Interesting Green: Ageing

Source Website: https://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/see-ageing-positive-light-not-problem-tan-chuan-jin
By Seow Bei Yi, The New Paper, 14 October 2019 at 06:00 am

PHOTO: (Centre in blue) Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, chairman of the People's Action Party Seniors Group, and Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat (centre, in pink) with the PAP.SG Ambassador Handbook at an event to mark International Day of Older Persons.
TNP PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Picture posted by Seow Bei Yi, The New Paper on 14 October 2019 at 06:00 am
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https://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/see-ageing-positive-light-not-problem-tan-chuan-jin

Ageing should not be talked about here as a problem, as such a perception can end up becoming self-fulfilling; instead, it should be reframed to a more "positive agenda".

Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, chairman of the People's Action Party (PAP) Seniors Group (PAP.SG), which champions elderly causes, said this yesterday at an event to mark the International Day of Older Persons.

"Should we not try to be able to say this - that our best years are ahead of us... Can we also aspire to become the best place on earth to retire and grow old in?"

PHOTO: "Should we not try to be able to say this - that our best years are ahead of us... Can we also aspire to become the best place on earth to retire and grow old in?"
Picture posted by Cindy Grundsten (photographer and creator of this picture) on 05 April 2013 - Springtime
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Not just as a result of policies and initiatives at the government level, Mr Tan said, but also because of community activities and individual participation.

"Can we, at the individual level, embrace this and participate fully in a whole effort to make this vision a reality?" he asked at the event organised by PAP.SG.

Mr Tan, who is Speaker of Parliament, said while an ageing population brings deep and serious challenges to many societies, Singapore may be able to thrive, given its effectiveness in making long-term plans to tackle related issues.

PHOTO: "Can we, at the individual level, embrace this and participate fully in a whole effort to make this vision a reality?" Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, chairman of the People's Action Party Seniors Group, asked at the event organised by Picture posted by CindysArt on 09 February 2015 - Young love
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At the event in Hotel Miramar Singapore, Mr Tan announced that the PAP.SG had produced a handbook to help party activists explain government initiatives to seniors, as they had found it challenging to track recent policy changes.

The PAP.SG Ambassador Handbook covers healthcare initiatives and other areas, including Central Provident Fund contribution rates for older workers.

Dr Thang Leng Leng, a member of the PAP.SG executive committee, who helped produce the handbook, said: "The idea to have the handbook is pretty much ground-up... It is just a first step and is in a ring file, so that we can always update it when there are new policies."

PHOTO: "The idea to have the handbook is pretty much ground-up... It is just a first step and is in a ring file, so that we can always update it when there are new policies."
Picture posted by TwilitesMuse on 21 December 2011 - Rose 9
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Mr Tan said it is the latest of a number of party members' initiatives for seniors, which range from a Senior Friendship Circle in Ayer Rajah to assistance programmes for vulnerable seniors in Bedok.

The handbook will also be available online.

Speaking to the media later, Mr Tan said that several years ago, terms such as "silver tsunami" were used to describe the ageing population.

"But what if we say, let's turn it around because it's inevitable... Why don't we make it a positive thing? A lot of it entails us embracing it," he said.

PHOTO: Mr Tan said that several years ago, terms such as "silver tsunami" were used to describe the ageing population. "But what if we say, let's turn it around because it's inevitable... Why don't we make it a positive thing? A lot of it entails us embracing it," he said.
Picture posted by TwilitesMuse on 21 December 2011 - Rose 6
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The event was attended by others involved in PAP.SG, including former minister of state Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Joan Pereira and Nee Soon GRC MP Henry Kwek.

PHOTO: Mr Tan said it is the latest of a number of party members' initiatives for seniors, which range from a Senior Friendship Circle in Ayer Rajah to assistance programmes for vulnerable seniors in Bedok.
Picture posted by TwilitesMuse on 21 December 2011 - Rose 7
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PHOTO: The PAP.SG Ambassador Handbook covers healthcare initiatives and other areas, including Central Provident Fund contribution rates for older workers.
Picture posted by TwilitesMuse on 21 December 2011 - Rose 5
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PHOTO: Old age is a blessing from the Lord. We should never be afraid of aging. When living by the Word of God old age brings wisdom that is able to help and guide others in need. Old Christian men and women have a duty to help the younger generation. Old aged people have been through many different hardship experiences that will help your walk of faith. They have made mistakes and they will help guide you so you don’t make the same mistakes.
We have confidence that we will be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our body may appear older, but our insides are being renewed daily. An elderly Christian never truly gets old. Christ became perfection on your behalf and died for your iniquities. Life will never stop being all about Christ. Always remember that you’re still alive for a reason.
No matter what age Christians should never fear death. [2]

"He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:8-9).
Picture posted by kokecit on 21 October 2008 - The Lost Son
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By Seow Bei Yi, The New Paper, 14 October 2019 at 06:00 am
FOR MORE, READ THE STRAITS TIMES
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now

Reference

[1] Seow Bei Yi, The New Paper, See ageing in a positive light, not as a problem: Tan Chuan-Jin, posted on 14 October 2019 at 06:00 am, https://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/see-ageing-positive-light-not-problem-tan-chuan-jin

[2] Fritz Chery, Old Age, posted on 19 September 2018, https://biblereasons.com/old-age/

Links

Apple App Store - https://itunes.apple.com/sg/app/the-new-paper/id949361491?mt=8

Google Play Store - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sph.mypaperpdf&hl=en

1 Corinthians 1:8-9 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+1%3A8-9&version=NIV

https://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore/see-ageing-positive-light-not-problem-tan-chuan-jin

Source Website: http://www.todayonline.com/daily-focus/education/how-game-ageing-process
By K Ranga Krishnan, 18 October 2013

PHOTO: The scientists slowing the ageing process
David Sinclair, Professor, who works in Boston and ageing laboratory at Harvard Medical School have been working on synthetic drugs called "Sirtuin activating compounds" (STACs) with the help of his colleagues.

STACs are believed to restore health in humans. The trials in humans are now ongoing.
Posted by Surya Gaire, Jan 31, 2011 at 6:38 PM PST
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http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8056153-the-scientists-slowing-the-ageing-process

As we age, our attention slows down, together with our ability to react. This becomes more evident when we reach our late 60s. We forget names of people, especially those we meet only occasionally. We go to a grocery store but can’t remember some of the things we want to buy. More seriously, it affects our driving — like responding quickly enough in an emergency.

A game called Neuroracer was used to observe how an older driver reacts while using a hand-held controller

in a computer-simulated game. The amount of effort needed was measured by looking at the brain’s electrical activity. Older test participants had to exert more cerebral effort.

We naturally compensate for much of this decline by making suitable adjustments, like making a list before going to a grocery store or by driving a bit slower. Wisdom does compensate for a decline in natural ability to learn.

Can we do something to reduce this slow decline? Many popular books suggest that reading, playing Sudoku or mahjong or solving crossword puzzles help.

PHOTO: In a mouse study, the investigators found that reducing the activity of one type of gene increased the average life span of the mice by about 20%; this is comparable to extending the human life span by about 15 years (i.e., from 75 to 90 years). In addition, they found that memory, cognition and some other important traits were better preserved in the mice as they aged, compared to a control group of mice that had normal levels of a protein released by the gene.

Possibility that targeting the gene with drugs that inhibit its activity might one day be at least part of a strategy for prolonging longevity in humans. An immunosuppressant known as rapamycin is currently on the market. It can decrease the activity of the aging gene; however, the researchers caution against taking this or similar drugs at present because they have side-effects. Thus, they should only be taken for currently approved uses.

They note that major obstacles exist in regard to translating the findings to humans.
Posted by Robin Wulffson, M.D., August 30, 2013
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http://www.examiner.com/article/life-span-of-mice-increased-20-by-genetic-manipulation

A small study in Japan showed significant improvement in elderly folks’ cognitive function after they participated in a daily programme that involved simple arithmetic and language questions. This improvement was sustained for six months afterwards. But many large studies have also shown that such programmes did not improve skills beyond what was targeted.

What about video games and computer programmes? Recently, many brain-training games like Brain Age and Brain Challenge have become popular. It is claimed that playing them for short periods of time can improve a wide variety of functions, such as memory and attention.

Most forms of video game training are designed to improve specific skills — and rarely go beyond those skills.

More than 11,000 people took part in a large study under the BBC’s auspices. One group received training that focused on reasoning, planning and problem-solving; a second group on memory, attention, visual processing and mathematics. A third group served as control subjects.

Those who received training showed improvements in their targeted skills compared to the control subjects, but this did not extend very much to other elements of thinking and function.

Nintendo’s Brain Age helps develop the many skills related to attention, arithmetic, language and processing speed — but interestingly, it also impacts other functions of thinking not specifically targeted. It suggests that when many skills are targeted, maybe the improvement will extend to other functions.

Dr Lee Tih-Shih at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and colleagues at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s Institute for Infocomm Research have developed a game on a brain-computer interface that involves many components, including location and the recollection of objects and symbols.

Preliminary work has shown promise that it will benefit the elderly. Further studies are in progress.

Then, there is the study just published in the international journal Nature. People aged between 60 and 85 were trained to multitask in a game based on combining driving skills with a hand-held controller along with studying signs on top of the screen.

The difficulty level increased as they got better. They played the game about three hours a week for four weeks. Those taking part in the study improved not only on their game but also in a variety of other skills.

What was striking was that the improvement lasted at least six months.

In both studies, the participants engaged in improving many and not only one skill; in the latter study, they were engaged in multitasking. So maybe, there is hope after all.

Multitasking is a given in everyday life. Maybe more and continued multitasking, as well as learning new material and developing new interests, can not only enhance enjoyment of our later years but also keep our minds healthy. Getting engrossed in an adaptive, multi-dimensional environment could keep cognitive decline at bay.

By K Ranga Krishnan, 18 October 2013

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
K Ranga Krishnan is Dean of the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore. A clinician-scientist and psychiatrist, he chaired the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences at Duke University Medical Centre from 1998 to 2009.

*This is part of a series on the way we learn. To read the other articles, visit tdy.sg/comkrishnan.

PHOTO: Appreciation for your body - Ageing is deemed unacceptable.
Posted by Juliette Clancy Counselling and Workshops
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