A survey of caregivers revealed some unflattering and inaccurate sterotypes about seniors. For instance, almost 40 percent stated that seniors feel “grouchy”, when most seniors say they are seldom angry.

Some other stereotypes discovered in the study by the University of Alberta, Edmonton Canada:

* 25% of seniors are in institutions - in fact, only 5% of all seniors require long term care

* a large number of seniors can’t care for themselves

* seniors are not adaptable to change

* all Alzheimers patients are incontinent

Lead author Tiana Rust said the study showed education about aging is needed to dispel these stereotypes.

“It’s important that people learn more about what it is to be an older adult and also to know what Alzheimer’s and dementia are about. It is important to recognize that older adults are a very heterogenous group, ranging from very vital and capable to those in the last stages of dementia. They fall all along the continuum.”

The study results are published in the latest issue of Educational Gerontology.

According to a study of 947 adults aged 30 to 91, it was found that older adults preferred exercising with people in their own age group to working out with younger adults.

Exercising with peers increased with older adults’ interest in exercise itself, and exercising in groups of adults their own age was more appealing than exercising alone.

Working out has both physical and emotional benefits for all adults, but for older adults it is vital to stay healthy and mobile. Finding the appropriate group setting for regular exercise can help keep seniors motivated and moving.

The study appears in the April issue of Annals of Behavioral Science and was authored by Mark Beauchamp, Ph.D.

Psychologists are finding that there is one thing that improves as we age - our outlook. Sutdies show that as we age, we are more balanced in the way we process emotional information.

Research at the University of Colorado was conducted that studied the way people of different ages reacted to emotionally charged images. The images were viewed for a few seconds only while brain reaction was monitored. Participants clicked a mouse to register which category these images fell into.

The results showed that younger adults pay more attention to emotionally negative images than positive ones. The 55+ age group had different results.

“But the new finding from our study was that the older adults, ages 55 plus, didn’t show this so-called ‘negative bias.’ Instead they tended to show a better balance between paying attention to both negative and positive images.”

The article, Looking at the Sunny Side of Life: Age-Related Change in a Event-Related Potential Measure of the Negativity Bias, is published in the journal Psychological Science.

Getting older provides positive outlook

Exercise holds many benefits in terms of enhanced health and outlook. Exercising our bodies also has a beneficial effect on our brains. Researchers have known for a long time that people who exercise do better on memory tests and now they know why.

Evidence shows that exercise causes the growth of new neurons in the brain. Imaging the brain using MRI, researchers were able to see neurogenesis in the dentate gyrate following exercise. The dentate gyrate is a region in the hippocampus that has previously been linked to age-related memory loss.

Keeping active is the key to good health for our bodies and our minds. For more information read NEW REASON TO HIT THE GYM: FIGHTING MEMORY LOSS.