The question for European science is, how do we grow old healthily?
One of the goals of healthy ageing is to live independently. This involves maintaining both bodily and mental health.
Diet and nutrition play a central role in slowing down the ageing process. We meet scientists who have studied the famous Mediterranean diet to see which, if any, beneficial effects it has on ageing.
Activities such as listening to music and singing come with many benefits for the ageing brain. Researchers are studying music and singing as a way to stimulate memories and improve emotional and social wellbeing for people living with a neurogenerative disease, such as Alzheimer’s.
While there is growing research into the processes of ageing, there are still many more questions than answers.
In this Monthly Focus, we speak to researchers trying to get to the bottom of some of the most pressing unknowns: why are vaccines much less effective in the elderly than the young? How can taking up new activities and hobbies as we age help delay the onset of cognitive decline and diseases such as Alzheimer’s?
Ask anyone in a choir why they enjoy it, and they will tell you about the euphoric effects singing has on their mental health. A team of neuroscientists and clinical psychologists based at the University of Helsinki (Finland) believe these benefits could extend to improving brain function and treating aphasia.
Vaccine potency drops in the elderly and little is known about why this happens. Now European scientists are on a mission to understand waning immunity and to develop strategies that make vaccines work effectively in all age groups.
Most of us think about getting older from time to time, noticing how the years slip by and counting the grey hairs. Some of us even try and fight back, rubbing anti-ageing creams into our cheeks and turning to ideas like fasting.
Tweaks to our diets could be one of the most effective ways of preventing disease in Europe’s ageing population.