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Technology making older people sharper; texting IS romantic; lack of sleep linked to illness; BMI predicts onset of Alzheimer’s

Click above to hear discussion on these subjects on The Morning Show with Declan Meehan.

This item was first broadcast first on East Coast FM on 3 September 2015

People 50 and over, are sharper today than they were before, research shows, and scientists believe that this is due to the mental demands required of them by technology and social media (Source: www.tech2date.com)
People 50 and over, are sharper today than they were before, research shows, and scientists believe that this is due to the mental demands required of them by technology and social media (Source: http://www.tech2date.com)

Today’s 50-year-olds are as sharp as 42-year-olds were in previous generations, scientists have found.

The theory being put forward to explain the finding, is that technology, apps, and social media keep older people mentally sharper.

Text messaging and email has a bad reputation when it comes to romance, with many believing it is better to communicate with a partner by phone.

Yet, scientists believe that people engage more emotionally when they are writing messages, than they often do when talking on the phone, and they take more care to edit, and get the right message across.

Lack of sleep has been linked to long-term illness and shorter lives. This has been confirmed with a new study that found that people getting six hours sleep or less, were four times more likely to catch a cold.

A person’s Body Mass Index –  calculated by reference to height and weight – can predict the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Very obese people could develop it, scientists have found, a decade earlier than if they were normal weight.