In late life, individuals are at risk of cognitive declines, physical impairments, and loneliness.Tracking the conversations and ambient sounds in an older adult’s daily life provides a window of how their everyday activities may contribute to or mitigate these risks. This figure resembles the top half of a clock and portrays the sounds captured in an older adult’s waking hours from 9 am to 3pm. The constellation of sound shows both risks and benefits of activities in this older adult’s experiences. The brown spikes are television viewing, when the older adult was likely sedentary and increasing the risk of physical and cognitive decline. The rainbow section portrays conversations, which mitigate risks of cognitive decline and prevent loneliness.
By Meng Huo, Graduate student & Karen L. Fingerman, Professor
An Acoustic Rendering of an Older Adult’s Day