Dreaming of sleep
At UMRA’s March workshop, sleep expert Muna Irfan, M.D., gave us an enlightening and useful presentation on sleep, sleep disorders, and ways to improve sleep. Dr. Irfan, a neurologist, began by reviewing the medical evidence for the benefits of good sleep, noting that the National Science Foundation recommends 6–9 hours of sleep a night to promote better cognition, as well as good mental and physical health and quality of life in older adults.
Sleep maintains healthy brain cells, Dr. Irfan said, citing groundbreaking research published in 2012 that shows sleep actually helps clear out toxic metabolites from the brain, including beta-amyloids that have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Irfan then reviewed the sleep cycle, and how that typically changes with age. People normally cycle through the stages of sleep from near wakefulness through deep sleep several times a night. As we age, we tend to go up and down through those cycles more often. Other changes associated with aging include earlier sleep onset and earlier morning awakening.
“Sleep disorders are common and distressing,” Dr. Irfan said.
What to do? Sleep management should be approached as a multifactorial geriatric health condition, Dr. Irfan said, not as a problem that can be solved with a magic pill. There are medical, physical, psychiatric, and psychosocial factors to consider. “Sleep is not passive; we need to train our brains.”
Regular exercise early in the day can benefit sleep along with light stretching before bedtime. Alcohol may help to hasten sleep onset, but it also causes sleep fragmentation.
“Reserve 45 minutes before bedtime to relax by doing something vaguely interesting, like knitting, or even boring,” Dr. Irfan said. “Avoid watching Stephen Colbert, otherwise you’ll just go to bed thinking about politics!”
Dr. Irfan is an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Minnesota and program director of the sleep medicine fellowship at Hennepin Healthcare. She was asked to lead the UMRA workshop by her colleague, Michael Howell, M.D., who was scheduled to speak but had to cancel.
—Ron Matross, chair, Workshop and Cares committees
How to get a good night's sleep
Tue, March 26 2019, 1:30pm
Coffman Memorial Union, Room ABC
Our March workshop will be on sleep—how sleep patterns are affected by aging and how to get a good night’s sleep. Our presenter will be neurologist Michael Howell, M.D., named one of Minnesota Monthly magazine’s “Top Doctors” in 2017 and 2018.
An associate professor and vice chair of education in the Department of Neurology, Dr. Howell is also medical director of the Fairview Sleep Center–Edina as well as program director of the Clinical Sleep Medicine Fellowship at Hennepin County Medical Center and the University of Minnesota. His clinical interests include sleepwalking and related disorders such as REM sleep behavior disorder, sleep-related eating disorder, sleep seizures, and other violent sleep behaviors.
Dr. Howell completed his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of North Dakota and his residency in neurology at the U of M.
—Ron Matross, chair, Workshop and Cares committees
Upcoming Events
We are fortunate to have UMRA member and former Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director Peter Moe to lead this approximately 3.7-mile hike at the Arboretum on Monday, May 6. Plan to have lunch together after the hike at the Eatery café inside the Oswald Visitor Center.
This session will continue the discussion begun in the May 8, 2023 session. See that article for details.
If you currently live in your own home or apartment, have you looked ahead to when you might want to consider a senior living option? Do you have any idea what those options might be? How much they cost? What they provide? UMRA’s May 14 workshop will provide an overview of the world of senior living and the basic information you need.
You’re invited to join the final Family History Interest Group meeting for 2023–24. This will be an opportunity to ask questions related to family history, share insights, talk about recent projects, and suggest topics for next year.
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by best-selling author Mary Roach when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
The May 20 hike will start at the Historic Lift Bridge in Stillwater and go along the river to the new bridge, cross over and then back on the Wisconsin side, a total of approximately 5 miles. Most of the route is paved. We will eat lunch after at Brian's Bar and Grill in Stillwater. Car pooling will be available.
Climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley joined the U of M faculty in 1978 and has been a weekly commentator on Minnesota Public Radio since 1992. We are honored to welcome him as our guest speaker for UMRA’s May Luncheon Forum and 2024 Annual Meeting. He is always entertaining and informative.
UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club welcomes back, for the second time, author Julie Schumacher, U of M Regents professor of creative writing and English, for a conversation about her novel The Shakespeare Requirement.
We are in for a treat on June 3! Lynn Anderson, will lead us on trails at two parks near her Monticello home. Bring a bag lunch and we will gather in Lynn's yard along the Mississippi River for eating and socializing after the hike.
Get out to the ballpark with fellow UMRA members for the annual U of M Day at Target Field as the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on June 14 at 7:10 p.m.
Please join us at 9:30 on June 17, 2024 for a walk around Lake Como in St. Paul before attending the UMRA Summer Social and Picnic starting at 11 at the Como Pavilion. A perfect opportunity to get in a walk before we gather to celebrate summer.
Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!
Healthy aging, mindfulness, fighting ageism, and more will be the focus of the third annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus.