that you will get dementia."

No, no, and no.

Ebi Ofrey: "Never smiling staves off wrinkles."

Wrinkles are not as a result of smiling.

Arbaje: Even if it is, do we really want to stop smiling?

"You don't need as much sleep when you get older."

You always need sleep.

Hi, my name is Dr. Alicia Arbaje.

Ofrey: And my name is Dr. Ebi Ofrey.

Arbaje: And today, we're going to be debunking

myths about aging.

"It's harder to learn new things as you get older."

It may be a little slower on some things,

especially if we're not familiar with them,

but as we get older,

we become more able to understand things

that are more abstract as opposed to concrete.

So I think this bodes well for older adults.

Ofrey: As Dr. Arbaje said, I think it's just different.

Older adults are more likely to learn things faster

that don't have to do with technology.

But once technology comes into play,

it takes them a bit longer.

"How you age is predetermined by your genes."

Arbaje: This is one of my favorite ones to talk about.

I think that genes are way less important than we think

and lifestyle is way more important than we think.

And we have the ability to turn genes on and off;

how we eat, sleep, live, love,

and exercise makes the biggest difference of all.

Ofrey: So, your habits from youth

play a key role in how your aging process goes.

Arbaje: "It is inevitable that you will get dementia."

No, no, and no.

Dementia is not a normal part of aging,

and it's important to understand that if you're having

memory problems or problems planning

or being oriented or getting around,

that is a sign that something needs to be checked out.

Ofrey: Only a small percentage of older adults

actually have dementia.

So if you have problems with remembering things,

you need to understand that it could also be due to

an underlying problem that can be solved.

"You shouldn't exercise when you are older

because you are prone to injuries."

If you have underlying conditions

you are aware of, it's important

you pay attention to the exercises you do

because your underlying condition

might affect your risk of injury.

But old age alone is not a risk for injury.

Arbaje: I wholeheartedly agree and would add that

there are different kinds of exercises

no matter what situation you are in.

You could be bedbound or in a chair or in a wheelchair

and still be able to do different kinds of exercises.

"You don't need as much sleep when you get older."

You always need sleep.

And the amount of sleep you need over time

is probably gonna be pretty consistent.

And the way to know if you're getting enough or not

is to understand how well you're doing the next morning.

Are you able to function the next day

and do the things that you have to do?

Ofrey: As we go into sort of retirement,

most of the time we have more time

available to us during the day,

and many times we take more naps than we should.

As such, we should be able to adjust our daily habits

to ensure we don't spend most of the day sleeping

and then not be able to sleep at night.

"You'll gain weight because your metabolism slows down."

I feel there's a chance of weight gain

not because your metabolism slows down,

but because you are more inactive at the time.

We need to still remain active the older we get.

Arbaje: Your metabolism should also stay

pretty consistent throughout our lives.

So, I really think that this can empower people

to not feel like old age is going

to be about a lot of decline.

The next myth is that,

"People lose their sex drives as they age."

So, this one's kind of interesting.

If people are losing their sex drive, per se,

it could be because of an underlying chronic situation,

a chronic condition, it could be related to medications.

People's relationships change over time,

and what becomes important to them

may change or evolve over time.

It doesn't necessarily mean that

they wouldn't have a sex drive.

Ofrey: I totally agree with Dr. Arbaje.

The sense that people may have different interests

and different ways of showing affection the older they get.

And, again, there may be underlying conditions

that may make sexual intercourse

not as comfortable as it used to be.

So, "Getting old makes you grouchy."

Arbaje: We see how older people are depicted

in cartoons and in movies,

and often this is the stereotype.

Grumpy Old Man: I don't like this desk,

and I don't like this chair,

and I don't like holidays,

flippity floppity floopity floody!

Ofrey: We realize that a majority of our patients

are not grouchy, but they seem to be a bit sad

because of the, you know, the nesting syndrome,

being alone in the house, and things like that.

But grouchiness is not a feature of old age.

Arbaje: That is so well said.

Grouchiness is not a feature of old age.

I do think that

depression is a lot higher in older adults,

or it can be,

and that can be because of

underlying chronic conditions, life circumstance,

and those are things that depression

can manifest as irritability in older people,

and that may be mistaken for grouchiness.

"You will lose your eyesight."

Losing eyesight is usually

related to a problem in other organs as well.

So it's a sign of an underlying condition.

Poor circulation or diabetes

or high blood pressure or strokes.

Now, what we do know

is that the acuity of your vision

can change over time.

So, the sharpness of your vision,

but that is not the same as losing your eyesight.

Ofrey: You may have certain visual impairments,

but not loss of eyesight.

And all those impairments have corrective measures

that can be applied to ensure your sight returns,

if not to normal, to almost normal.

So, "Your teeth fall out as you get older."

Again, there's a popular saying over here meaning,

"Don't prepare for war in time of war."

Meaning you prepare for old age before you get old.

Most of the time, people take care of their bodies

but seem to neglect oral health.

And that's why it seems that

most times people lose their teeth.

Arbaje: Your teeth are so important

because all those bacteria travel to other parts

of our body, so it's really important to keep,

as I said earlier, all our organs in good shape,

and that will help our teeth stay in good shape as well.

"Aging means more medications."

So, this one is unfortunately partially true,

but it doesn't have to be.

It does seem that the older people get

and the more healthcare they receive,

the more medications they might end up on.

The theme here is how you eat,

how you sleep, how you exercise, how you love,

how you pray. All of these things matter.

Even if you are on medications,

there is still a chance you can come off of medications

with lifestyle changes.

So, anyone who's on a medication,

I just encourage them to see their healthcare provider,

geriatrician, ideally, and ask several times a year,

"Do I still need this medication?

And if I do, do I still need it at the same dose?

And if I still need it, what else can I do in my life

so that I can eventually come off

of this medication if possible?"

Ofrey: Interestingly, I was thinking the same thing

that Arbaje was thinking.

And so it's important to note that

if you have a healthy lifestyle,

you are less likely to require most of the medication

many elderly people take at the moment

because you have prevented the conditions

that require them.

"Never smiling staves off wrinkles."

Wrinkles are not as a result of smiling.

Arbaje: Even if it is, do we really want to stop smiling?

Because smiling has so many other benefits.

Wrinkles are about loss of collagen,

loss of hydration, and not so much

how you're using your face.

So please don't stop smiling.

And please instead hydrate if you're worried about wrinkles,

make sure you're eating plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Really, skin is an inside job.

"Eating fewer calories will extend your life."

What we know is the kind of calories you eat

are more important than how many.

So, our bodies run on glucose,

and the more pure sources of glucose

you can consume, the better.

Fruit has the most viable available

source of glucose available to our bodies.

And when I say eat way more fruits and vegetables,

I mean way more.

Four apples, three mangoes, six potatoes.

Like, not this tiny-side-salad stuff that we think about.

Make that the majority of your meal.

It is hard to get fresh produce all year round,

depending on where you are.

And it can be more expensive for some people.

I am not saying that it's important to eat organic,

although if you can, that's even better,

but I don't want people to shun getting access

to whatever kinds of fruit and vegetable they have.

Ofrey: Preparation is the key to success.

So your lifestyle, what you do,

your habits you form before you get older,

they'll go a long way to ensuring

you have a healthier and longer life.

Arbaje: Adjust your attitude about aging.

We have this idea that aging is about decline

and being dependent on other people.

Aging is a beautiful part of life.

It's a time when we become more wise,

when we become able to give back to others,

and we as geriatricians are here to support you.