centres and group therapy. 

We hit the scene when there were 5- and 10-cent stores.  For one nickel you could ride a streetcar, make a phone call, buy a Pepsi or enough stamps to mail one letter AND two postcards.

You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, and gas was 11 cents a gallon!

We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electric typewriters, word processors and guys wearing earrings.  A ‘chip’ meant a piece of wood, hardware meant hardware, and the word software had not been invented. 

Pizzas, “MacDonald’s” and instant coffee were unheard of.

In our day, cigarette smoking was fashionable, GRASS was mowed, COKE was a cold drink and POT was a cooking utensil.  ROCK MUSIC was a grandma’s lullaby and AIDS were helpers in the principal’s office. 

We were certainly not before the difference between the sexes was discovered but we were surely before the sex change.

We are survivors! Consider the changes we have witnessed!

- Anonymous

Many changes have occurred in technology and society as a whole has felt the shift.  Nowadays, we are living “double” the lifetime we once were.  Today, seniors may gawk at prices, just as much as youth and the aging adult do.  Slang is a non-stop reconstruction of the English language, and materials necessary to operate in life constantly improving – for better or worse.

Technology has given us access to things like never before but can everyone access it?  The Internet is a pertinent tool for being “in-the-know” about everything: news, celebrity gossip, how to use the latest gadget, etc.  The list goes on and on.

Ultimately, communication is key for staying up-to-date.  PointerWare can help ease the anxiety that may be felt when trying to access online portals by giving users an easy to read and accessible screen.  This kind of access provides the opportunity for seniors to talk to loved-ones from a distance, email and share pictures, play online games and more!

- Posted by Megan

This week we got an email about PointerWare user Dora Walton. Dora was an avid PointerWare fan for several years until this past February when she unfortunately lost her eyesight following eye surgery.

Here’s what Dora’s daughter Brenda told us in her email:

When my mother turned 85, she moved from her home to a Senior’s apartment building. Since the apartment was smaller than her house, she had time on her hands with less household chores. My husband and I bought her a computer for Christmas. This was her first experience, learning to turn it on and off properly, accessing the Internet and playing solitaire.

Once PointerWare was installed on her computer, she gained confidence in surfing the web and was able to reply to emails using the microphone we also purchased. Friends and family from far away kept in touch on a regular basis, sending photos of great grandchildren and home renovations as well as photos of the activities in their lives. Mom was able to share these photos with her friends when they visited by using the photo album in the program. It also made for interesting conversations when I visited her. (My mother also taught me where to find grocery flyers for our local food stores on the net.)

Unfortunately, losing her sight brought an end to my mom’s computer use. Thanks to Pointerware, mom had seven excellent years of web surfing and stimulating activities using your program. In this busy world where time is limited, I highly recommend Pointerware as a priceless tool to get seniors engaged in communicating with relatives friends and the world wide web.

Since its inception, PointerWare has brought the Internet to people who never thought they’d be able to get online. Seniors, people with a variety of diabilities and individuals with cognitive impairment have all benefitted. Brenda’s email however, raises an important point. While we’re big believers in the benefits that come from connecting online, we recognize there will be times when even super-simple programs like PointerWare won’t be able to help someone accomplish that task. Until then, we’re thrilled to be a part of people’s lives and be able to bring the wider world to them.

All the best Dora (and Brenda). And if any other PointerWare users care to share their story, we’d love to hear it.

- Posted by Karen

A while back, we told you about our partnership with Sheridan Elder Research Centre or SERC. (In a nutshell, SERC conducts applied research into areas of practical concern to older Canadians.) We’ve been involved in several exciting projects with SERC over the last year or two but we’re especially excited about the most recent initiative, testing the Mandarin version of PointerWare with Chinese seniors who read and speak Mandarin.

Multiple language support has always been a priority with us here at PointerWare. In Canada, where we are headquartered, immigrant seniors make up a notable portion of the population. As a group, immigrant seniors have two strikes against them when it comes to getting online. Not only do they face the same challenges as their non-immigrant counterparts, they also have to contend with language barriers that make North American software next to impossible to comprehend.

This is something PointerWare co-founder, Raul Rupsingh, understands first-hand. After Raul’s parents immigrated to Canada, his mother, Patricia, stayed home to raise Raul and his sister and consequently never needed to use a computer until family in Malaysia began emailing photos. Seeing the difficulties his mother had as she tried to retrieve the photos and learn how to email her family is one of the things that inspired Raul to create PointerWare. (You can read more about this in this article on PointerWare in Canadian Immigrant magazine.)

- Posted by Karen

If you know someone who is using PointerWare software for seniors, you’ll be excited to hear about some great new features we’ve recently added to PointerWare.

• Super-Simple Wordprocecessing
  The wait is over! Users can now create, format and print documents using PointerWare’s new built-in word processor. Perfect for composing letters, writing memoirs or typing up any other kind of document, our new word processors is just as intuitive and easy to use as the PointerWare features you’re already used to.
• Buttonator
  If the PointerWare user you help out loves to regularly keep up with family via Facebook, play a favourite chess game you’ve installed for him on his hard drive, or check out the latest news on the local paper’s website, they are going to love Buttonator. Buttonator lets anyone create custom big buttons that take them easily to their favourite websites or programs that are installed on their hard drive. No more having to remember or type in complicated website addresses, or fiddle with finding icons outside of PointerWare.
• Sent Mail and Outbox
  Can’t recall if you responded to someone’s email or remember if that thank-you note got sent? No worries – the answer is one click away with our new Sent Mail and Outbox Viewer.

Upgrade Now – It’s Free!

You can help the PointerWare user in your life upgrade now for free. Simply go to our website, download the latest version of PointerWare and install it over your exisiting PointerWare location (usually C:\Pointerware).

Let Us Know What You Think

We’re always looking for new ways to improve PointerWare for the people who are using it. Once you and the PointerWare user(s) you support have had a chance to try out these new features, we’d love to hear what you think. Click here to drop us a line with your feedback.

Thanks for being a PointerWare supporter.

- Posted by Karen

Nowadays, technology figures big in society.  Each week there is a fancier gadget on the market than the week before and each one serves a different niche.  One of the most disconcerting areas is gadgets designed for heart health.  According to a Metroland Toronto article “a heart device might save your life but leave you miserable”.

Doctors are urging patients to consider everything. “Too often, patients with advanced heart failure don’t realize what they’re getting into when they agree to a treatment.”

Dr. Larry Allen of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center commented on the article by saying, “patients may feel the treatment was worse than the disease.”

It’s important that patients who have weak heart conditions thoroughly discuss things with their doctors before considering treatments such as pumps, pacemakers, new valves or procedures.

The American Heart Association advises there should be:

• An annual talk between heart failure patients and doctors in order to set treatment goals for the present and for possible emergencies such as cardiac arrest

• “Milestone” reviews after any big change such as hospitalization, a defibrillator shock, worsening kidney problems or dementia

• Discussions not just about survival gains but also potential problems from devices or treatments, such as side effects, loss of independence, quality of life and obligations on families and caregivers

• Consideration given to palliative care, which does not mean stopping treatment.

Talk to your doctors today and gain the thorough information necessary for you to understand what you may be in for.

- Posted by Megan

Fish.  We know they live in the water and, if pressed, would probably say their memory of things last somewhere in the neighbourhood of three seconds. But would it surprise you to learn that their memories have been proven to last up to five months or that this finding has important implications for humans?

According to a current study originally published in the journal, Neurology and sited in a recent Globe and Mail article, researchers have found that the benefits of eating fish go far beyond heart health: a higher intake of omega-3 fatty acids can slow brain aging and improve memory and thinking skills.

Other studies have found that there is potentially a lower risk of dementia among people with a higher fatty fish intake: however association levels between blood levels of omega-3 fats and early brain structure changes related to dementia were not examined.

This recent study, however, focuses on just that.  Researchers had 1,575 people, average age 67, who were free of dementia, undergo a series of MRI brain scans and a number of tests that measured cognitive function and the level of omega-3 fatty acids in their red blood cells.

The Globe reported the study’s findings:

• People whose red blood cell DHA levels were among the bottom 25 per cent of the participants compared to people who had higher DHA levels:
  •  Had lower brain volumes– which represented a change of roughly two years of brain aging
  • Scored lower on tests of visual memory, problem solving, multitasking and abstract thinking

- Posted by Megan

Diet, fitness and a glass of wine a day are all well and good but it just might be the real key to living a long and fulfilling life is maintaining social relationships.

In 2010, researchers from Brigham Young University and the University of North Carolina combed through data from 148 studies on health outcomes and social relationships. (Combined, these studies involved more than 300,000 men and women.) They found that on average, people with poor social connections had 50% higher odds of death in the study’s follow-up period than did people who had stronger social ties.

It’s a good bet these findings will come as little surprise to the elders in Japan where the average life expectancy far surpasses that in other countries. (Men have a life expectancy of 78.87 years and women can expect to live a whopping 85.66 years.)

Yes diet, public health and exercise all play a role but more and more, experts are pointing the importance of maintaining social connections. In 2009, ABC News spoke to some of the countries centenarians. Tadashi Kozakai, who at the time of the interview was 101, spoke about the importance of interacting with others, something he got from his dance class.

“When you get to my age you don’t need relationships anymore like young people do, but having said that if you don’t have any human contact, it would be a very lonely life,” he said. “My dance classes comfort me.”

Shitsui Hakoishi, who was “only” 92 at the time of the interview also cited the importance of social interactions. “My customers are wonderful, they’re like family. It’s the people in this community who have kept me alive so long.”

So how exactly do you go about maintaining those social relationships in our mobile western culture where families and friends might live hundreds or thousands of miles away? Volunteering, joining clubs and associations and dropping in at seniors’ centres are great starts if you’re able.

And of course, connecting with family, friends and the wider world with PointerWare software.

- Posted by Karen

A joint research-report examining how people of all ages use online communications and social networking was released by Microsoft and AARP earlier this month.

Connecting Generations explains how online communication is bridging the generation gap. No longer seen as simply something for kids, computers and the online communication they facilitate is being embraced by elders as a method of improving family ties. “Going online actually helps them to better understand other family members or helps other family members understand them,” the report’s authors point out.

Among the report’s findings:

• 83 percent of the 13- to 75-year-olds surveyed considered online interactions a “helpful” way of communication with family members
• 30 percent of the grandparents surveyed said that connecting online helps them better understand teen and young adult grandchildren. 29 percent of grandchildren felt the same about their grandparents.
• The majority of teens surveyed believe the computer increases both the quality and quantity of communications with family members who live far away.

- Posted by Karen