The AARP's Dulles chapter celebrated its 20th anniversary Thursday night at Herndon's Senior Center with special guest speaker, professor Andrew Carle, who discussed his work on "Nana technology."

"Global aging will affect us long before global warming," Carle said. He said the population older than 60 will grow, putting a strain on the health-care system.

Carle said there are ways to stay sharp and mentally healthy into your old age with "Brain Training."

"A lot of the cognitive deficits we see as we age, which begins at about age 30, a lot of it is because our brains simply get lazy and start not paying as much attention. Just like if you don't exercise your muscles, you get flabby, if you don't exercise your brain, it gets flabby too," Carle said.

 

Tools to keep your mind "fit" are games such as crossword puzzles, card games or simply going on the computer every day and reading about a topic you're interested in using Google search. The trick is to "switch it up," by not sticking to one activity, Carle said. If you vary your activities, you will work out more areas of the brain, which will give you a better mind work out.

"Companies are so focused on marketing to our 20 year olds that they forget about this huge wave that's coming our way," Carle said.

Although companies appear to be forgetting about older adults, there are promising ideas of the future that shouldn't take much more than 10 to 15 years to become available, Carle said. These ideas include, "GPS shoes" which can track seniors who may wander due to Alzheimer's disease and shoe inserts called "Smart Shoes" which improve balance and prevent falls, the number one cause of injury for those over the age of 65.

Carle has worked with seniors for more than 20 years, and coined the term "Nana technology." His expertise is in aging, senior housing and assistive technologies. He is an assistant professor and founding director of the program on assisted living and senior housing administratin at George Mason University.

The Dulles AARP's next board meeting will be on Wednesday, Dec. 8.