Can Wisdom Protect Against Loneliness?

A fascinating new study of loneliness found that adults are at risk across the entire lifespan, but especially during their late-20s, mid-50s and late-80s. Equally interesting: the researchers say that wisdom can help protect against loneliness. That f… Continue reading

What Is Age-Friendly Health Care?

(Editor’s note: This story is part of a special report for The John A. Hartford Foundation.) It’s no secret: As we get older, it’s likely that we spend more time with doctors. And as people are living longer and the number of aging people in America is… Continue reading

The Perception vs. Reality of ‘Old’

When I began to write this article, a woman friend age 89, called. She told me, “I walked six miles today. The Fitbit said that I did my steps.” “How did you feel?” I asked. “Tired,” she replied. “But then Bill wanted to have sex. So, I did that too.” … Continue reading

Grandparenting: Time to Look Back and Move Forward

If you have just learned you are about to be a grandparent, congratulations! You are likely eager to meet this new addition to your family and may already have expectations about the role you will play in his or her life. However, we’ve all heard stori… Continue reading

Author Jonathan Santlofer Reflects on Grief

Before The Widower’s Notebook became an eloquent and poignant memoir, it was six composition-style notebooks filled by the novelist and artist Jonathan Santlofer in a nightly practice which he says “kept him grounded” at a time when he felt wholly “dis… Continue reading

6 Great Health Books to Read This Year

We hear a lot in the news and from the many health and aging advocacy organizations about how we can live better and longer lives if we take good care of ourselves. There are so many aspects to self care, including nutrition, fitness, mental health and… Continue reading

Musicians Bring Healing to LA’s Homeless

(Editor’s Note: This story was previously published by PBS NewsHour.) Vijay Gupta is a Juilliard-trained violinist and MacArthur Genius Award winner who’s been using music as a way to connect with L.A.’s homeless and incarcerated and promote healing. A… Continue reading

Losing Herself in Art and Finding Joy

My mother, Anne Pols, celebrated her 87th birthday in November. In that same month, she also made her art show debut, exhibiting a half-dozen freehand colored pencil drawings at the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook, N.Y. She and six other residents of… Continue reading

Contentment in the Winter of Life

(The following is an excerpt from Winter’s Graces: The Surprising Gifts of Later Life) The relationship between age and contentment is well documented, though scientists are still seeking to better understand the reasons for that link. Long years of li… Continue reading

Cultivating Curiosity at Any Age

Many years after he first started college, Todd Makler is back in school and happy to be there. Makler, 72, is currently a student in the Stanford Continuing Studies Program and takes courses every quarter at the Palo Alto university. A retired physici… Continue reading