Senior Center News, May 24, 2019

North Central Senior Citizens Center, May 27-31

Monday — Closed for Memorial Day.

Tuesday — Transportation from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; bingo at 1:15 p.m.

Wednesday — Transportation from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m; TOPS at 8 a.m.

Thursday — Transportation from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.;

Friday — Medical transportation will be available from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. but people must make a request at least 24 hours in advance.

March Menu by Earlene DeWinter

(Subject to Change)

Monday — Closed for Memorial Day

Tuesday — Salad, baked pork chops, mashed potatoes with gravy, broccoli Normandy, rolls, apple crisp

Wednesday — Lasagna, salad, bread sticks, dessert

Thursday — Salisbury steak mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, bread pudding

Friday — Soup, salad bar, chef’s choice, dessert, milk

Check Medicare statements

People might want to start checking medical bills against Medicare statements. We are finding a lot of errors.

Mingling Senses

What does the color blue taste like? Does guitar music smell sweet or spicy? For people with synesthesia, this describes real experiences. We have five senses: touch, sight, taste, sound, and smell. Most of us experience our senses one at a time. In synesthesia, one sense can be experienced at the same time as another. For example, a person with synesthesia might feel something rough brush against their hand every time they smell a flower. They can also experience the same sense in two ways. Seeing letters or numbers in a specific color, like the letter “A” always being red no matter what color it’s written in.

Synesthesia isn’t very common. It sometimes runs in families. This makes researchers think that genes may play a role. They think that people with synesthesia have extra connections between neurons in some area of the brain. Others think that the direction that information flow between brain cells might be different. It’s been shown that people with synesthesia have better memories than people who don’t. For now, synesthesia remains a mystery, but researchers plan to keep studying it.

Making Up Sleep May Not Help

Trying to catch up on sleep doesn’t reverse damage to the body caused by sleep deprivation. According to a new study trying so-called recovery can make things worse. About one of every three adults regularly gets less than seven hours of sleep a night. Over time, lack of sleep can lead to changes in metabolism. These changes increase the risk for obesity and diabetes. Trying to make up for lack of sleep by sleeping more on their days off, leads to gaining weight and a decrease in metabolism called insulin sensitivity. It makes it hard for the body to use insulin properly and control sugar levels. It also disrupts the body’s natural rhythms and also more likely to wake up during the night. Better to try to get your regular eight hours of sleep per night.