Los Angeles Jewish Home

Throughout the entire lifespan, most people crave human contact — whether it’s comforting hugs from a close relative, or private intimate moments with a spouse or significant other. It’s a need that never diminishes or goes away, regardless of our age.

Sometimes, though, we make the mistake of ignoring those desires in our elder community. The fact is, though, seniors make up one of the most social, active, and — if they’re healthy enough — sexually active age groups.

This is where Katherine Forsythe comes into the picture. Holding an MSW from the University of Cincinnati, she is one of the foremost authorities on sexuality and aging. Forsythe works with individuals and senior care communities across the country, educating people of all ages on issues revolving around intimacy and relationships.

Katherine’s unique area of expertise makes her a go-to person for health media. She has been quoted in WebMD, 50Fabulous, Active Over 50, and other publications. And her websites, www.getasecondwind.com and www.katherineforsythe.com, attract wide audiences.

On Wednesday, October 26th, 2011, the Jewish Home will be welcoming Katherine Forsythe to our 14th annual Sarnat Symposium. Her presentation, Honoring the Whole Person Throughout the Lifetime: Senior Sexuality Sensitivity Training for Professionals, promises to be enlightening and informative. If you’re interested in hearing Forsythe in person, visit our Sarnat Symposium webpage and register for the event today!

Labels: Aging, Get A Second Wind, GetASecondWind.com, Intimacy, Katherine Forsythe, MSW, Relationships, Sarnat Symposium, Seniors, Sexuality, Staff

Last month, Jeanna Bryner, Managing Editor of LiveScience, published a list of 5 reasons why aging is awesome. It was so good we wanted to share it with you.

Intro
The saggy, wrinkly view of aging may have a much more positive, and real, conterpart: Getting older has its perks, lots of them, from needing less sleep to having better sex. Here's a look at why the crowded candles on your birthday cake, as you enter middle age and beyond, are just plain awesome. (photo credit: stock.xchng)


More Awake Time
That's right, more time to enjoy life. Seniors need about 1.5 hours less sleep on average than their younger counterparts, according to one study.

In another study of 110 healthy adults who were allowed eight hours of bed time, the oldest group (ages 66 to 83) snoozed about 20 minutes less than the middle-agers (ages 40-55), who in turn slept about 23 minutes less than the youngest group (ages 20 to 30). The simplest explanation for the fewer shut-eye minutes: Older adults need less sleep.

Another explanation, and one supported by research: Older adults just can't get the sleep they need, taking longer to nod off, spending less time in deep sleep, and having more trouble staying asleep. In fact, more than half of men and women over the age of 65 say they suffer from at least one sleep problem, with many experiencing insomnia, according to WebMD. (photo credit: © Rozenn Leard | Dreamstime.com)


Wearing Rose-Colored Glasses
Being happy may come down to attitude, studies have shown. That's great news for older adults, whose brains seem to be wired to remember the good times. A brain-scanning study published in 2010 in the journal Cortex revealed that older adults' rose-colored glasses may be linked to the way the brain processes emotional contents.

The researchers scanned the brains of participants — young adults (ages 19-31) and older adults (ages 61-80) — as they viewed a series of photographs with positive and negative connections between the brain regions that process emotions and those known to be important to the successful formation of memories, particularly when processing positive information. The same strong connections weren't found for the younger participants.

Aging adults don't just recall blissful moments of the past in vivid colors. It's also becoming apparent to researchers that being old could lend itself to optimism. In one recent study, both old and young participants where shown virtual faces portraying sadness, anger, fear and happiness. Eye-tracking technology revealed the older participants, ages 18 to 21, focused on fearful faces, while those ages 57 to 84 zeroed in on the happy faces, avoiding the angry ones. The researchers, who detailed their study in 2006 in the journal Psychology and Aging, think that as a person's life expectancy decreases, they might focus on what makes them feel good now rather than focusing on the negative. (photo credit: Dreamstime)


Being Grandparents
No diapers. No temper tantrums. No fevers and ear infections. Aging means you get to enjoy grandkids, as if they were your own, but without any of the frustrations. Pop-pop and G'ma can do no wrong in the eyes of grandkids. Research has suggested grandparents can increase the chances of a child surviving during the high-risk period of infancy and childhood in traditional societies. The same link may hold true in Western societies, according to David A. Coall of Edith Cowan University. "We felt if such an association existed in Western societies, where the fertility and childhood mortality rates are much lower, grandparents could make a substantial public health contribution to our society," Coall said in a statement.

And you're good at it, too. A study published in the November 2008 issue of the journal Pediatrics, by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, showed that kids cared for by a grandmother were 50-percent less likely to get injured than children cared for by daycare workers, other relatives, or even the child's own mother. (photo credit: © Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com)


More Wisdom
Like a fine wine, older adults have been aged to perfection it seems, at least when it comes to wisdom. As you age, you may have a tougher time tuning out irrelevant information, but this lack of focus can actually boost memory, according to research published in 2010 in the journal Psychological Science. More specifically, seniors have the unique ability to "hyper-bind" the irrelevant information, essentially tying it to other information that is appearing at the same time. This type of memory could help older adults with decision-making and problem-solving, the researchers suspect. For instance, if a manager wants to promote an employee, it might be helpful to recall not just that employee's work performance, but also his interaction with other employees. (photo credit: © Denis Raev | Dreamstime.com)


Rewarding Sex Life
Sex drive seems to stay strong as you age. One 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine surveyed adults ages 57 to 85, finding more than half of 75- to 85-year-olds reported a roll in the hay at least two to three times a month, and 23 percent reported having sex at least once a week. oral sex appeared to be less "ageless." nearly 60 percent of the participants under 65 years old said they had engaged in oral sex in the previous 12 months, compared with 31 percent for the over-75s. (photo credit: © Alexander Raths | Dreamstime.com)

What else do you think makes aging awesome? Leave a comment!

Labels: Aging, Cross Post, Elderly, For the Body, For the Mind, For the Spirit, Grandma, Grandpa, Grandparents, Healthy Aging, Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience, Optimism, Seniors, Sexuality, Sleep, Staff, Wisdom

Cross posted from the Daily News.


By Dennis McCarthy

The story goes that the rabble rouser was having breakfast with her husband one morning soon after arriving at the Jewish Home for the Aging when the wiseguy sitting at the next table came over and introduced himself.
"I'm Harry Schackman," the wiseguy said.
"I'm Dorothy Creager and this is my husband, Morty," the rabble rouser replied. "Nice to meet you."
Harry sat down and spent the next half-hour filling them in on their new digs and all the gossip. When he got ready to leave, he turned and said to Morty kiddingly, "Watch your wife, I'm madly in love with her."
Now most guys would have told the wiseguy where to go, making a pass like that, even kidding, but Morty just smiled.
If he had a buck for every time some guy told him his wife was a knockout and he'd better keep an eye on her, Morty would have been a millionaire.
"The guy's a nut case, Morty," Dorothy said, watching Harry walk back to his table.
Within days, though, the rabble rouser, her husband, and the wiseguy were fast friends. Their rooms at the home were right next door to each other.
After Harry would visit his wife of 70 years, Belle, who was ill and living in another section of the home, they would all hang out together.
One day, about six years ago, an ailing Morty asked Harry to make good on the wisecrack he made the first day they met.
"I'm going, Harry," Morty said. "Take care of my wife."
A month later, Morty died. Soon after that, Harry's wife, Belle, passed away.
"After a few months, Harry asked me out to dinner," Dorothy says, "I was so nervous. I hadn't dated in 62 years. We went to some nice restaurants. He wined and dined me. He was a real gentleman."
They'd eat and talk about their lives. Dorothy showed Harry an old column I had written about her 19 years ago when she was a 71-year-old student at Cal State Northridge working on a degree in psychology.
Dorothy wanted to start a fraternity/sorority for senior citizens on campus. Someplace they could go to blow off some steam after a hard day in class.
Why should the kids have all the fun, she said? Seniors needed a social life on campus, too.
"Morty and I went to one of the sorority dances and everyone thought we were the chaperones," Dorothy told me back in 1992.
Her Animal House for seniors never got off the ground, but Dorothy's reputation as a rabble rouser was born. After graduating, she began teaching classes at senior retirement homes for the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Harry's background, on the other hand, is a little shadier. His son, Ed Schackman, says his dad was "a street wise guy from Cleveland and later Detroit."
"He hustled for a living, knew guys in the Jewish mafia and spent a lot of time in Vegas in the early years. He drove a lot of guys around."
Let's just leave it at that, says Ed, who threw a big shindig recently for his dad's 100th birthday and Dorothy's 90th - inviting both families.
That's the short story on the rabble rouser and the wiseguy. The long story is that they're an item over at the home these days.
Harry had to move a block away to another section of the home for health reasons, but Dorothy visits him every day.
"We're company for each other, care for each other," She says. "Our families want us to be happy and we are."
So, in the end, the wiseguy turns out to be a stand-up guy - keeping his promise to Morty.
Watching out for his wife, the rabble rouser.
Dennis McCarthy's column appears in the Los Angeles Daily News on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. You can e-mail him at dennis.mccarthy@dailynews.com.


Read the original story here.

Labels: Aging, Around the Home, Couples, Creager, Daily News, Dennis McCarthy, Eisenberg Village, Love, Marriage, Residents, Romance, Senior Living, Sexuality, Staff

Labels: Around the Home, Humor, Love, Romance, Sexuality, Staff, Valentine's Day, Video, YouTube

Cross posted from The Jewish Journal's Keeping the Faith blog


By Ilana Angel


As Valentine’s Day approaches, it’s easy for a single gal to feel a little sad. It’s the day of love, and even though my life is full of people that I love, and who love me, the one thing that will be missing from Valentine’s Day is sex.  According to countless medical journals, a woman reaches her sexual prime in her 40’s, but if you’re single, there is nobody to have sex with.
Sex is the one thing that separates a relationship from all others.  It is special, important, required and the single greatest thing about being a grown up.  At 44, I have reached a level of comfort when it comes to sex.  I have no hang ups talking about it, or embracing my body so I can enjoy it. Sex is a great thing, and it took me a long time to get to this place.
There is no longer a need to suck in my stomach, or wear lingerie that covers parts that have relocated to new positions.  I may not have the greatest body, but it’s mine, I know it, and I am an expert at operating it.  Who would have thought that at 44 I would feel sexier than I did when I was 24?  It’s a beautiful thing, and it’s being wasted by my lack of sex.
Just when I was about to pour myself a glass of wine, and enjoy an afternoon pity party, I was sent a video that has changed my perspective.  It turns out there is no need to panic.  Even if it takes me a little longer to meet someone worthy of having sex with, I will still be able to have and enjoy sex.  Whether I’m 45, God willing, or 100, God willing, sex is going to be great.
The Los Angeles Jewish Home has created a special video about finding love.  It introduces us to Dorothy and Harry, Jeanette and Ira.  These love birds are in their 80’s, 90’s and yes 100 years old, and they are having sex!  God Bless these crazy kids, and bravo to them for openly talking about their sex lives.  I think they are adorable.
I could still have a pity party because there are people in their 100’s having more sex than me, but instead, I am going to think positive and take comfort in knowing each day I get older does not mean I am one day closer to never having sex, because sex is coming.  Eventually. I will impale myself if my next sexual encounter happens when I’m 100, but it’s coming.
According to the Los Angeles Jewish Home, “being in love can boost self-esteem and decrease depression and anxiety. Being happy in a committed relationship can improve your immune system, leading to fewer colds and visits to the doctor, and can even lower blood pressure.“  Sex is a great thing that also happens to be great for you.  Whoo hoo!!!
Story continued after the video. ED. NOTE: This video really gets cooking at the 2 minute mark.
 
I hope that everyone has love on Valentine’s Day.  Whether you believe in the holiday or not, it’s a day to embrace love.  I embrace love every day, which is both a blessing and a curse.  Maybe I need to focus less on love and more on sex?  Maybe instead of dating online, or getting set up by my friends, I need to hang out at the Los Angeles Jewish Home.
I’m not going to date a resident, but perhaps I could meet a son, grandson, or doctor, who is also inspired to find love by these love stories.  Mazel Tov to these lovely couples, and congratulations to The Jewish Home for this brilliant piece of marketing.  I’m still having wine, but instead of a pity party, I am toasting to finding love, and knowing it will come if I keep the faith.


Read the original blog post here.

Labels: Couples, Cross Post, Ilana Angel, Jewish Journal, Love, Residents, Romance, Sexuality, Staff, Valentine's Day, Video

A Roundtable of Jewish Home Residents Takes on the Big 5

In a era that is redefining the way Americans age, many myths still surround what we can expect in our senior years. The Jewish Home recently brought together a group of residents to explore some of the attitudes that have traditionally cast doubt on the potential of senior years.

Myth 1 — Advanced Age Means Illness

While most seniors acknowledge making adjustments for changes in balance and eyesight, a vast majority of the routine challenges of aging are easily handled with good medical care, dietary accommodations, and physical conditioning, and do not impair functioning.

According to "Older Americans 2008," a federal study of how older Americans are faring, 54% of women and 43% of men report having arthritis, percentages that are actually far lower than was commonly supposed.

Though about half of senior Americans have high blood pressure, it is easily managed with medication. And as health care and awareness improve, fewer American seniors are battling heart disease, asthma, chronic bronchitis, cancer, and diabetes.

Myth 2 — Your Learning Days are Over

"That's a lot of baloney," says Dorothy Creager, 88, who teaches classes to fellow residents at the Jewish Home, and witnesses the transformation of people who, after years of living alone or in a learning-poor environment "come in with long faces and go out loving themselves."

The explosion of senior education opportunities in "Emeritus" universities and community colleges throughout the U.S. is another testament to the ongoing desire to learn, share, and apply knowledge at every stage of life.

Computer skills, arts training, and memory enhancement classes are all well-subscribed and appreciated by residents of the Home, who recognize that the exercise of the mind is a cornerstone of self-fulfillment and well-being at every age.

Myth 3 — Social Contact Declines

For the vast majority of us, social experience is simply matter of opportunity. Socializing among seniors is no different, and is facilitated in residential settings.

Given the proximity of people and events at places like the Jewish Home, resident Shelly Balzac, 81, pointed out, "It's actually pretty difficult to avoid the social interaction!" Mealtime conversations are often a whirlwind of exchanges about politics, the arts and current events, club and family news.

Resident Bette Dashoff, 85, finds it much easier to socialize today than she did living independently. Getting dressed and out to dinner with friends, while one of the great pleasures, became more and more of an effort. "The minute I came here," she said, referring to new social opportunities, "I became a different person."

Myth 4 — Depression is Inevitable with Age

While depression can affect older adults, it is not the norm as the "Older Americans 2008" report reveals. Only 17% of women and 11% of men experienced clinical depression when data were gathered between 1998-2004.

"Mood swings can and do happen," said Dorothy Creager, but she compares them, only half-jokingly, to teen mood swings.

"Health problems can be discouraging," noted Shelly Balzac. But like most seniors he's learned to adapt and accept the health challenges that come with aging.

When the blues set in, Irving Mandel, 90, takes a step back and counts his other blessings. His bottom line about being blue or bored is: "I don't have time for this!"

Myth 5 — Sexual Interest and Activity Decline

"Guess again!" said Dorothy Creager. "As long as we have blood in our veins, there is not a problem."

Jeannette Schlesinger, 83, also took exception to the myth. "I don't feel any differently than when I was a young woman," she said.

Ellis Simon, 85, pointed out that romance and sexual desire seem to be alive and well among members of his generation, pointing out the many couples who met and began relationships at the Home.

A recent University of Chicago research project reflects this never-give-up attitude, as well. Researchers found that most people 57-85 still consider sexuality to be an important part of their lives. Sexual activity is still common, the research found, among people in their 70s and well beyond.

Kathleen Doheny is a Los Angeles-based journalist who also writes for WebMD.com, healthday.com, Weight Watchers, the Los Angeles Times and other publications.

Labels: Aging, Depression, Doheny, Feature Articles, Friendship, Illness, Learning, Longevity, Myths, Sexuality