Work Til You Die?

A survey about retirement showed that:

Nearly one-third, or 30%, now plan to work until they are 80 or older — up from 25% a year ago, according to a Wells Fargo survey of 1,000 adults with income less than $100,000.

Overall, 70% of respondents plan to work during retirement, many of whom plan to do so because they simply won’t be able to afford to retire full time.

And … 37 percent say they’ll never retire and will work until they are too sick or die.

Planing to work until you die [or are too sick] may not be a great goal to aim for – unless you already love what you do and do not see it as work!

Many self employed people do not retire – but I think this survey used people who work for others – as that’s usually what having a job means.

For this population, working until you are too sick may not be a real option.

Will your boss keep you around if you keep missing days for illness, or are seen as “too old” or “too sick” to continue what you are doing?

And what kind of jobs will there be for those in their 80s [or older]?

If one can be found, it may be a minimum wage position and a part time one at that.

The article offers advice on planning for retirement, but that too, is not always an option in this economy.

This is why I always suggest to most everyone, that you find a home based business NOW – while you are healthy and working.

One where you are your own boss and have the potential to earn as much as you can – and maybe even QUIT your day job and enjoy what you are doing and actually have the time and money to enjoy your 80s.

I am putting together some information and will post it on another of my sites [which I am revamping.]

If you would like to be notified when it is ready leave your name and email on the form to the right

or way down at the bottom [I still need to figure out how to have it right here]

Changing My Diet, Exercising, And More

This past year I have made many changes in my both diet and my exercise habits and I thought I’d post about it.

Earlier this year I started doing yoga maybe once or twice a week and then tried every other day. At some point I just knew that 20 minutes a day every day seemed to be worth aiming for.

So that’s what I’ve been doing – with an occasional missed day – but not very frequently – and never two days in a row.

Additionally I’d been reading bad stuff about wheat and realized that I have had what feels like an addiction to bread. I don’t get that way when I make my own bread, but this feeling happened with what is considered healthy and local, but store-bought bread. So I decided – okay – I’m eliminating much of the wheat from my diet.

I feel so much better and I no longer have many of those cravings for bread or wheat yummies like donuts and cookies.

I also cut back on dairy by eliminating milk. I’m now only using almond milk in my coffee but I still eat cheese and Greek yogurt.

And I added more fruit, garden fresh vegetable, and stayed with my usual consumption of nuts.

The upshot of all of this is that I not only lost weight but also inches around my hips and my waist.

And having a puppy again has gotten me outside walking a LOT – no matter what the weather is.

I’m not sure which of my changes was the most relevant – and as a researcher, I should be interested…but I’m happy with the results so…..

Brain, Connections, and Genius

Recently there have been new studies about Einstein’s brain – which was removed and preserved.

Modern technology is being used to look at it, and like the research we read on brains and memory as we age, it seems that thickness, and connections make a difference in our brains.

Einstein had more connections between the two halves of his brain than do most of us. 

The research wonders if anyone else can come along with the genius of Einstein. 

I guess a question I would raise is which came first, his brain or his genius thinking?

Is it possible to “train” our brains to make more connections between the halves and to have it form more convoluted patterns [such as found in earlier studies of Einstein’s brain.]

And – another question is” are there people with brains’ like this who are not making use of it like Einstein did?

I guess you can tell I have some research training  😎

I think we are into a period of new brain research and that is good for young and old!

Brains, Memory, and Aging

A study on what are called “superagers” shows that not all older people lose memory as they age.

This study looked at those over 80….

“Then we found something even more surprising, which was even harder to believe,” she says. “In an area called the anterior cingulate of the brain, it was actually thicker in the superagers than it was in the 50-year-olds.” The anterior cingulate is a small brain region important for attention and memory.

A youthful cortex and thicker cingulate suggest to Rogalski that these two brain regions have been spared the typical age-related shrinkage, which may be what protects against the memory decline seen in most elderly people. Superagers also have fewer risk genes for Alzheimer’s than typical 80-year-olds, she notes.

 I am not sure why some brains at 80 look like younger ones, but I love this kind of research!

We need to learn much more about how to keep our bodies and brains healthier as we age!!

Thoughts? Comments?

thank you

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