All posts by Cliff Singer

Cliff Singer

About Cliff Singer

Dr. Cliff Singer is a geriatrician and psychiatrist who is Chief of Geriatric Mental Health and Neuropsychiatry at Acadia Hospital and Eastern Maine Medical Center and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maine in Orono.

A Dog’s Death

This is a different kind of post from your Age Smart hosts. From time to time, we get sent questions from our readers that lead to a topic for the column. In this case, one of our readers, Michelle B, sent us a question about the powerful impact of losing a canine family member on “empty nester” baby […]

Diet and Risk of Dementia from Alzheimer’s Disease

In a previous column I discussed the brain-healthy effects of brief, periodic fasting. Happily, there is an alternative to going hungry every few days. An increasing body of evidence suggests that you can also eat your way to better brain health. For several years, researchers have been publishing evidence that certain foods contain nutrients that […]

Does Fasting Slow Aging?

Dear Age Smart: Does Fasting Slow Aging? From a person who loves to feast. Dear Feaster: Does fasting slow aging? Surprisingly, that might be true. But it depends what you mean by “fasting”. Prolonged fasting can obviously lead to malnutrition and early death. On the other hand, there is evidence that intermittent, brief fasting may […]

Should I Take Vitamin D Supplements??

It’s January in Maine. What should we talk about? Something sexy, exciting and fascinating you say? Well OK! We’ll talk about vitamin D deficiency. This is a good topic for January, since this is the time of year when many people become deficient in this important vitamin. Our diet often does not provide sufficient amounts […]

Sleep and Aging

Professor Kaye is taking a break this month, so I’m going solo to talk about something that we can all relate to……..sleep. Earlier in my career I was a sleep researcher, studying sleep in diseases of aging, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. So sleep is something I like to talk about. But then again, […]

My mother my idol

“My Mother, my idol”…..  I looked up to my mother, one who knew everything, always had a solution to everyday problems, a pianist, an opera singer, a community volunteer, involved in social causes and supportive of her six children’s dreams and accomplishments.  That is (was) my mother!  Without fear, she would prepare gourmet meals for […]

Help!

My father recently went into the VA Skilled Unit because he had been hospitalized for forgetting to take his insulin and heart medicine.  My father is 94 years old, has lived alone and taken care of himself for many years, he is incredibly healthy even though he has a heart condition.  His memory is failing. […]

Help!

Len and I received an emailed question from a Blog reader last week regarding an elderly relative in assisted living. This person asked a really good question (as we recall) and ended with “Help!”. We would love to try, but the email was deleted before we could respond on the Blog site. Who ever submitted this […]

From “Frustrated Daughter”

Dear Cliff and Len: My parents are in their mid sixties and seem intent on spending their retirement in front of the TV. They have few hobbies, rarely volunteer their time in the community, and shy aware from any occasions that will cause them to break with their stay-at-home routine. Neither have a regular exercise […]

Aging. It happens to everybody.

Aging. It happens to everybody. Kids want to speed it up; adults want to slow it down. And if a person is fortunate enough to age a long time, old age creates challenges. Aging brings challenges not only for the older adult, but often for those who love them. It can be hard to find […]