–Sit Up And Listen: You Need To Keep Moving

-Parental Guidance: Advice For Caregivers Of Aging Parents

-Back Off: What Happens To Create A Hunched Back?

-Help Yourself: Hire A Neighbor With The New Start-Up “Umbrella”

-Smoke Signal: The Impact Of Marijuana On Your Brain

-Not So Plain Jane: A Look At The Life Of Jane Fonda

-The Last Word

Sit Up And Listen: You Need To Keep Moving: If you’ve found yourself slowing down and sitting more often in your middle or later years, you’re not alone. According to new research out of the University of Texas, adults ages 38-50 become noticeably more inactive during these years, sliding into a more sedentary lifestyle that can wreak havoc on your health. This drop in activity levels can mean you’re less resilient and more prone to such health problems as diabetes, obesity or high blood pressure as you age. So get up off the couch and read more about the research findings Here.

And for some added incentive to get you upright and moving, you need to know that walking- even just moving around as you take a phone call or listen to some music- is not only vital for your physical health but can also make a difference in your brain health. As you move your legs, you not only get your heart going but you pump vital chemicals into the brain that support neural connections and can even help to delay the onset of dementia. So stand up, move around and show your brain some love by Reading Here.

Parental Guidance: Advice For Caregivers Of Aging Parents: Caring for aging parents can run the gamut from paying bills and monitoring bank accounts to such hands-on care as bathing, grooming, or feeding. If you’re fortunate, you can afford some assistance and you might have even made a longer-term plan for providing care for your older parents. But it’s just as likely you’ll be in a complicated and at times burdensome caregiving relationship, often without a roadmap or a clear end in sight. This can be especially physically and emotionally draining if you yourself are over 65 and had not planned to be caregiving for parents in their late 80s or beyond.

If you’re investigating the option of assisted living for your parents, you’ll need the advice of Carolyn Rosenblatt, who has some reality-based guidance ofwhat you can and can’t expect for your parents in an assisted living environment. If you’re trying to manage your parents’ finances and investments, you’ll be wise to take a look at this recent New York Times article on the excessive fees that brokers might charge on your aging parents’ accounts. And if you’re in the market for the latest books on caregiving, take a look at these recommendations from Next Avenue. Or, for a lighter look at creating positive caregiving experiences with your aging parents, check out Christina Britton Conroy’s book, How To Have Fun With Your Aging Parents: I Want to Go to Lithuania.

Finally, for those times when your caregiving help is rebuffed or resisted by older parents, take a look at the advice of Jody Gastfriend from Care.comwho has suggestions for finding and creating caregiving solutions that work for both you and your parents.

Back Off: What Happens To Create A Hunched Back?: Undoubtedly, you can summon up the image: an older person, spine curving toward the ground, hunched over in a downward direction. Technically, this condition is known as “kyphosis” but in everyday language, we talk about “a hunched back.” Estimates are that between 20-40% of adults become afflicted with this condition, with osteoporosis being the leading cause in older people. Between compression fractures of the spine and weakened muscles no longer able to provide support, the natural curve of the spine becomes exaggerated. For a general overview of kyphosis or “hunchback,” Read Here.

The best remedy? First and foremost would be to prevent or slow down the onset of osteoporosis. What you want to do when you are diagnosed with osteoporosis is engage in weight-bearing exercises that cause you to stand on your feet and have your bones support your body weight. For some useful exercises to put you on that path, pick up your free weights and Click Here. Specifically for kyphosis, there are also exercises to build up back muscles and improve your posture. So grab your foam roller and Read Here.

Help Yourself: Hire A Neighbor With The New Start-Up “Umbrella”: Aging in place may be the goal for most of us, but making repairs in that place is another matter. For example, can you get up on a ladder to change the battery in a smoke detector? And what about when your appliances are on the fritz or your air conditioner conks out on a hot day? You may like your independence but can you manage all the responsibilities that go with it?

If these questions make you queasy, then you need to discover Umbrella, a new start-up currently serving Long Island but with plans to spread out nationwide. The concept of Umbrella is to provide help for the household chores that inevitably accompany living in your home by employing “neighbors,” i.e., primarily retirees who have the skills and willingness to come fix whatever needs fixing. With an annual membership fee for customers (who must be 65 and older) and an hourly fee per job, you can rest assured that your toaster will be fixed, your ceiling fan repaired and you may even make a new friend in the process. Or, if you’re handy, this may be an opportunity to utilize your talents, earn a little money and stay engaged. Check out the Umbrella Facebook pageand read more about this clever idea to hire your peers to help you remain at home.

And if you’re curious about other start-ups out there aimed to assist older individuals, check out this recent listing from A Place For Mom.

Smoke Signal: The Impact of Marijuana On Your Brain: Whether it’s a hazy memory from your youth or a swirl of smoke today, most of us have had some exposure to, and experience with, marijuana. And as a generation, baby boomers constitute the fastest growing demographic of cannabis consumers in the now-legal marketplace that exists for marijuana. In fact, for those 65 and older, there was a 250% increase in marijuana use from 2006 to 2014.

But before you break out the munchies, there are some words of caution you need to hear. First, take a look at this overview of marijuana and how it affects users. And while there are an ever-increasing number of new and novel ways to ingest cannabis and experience the euphoria associated with it, you also need to be aware of new research published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that found that, among conditions and causes affecting blood flow to the brain, marijuana use seems to prematurely age the brain by 2.8 years. Furthermore, additional research found that chronic cannabis use can lead to memory deficits. So before you take a toke, take a look at the research Here.

Not So Plain Jane: A Look At The Life Of Jane Fonda: Whether as an ingenue, political activist, fitness guru or now television star, actress Jane Fonda has always been a somewhat controversial and yet fascinating public figure. Now 80 years old, Fonda stars in the fifth season of her Netflix show Grace and Frankie. Along with actors Lily Tomlin, Sam Waterston and Martin Sheen, Fonda and Tomlin star as housemates thrown together after their law-partner husbands reveal their own romantic relationship. As she has done throughout her career, Fonda breaks down stereotypes and societal norms to portray an older woman not interested in playing by the rules.

Fonda has never shied away from public discussion of difficult topics. And as she begins what she describes as “her last act,” she’s also the focus a new HBO documentary premiering on September 24th: Jane Fonda in Five Acts. You can read a fascinating interview with Fonda as she looks back on her life and her current roles Here. And to watch a rollicking interview of Fonda and Tomlin together discussing their show and female friendship during a TED talk, pick up your remote and Click Here.