Mindful Transitions, LLC

07/16/2025

It was so impressive to hear about this empowered group of retirees who fought back against privatized Medicare and won! Bravo Cortland County Retirees! 👏

Medicare Advantage plans are spreading across upstate New York, despite a reputation for denying care. In Cortland County, retirees kept it at bay.

07/14/2025

Experts say physical activity is vital for brain health, and activities like walking, team sports and a technique that blends movement with spoken affirmations can all be helpful. The latter combines high-energy cardio with emotive mantras designed to mentally uplift participants. "Whatever the form of workout that you do, any time of day you can work out is the best time of day to work out because our lives are so busy," said neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki.

To keep your brain health in good shape, you should engage in physical activity as often as you can. Here's a neuroscientist's preferred form of exercise.

07/11/2025

You can be miserable before you eat a cookie, and you can be miserable afterward. But never while you're eating a cookie.

Ina Garten,
cook, cookbook writer, entrepreneur

Clearly we're still celebrating World Chocolate Day from earlier in the week 🤣. Have a great weekend ahead and for goodness sake eat the cookie!

07/10/2025

Research led by pharmacists shows that while most older adults and caregivers are content with current treatments and trust their doctors, they are open to reducing the number of medications they take if advised to do so by their health care providers. Researcher Caroline Sirois outlines the risks of polypharmacy such as drug interactions and adverse effects and recommends strategies like questioning new prescriptions and de-prescribing to manage risks.

In the majority of cases, medications help patients. But even when treatment of individual illnesses is effective, treatment as a whole can become problematic.

07/07/2025

Apparently it is World Chocolate Day. We'd love to celebrate with this chocolatey goodness ❤. Hope you find a way to celebrate today!

07/04/2025

Wishing you a peaceful holiday weekend!

06/27/2025

How's your summer coming along? Hopefully you're experiencing beauty wherever you are. Wishing you a peaceful weekend!

06/26/2025

Fatigue in older adults is often mistakenly accepted as normal. However, it can indicate underlying health issues like anemia or hypothyroidism. To maintain energy levels, older adults should consult their physicians, improve their diets by increasing protein intake and reducing ultraprocessed foods, and take care of their oral health. Strength training can help counteract muscle loss, while adjusting sleep patterns and room temperature can improve sleep quality. Reviewing medications with a health care provider is also important, as some prescriptions can cause fatigue. Addressing depression is crucial, as it can also lead to feelings of exhaustion.

Talk through your symptoms of low energy with your physician who can help tease out the nuances, which may lead to a specific diagnosis.

06/25/2025

Are you eating enough dessert?!? Helen Denmark of Birmingham, Ala., celebrated her 108th birthday last year. Denmark said she keeps herself feeling young by "drinking wine, eating dessert, and flirting with men with mustaches." The Census Bureau estimates there are about 101,000 centenarians in the US, a number expected to quadruple by 2054.

An Alabama woman celebrating her 108th birthday offered an unusual answer to how she keeps herself feeling young: "drinking wine, eating dessert, and flirting with men with mustaches."

06/24/2025

If a gratitude journal is a waste of time, then more time is a good thing, say Harvard researchers. A survey conducted in 2016 of 50,000 nurses who averaged 79 years old found something noteworthy: the higher their gratitude score, the less likely they were among the 4,609 who had died since the 2016 survey. The study needs more data, say the researchers, but it can't hurt if deliberate acts of gratitude and journaling one's mental health helps lead to a longer life.

Count your blessings, be thankful for what you have, and always look on the bright side: A new study of just under 50,000 older nurses in the US suggests that an attitude of gratitude is linked to extra years at the end of your life.

06/23/2025

Research identifies eight traits common among centenarians: being married, resilience, thicker brain regions, specific genes, familial longevity, healthy lifestyle choices, extroversion, and predominantly being white women. The centenarian population in the US is projected to quadruple in the next three decades, raising important considerations for future health care and social structures.

For one: thicker brains, specifically in the region involved in memory and decision-making.