By Joanne Byrne
Retired and Rejuvenated
Joanne Byrne.
Yes, we still have many great adventures ahead. The quality of our life, for the most part, is in our own hands. That is, unless we are unfortunate enough to be suffering from a debilitating disease that is taking that control away from us.
But let’s be optimistic. Sixty-six percent of people in their 70s feel good about growing older and they expect plenty of good years to come. We are 26 percent less likely to die of cancer than those in our parent’s generation, thanks to powerful treatments and a drop in smoking. We can stack the deck in our favor even further by getting regular recommended cancer screenings like those for colon cancer. The American Cancer Society reported that the number of colon cancer deaths fell 52 percent between 1970 and 2015 because of these screenings.
Medicine has also made tremendous advances in heart disease. Diabetes, the third serious health threat after cancer and heart disease, can double your risk for a silent heart attack and raises your odds for a stroke. But fortunately older adults can benefit from healthy lifestyle changes to a greater degree than any other population group. If you don’t have a fitness and diet program designed to attack this threat, now is the time to get one.
Studies show we make better decisions than we did when we were younger. In fact, older folks lead the pack when it comes to wisdom. We have a greater ability to compromise and maintain perspective than people in their 20s to 50s, according to a University of Michigan study. Though most of our brain has been slowly shrinking for decades, the hippocampus (the memory center) has mostly stayed the same. As we age, the hippocampus can begin to lose volume, especially if we have been subjected to a lifetime of stress, poor sleep, and less-than-stellar nutrition. To prevent this, we should be making an extra effort to eat dark, leafy greens such as kale and spinach, which deliver protectors to the brain.
Sleep is definitely more elusive. Up to 50 percent of adults in their 70s have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. We wake up more easily and spend less time in deep, restorative sleep. One in three adults in their 70s take sleep aids, even though some of these can boost your risk for falls and drowsy, disoriented thinking during the day. A better plan is to cut back on sleep robbers such as caffeine in the afternoon or alcohol at bedtime and drink less water after 7 p.m. to prevent extra trips to the bathroom at night. Exercise during the day can help. Experts say if you don’t fall asleep in 10 minutes or so, it’s better to get up, go to another room and read until you feel sleepy.
Saving your hearing and eyesight are key to protecting your brain. More than two thirds of adult in their 70s have hearing loss in one or both ears due to decades of noise exposure. Both hearing and vision have been linked to a higher risk for cognitive and memory problems. It is important to schedule those annual vision screenings for glaucoma and cataracts. If hearing loss is a problem, there are many new, less cumbersome and highly effective hearing devices available on the market.
What are the other things we can expect from our bodies in our 70s? Our hair grows more slowly as we age, and it may look thinner as some follicles quit working and others produce finer strands. The color fades, causing about 56 percent of women to color their hair at age 70. Overall growth in our fingernails slows down, allowing for less frequent trips to the nail salon. Our skin craves more moisture and we may have fewer sweat and oil glands. Taking shorter showers and using a daily moisturizer can help. We bruise more easily because we have less collagen in our skin, leaving the skin thinner and more fragile. Our joints are stiffer, especially in the morning. And to top it all off, we are getting shorter.
I did say we should be optimistic. If we know what to expect, and what is normal for our 70-year-old bodies, we can accept it, smile, and believe we still have adventures in life to look forward to.
Joanne Byrne served as the Senior Services Coordinator for the Town of Orange. She is now actively and happily retired. Email her at joannebyrne41@gmail.com to share your thoughts on retirement.