Wellness

Last month I had the pleasure of attending a conference at which I heard world renowned geriatrician Dr. Bill Thomas speak about healthy aging. According to Dr. Thomas, the key to having what he refers to is a “good old age” can be summed up with the term: MESH, which stands for Move, Eat, Sleep, Heal. As a practicing physician, Dr. Thomas has found that neglecting to do any of these four things can have dire consequences as we age.

Below are the answers to the true or false statements published in last month’s column.

1. FALSE. It is NOT very difficult for older adults to learn new things. It is well established that those who regularly practice their learning skills maintain their learning efficiency over their life span.
2. FALSE. Clinical depression DOES NOT occur more frequently in older than younger people. There is no evidence that depression occurs more often in older adults than younger groups, and it should not be considered a normal part of aging.