pretty dusty room watching this video
3 Likes
Using VCR’s for obscure films that can’t be found on other mediums to dig up samples for hip hop tracks is a thing. Your dad is just on a level of coolness that most can’t comprehend.
2 Likes
I think that if you have a variety of other interests and can stay intellectually and socially engaged after you’re retired then I speculate that you can probably dodge this bullet. So ironically it’s the workaholics that are probably most exposed to a total mental health collapse in retirement.
3 Likes
I think the evidence suggests that it is the same with your brain. Lack of use contributes to lack of function.
I think that work is certainly potentially mentally stimulating for this purpose, but is it the best way for most people? For a lot of people work comes with a lot of other baggage, stress and physical inactivity being two of them. I wonder if just steering people away from “margarita” retirement (as the article describes it) would be a better approach than encouraging people to stay in the workforce forever.
2 Likes
This all seems so nebulous. Is a checkout cashier exercising their brain more than someone watching movies, reading and playing candy crush?
What is this level of stimulation being pursued?
I think it could more be a coincidence in the aging cycle and when Alzheimer’s etc becomes more prevelant. I suspect many people tax their brain more outside of work. The average job is pretty simple and completely repetitive.
Exactly what I tell my mother. She’s retiring this year and because of her family history, she’s paranoid of getting dementia. It’s why despite those retirement communities being deplorable paradise, it might actually be good for her to socialize with others since she isn’t a very outgoing person.
1 Like
There is some pretty good research out there on game playing and dementia/alzheimers. I believe there are a number of companies developing games specifically around the research. Its interesting because out parent’s generation is not the game playing type, but ours most certainly is. I wonder if we will see a downturn in the numbers of dementia/alzheimers as those born in the age of video games moves into old age.
I think most of the research shows a decent correlation with dementia and mental “exercise”, but causal links are a lot more dubious. There are similar links with things like sleep quality, air pollution, gum disease, herpes, etc. There’s just so much unknown about the causes and contributors of dementia and everybody’s kind of grasping blindly.
3 Likes
So you want to be active but not too active.
2 Likes
STD’s are actually pretty common in nursing homes and long care facilities. Yeah, your grandma still does the nasty.
Dad played tennis to 84. Does yoga now. Reads every day (or best he can now with his eyesight). Plays lots of cards. Still golfs. Survived stroke at 92 with most if not all of his marbles in tact.
Obv I think genes have a huge amount to do with it, but I doubt you can be sedentary and have much of chance to make 90 with reasonable fitness and your wits about you.
Need some luck too, no fall with a banged head or broken hip.
3 Likes
I kind of knew this dude who was 104 when I last interacted with him and I think lived several years after that. Active AF. I’d have put him in his 80s based on appearance.
One of his favorite things to do was always call anyone in their 60-80s, “young man” (he never did it to women). I always thought it was hilarious. I figure if you make it to 104, you’ve earned it.
3 Likes
Theres an idea called “cognitive reserve” which I think does a better job of explaining it. Not sure you can avoid dementia, but if you have more cognitive power then you do better as you are losing it.
My grandma had a stroke (maybe 86 at the time) Afterwards she said to us.
“Well. They gave me all these tests at the hospital and said I’m fine because I scored 100%. But I’m not sure. It took me an hour and a half to solve the Guardian Cryptic Crossword this morning”
(For non english. This is a notoriously hard puzzle/crossword.)
5 Likes
That’s a good story. The physical and speech therapist were glad I was present for their initial sessions with Dad. They looked to me to know what his baseline was before the stroke before it was apparent they he was pretty agile of mind and body. I assume when they see many that old that the expectations of baseline are lower.
So I fully get passing certain things doesn’t mean there isn’t a defecit for that particular person.
2 Likes
I would have guessed her being in an urn and all would have finally but a stop to that.
2 Likes
No kink shaming!
1 Like
Update.
After sorting out the last scam, I got added to old man rugbys online banking so I could monitor this.
A couple of months ago. Found some dodgy credit card payments. So cancelled the card, raised fraud to chargeback the charges. Huge pain in the ass.
Looked online now. About 400 bucks of new fraudulent looking transactions. Ffs.
He needs a card to pay for stuff online. We may need to cancel his card, or restrict somehow. But that just means another thing i will have to do for him.
2 Likes
Maybe try a prepaid debit card? At least there’d be a limit to losses, I don’t know. Only thing I know is that if dad is getting dementia, then the list of things you’ll be doing for him will only get much longer.
Debit card is probably the way to go. Probaboy harder to chargeback but can greatly limit the potential damage done.
I can put limits on a credit card. I dont think a debit card helps. The limit would be more than has been stolen now.
It’s the hassle of the chargebacks and replacing the card every time that’s a pain in the ass.
1 Like