Good morning and welcome to agebuzz… Headlining today’s topics:

-Black And Blue: Bruising As We Age

-A Care In The World: Legal Tips For Family Caregivers

-Out Of Character: Changing Personalities As We Age

-Sleep It Off: The Implications Of Sleep Apnea

-Hanging Up Those Boots: Be Wise And Plan For Retirement

-Women’s History: Portraits Of Modernist Women

-The Last Word

Black And Blue: Bruising As We Age: Have you ever wondered where that bruise on your arm came from?  Or how that latest black and blue mark appeared when you don’t remember bumping yourself?  Turns out, it’s not just a figment of your imagination but another consequence of getting older. Bruising seems to be more common as you age. The usual reason for a black and blue mark is that the small blood vessels near the skin surface are broken or injured. For multiple reasons, as we age, our skin gets thinner and it’s easier to break a blood vessel, especially if there’s less fat to protect the little capillaries under your skin. Medications can also play their part to thin your blood and lead to bruising. Most of the time this is a harmless nuisance, though occasionally something more serious may be going on. Best to keep an eye out, and an understanding of what’s going on, by Reading Here.

A Care In The World: Legal Tips For Family Caregivers: Anyone who’s a family caregiver understands the huge array of responsibilities that can arise from that relationship: physical health, emotional well being, medications and, of course, all of the logistics, to name a few. But there are also challenges that involve legal considerations.  Being informed may save you, and your loved one, a lot of trouble if you’ve planned in advance to address these issues. Luckily, the American Bar Association has your back. It’s just published a new tip sheet addressing major legal issues that arise for family caregivers. From decision-making authority to caregiver discrimination, it’s a valuable list to have on hand, as you lend a hand to a loved one. Find out what’s involved Here.

Out Of Character: Changing Personalities As We Age: Are you the same person you were when you were a young child? That question raises profound philosophical considerations but also has more pragmatic implications: how, if at all, has your personality changed as you have grown up and gotten older? According to new research, your younger personality may have no bearing on, or relationship to, who you are as a senior citizen. Publishing in the journal Psychology and Aging, researchers from the University of Edinburgh examined the personalities of 14 year-olds and then re-examined that same group at the age of 77.  The results? Personality can shift dramatically as you age and there may be no such thing as a stable personality over time. While there are some caveats to this research, this may be good news for those of us who would like to forget about the people we were during our younger, more awkward years. Find out more by Reading Here, and take a look at the published study Here.

Sleep It Off: The Implications Of Sleep Apnea: Anyone who’s had a restless night knows how difficult life can be without a good night’s sleep. And it’s not just the hours in bed that count: it’s also essential that your sleep be deep and restful- fitful sleep can be as harmful as no sleep. Given the essential need for quality sleep, there’s reason to be worried if you have sleep apnea: moments when you stop breathing during sleep and literally starve your brain of oxygen. While you may be able to tolerate that as a younger person, as youage, sleep apnea not only robs you of sound sleep but has major implications for your overall health. If you think this might be your problem, do yourself a favor and get informed and examined. For further understanding, Read Here and Here.

Hanging Up Those Boots: Be Wise And Plan For Retirement: Whether you’re on the cusp or it’s a far off fantasy, retirement requires thought and planning: how to fill your time, how to find meaning and perhaps most practically, how to keep your funds from disappearing too fast. There’s an entertaining and informative documentary now on-line that may jumpstart your thinking.  From Detroit Public Television, “When I’m 65: Rethinking Retirement in America” provides useful analysis and information from some of our best minds on the topic, including finance and behavioral economics experts. It’s a valuable one hour watch that may benefit both you and your younger loved ones- it’s never too early to plan in advance. And, there’s a corresponding website that has additional retirement and government resources to keep you in the know. To find out more, Go Here and to visit the website and watch the documentary, Click Here.

Women’s History: Portraits Of Modernist Women: With the arrival of March, we also have the start of Women’s History Month. And to start you off, there’s a new art exhibit at the University of Cincinnati, Clermont College, that has fascinating portraits of some amazingly creative women from the Modernist period of 20th century art: some famous, including Gertrude Stein and Peggy Guggenheim, and some less well known, such as Lotte Jacobi and Claude Cahun. Perhaps most remarkable, the paintings portray these women well into their later years, when traditionally such women have been shunned or ignored but in fact, have often flourished and continued their creative careers. Artist Kim Rae Taylor has put together an amazing exhibit of some of the greats- as the mature women they became late in their lives. Find out more about the exhibit Here and see the fascinating figures Here.

THE LAST WORD: “Some people are old when they’re 18 and some people are young when they’re 90. You can’t define people by whatever society determines as their age. Time is a concept that human beings created.” Yoko Ono