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Feeling good and having a positive attitude has often been associated with good health. A new review of existing research seems to prove this is true for senior citizens – positive emotions do influence healthy outcomes for older people.

“We all age. It is how we age, however, that determines the quality of our lives,” said Anthony Ong of Cornell University, author of the review article in Current Directions in Psychological Science. The data he reviews suggest that positive emotions may be a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and illness.

There are several pathways through which a positive attitude can protect against poor health later in life. For example, happier people might take a proactive approach to aging by regularly exercising and budgeting time for a good night’s sleep.

On the other hand, these people may avoid unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking and risky sex. The benefits of these healthy lifestyle choices may become more important in older adults, as their bodies become more susceptible to disease.

Optimism reduces stress that reduces disease

An optimistic outlook has also been shown to combat stress – a known risk factor for a lot of disease. Studies have found that people with stronger positive emotions have lower levels of chemicals associated with inflammation related to stress. Also, by adopting a positive attitude people may even be able to undo some of the physical damage caused by stress.

Ong, a developmental psychologist, became interested in the study of positive emotion during graduate school when he learned about what researchers call the paradox of aging: Despite the notable loss of physical function throughout the body, a person’s emotional capacity seemed to stay consistent with age.

Ong speculates that if positive emotions are indeed good for our health then, “one direct, measureable consequence of this should be the extended years of quality living.”

The review, “Pathways Linking Positive Emotion and Health in Later Life,” is published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. It publishes concise reviews on the latest advances in theory and research spanning all of scientific psychology and its applications.

An elderly person that smokes could lose their life. Many elderly smokers lay their cigarettes around and forget they left them lit, on the counter, beside their bed, or on a table. The cigarette could fall on the ground and start the sheets on fire, and since elderly people don’t move quickly, this could lead to a major fire.

If the elderly has health conditions, that affect their breathing, smoking will make their health condition worse. Breathing problems for an elderly person can be hard for them to cope with, however, when someone who is elderly smokes, it can be deadly.

An elderly person could stops wanting to exercise, just for the fact that smoking leaves them breathless. Then the elderly person wouldn’t feel like exercising.

Elderly people a lot of times develop Alzheimer’s or Dementia. This is a serious disease that affects the brain.

When an elderly person with either of these illness smokes, this can lead to many falls, injures and health issues, Smoking can lead to more falls, more confusions, and poor circulation, that is why it is so important to help illuminate more problems.

Someone who is elderly could hurry trying to find their cigarette’s that they’ve become addicted to, and fall, or get too upset, and cause much irritability for themselves. This can hurt their mental ability to think calmly. Smoking is known for causes excitability, and stressful anxiety, leaving them feeling in poor health for quite some time. The elderly may smoke a lot, and not want to eat much. This can lead to ill health, such as stomach problems or low energy levels.

If an elderly person smokes, smoke could get in their eyes, and make it hard to see where they are going. This could lead to falls that could cause a broken leg or hip. It also makes their eyes feel much discomfort. Smoking could lead to poor eyesight, due to smoke actually getting in the eyes.

If the elderly smokes it can hurt their circulation, leaving them with poor range of movement. Leaving their physical and emotional functions to suffer. Smoking can cause many health risks for the elderly, anywhere from starting a fire, to added breathing problems.

If someone smokes around someone who doesn’t that can cause damage, due to second hand smoke. It does as much harm to the non smokers, as to the one who actually smokes.

An elderly person who smokes can develop heart disease, or cancer of other organs. Lung cancer is one of the areas most hit hard by smoking. If the elderly person gets cancer, due to smoking this will forever change their health.

(HealthDay News) — Fall screening and prevention should be a regular part of health care for older adults, and all programs to prevent falls should include exercise, according to updated guidelines for preventing falls in the elderly.

A summary of the American Geriatrics Society and British Geriatric Society recommendations — based on a review of fall prevention studies — appears Jan. 13 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

“Falls are one of the most common health problems experienced by older adults and are a common cause of losing functional independence. Given their frequency and consequences, falls are as serious a health problem for older persons as heart attacks and strokes,” guideline panel co-chair Dr. Mary Tinetti, of Yale University School of Medicine, said in a journal news release.

Doctors and other health professionals should ask older patients if they have fallen recently or if they are unsteady when they walk. If so, health providers should assess patients for problems such as muscle weakness, poor balance or a significant drop in blood pressure when the patient stands. If they have any of these problems, then older adults should receive the interventions outlined in the guidelines.

These include:

• Exercises to improve balance, gait and strength, such as Tai Chi or physical therapy.
• Making changes to reduce the risk of falls in the home and while doing daily activities.
• Reduction of medications, particularly those that affect the brain, such as antidepressants and sleep drugs.
• Boosting low blood pressure and managing heart rate and rhythm abnormalities.

“We found that the most effective trials for preventing falls in older people looked at multiple interventions rather than just one; previous studies have indicated that it is more effective to focus on one intervention, but because we looked at not only what recommendations were given, but also which carried out, we’re confident that multifactorial interventions is the best course of action,” Tinetti said.