Virtual coaching systems show great potential for meeting the challenges of demographic change. However, the proportion of older users in the field of digital technologies is far behind that of younger people. As part of the e-VITA project, semi-structured interviews were conducted in Japan, France, Italy and Germany with 58 people aged 65 and over, and the content was analyzed with the aim of obtaining information about how older adults organize their everyday lives, also with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, how they deal with their health, what role digital technologies play in the lives of the interviewees and why they oppose progressive digitization. Second, the survey asked why the older adults oppose a virtual coach, which is to be developed in the e-VITA project to support older adults in healthy and active aging, and what barriers they see in a possible implementation. It was found that older respondents lead active, varied lives and that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the increased use of digital solutions. In addition, respondents were consciously addressing their own health. With regard to a virtual coach, barriers were seen primarily in the area of data security and sharing. It can be concluded from this that heterogeneity among older user groups should be taken into account when developing virtual coaches. In addition, aspects of data security and data protection should be presented in a clearly understandable and transparent manner.

As the population ages, the question of how to prevent isolation among older people and increase their well-being becomes a social issue. It has often been argued that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) usage can be a solution to these challenges, but empirical studies have not shown consistent results. Moreover, there are even fewer studies targeting older people in Japan, which is the most aging country in the world. Therefore, using the psychological comprehensive data of Japanese people aged 60 and over recorded in World Values Survey Wave 7, we conducted a study to clarify the relationship between the ICT usage, social capital, and well-being of older people to make a meaningful contribution to policymakers and the scientific community. As a result of the analysis, it was shown that ICT usage indirectly enhances well-being by increasing social capital. This indicates that for older people, ICT usage does not have a large effect on enhancing well-being, but becomes sufficiently large only through the improvement of social capital. The pros and cons of such modern communication means should be utilized as a reference when considering the development of future communication means and a human coach—a person who supports the use of communication means by older people. In other words, to think about the spread of communication means to community-dwelling older people in the future, it is always necessary to think about technology usage emphasizing the relationship between older people and society.

Oxidative stress and diabetes increase the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Natural reduced water contains active hydrogen (hydrogen radicals), eliminates reactive oxygen species, and has antidiabetic effects. However, whether natural reduced water affects human cognitive function is unknown. Therefore, we implemented a double-blind intervention experiment in which participants consumed 1 L of natural reduced water or tap water daily for 6 months. The participants were healthy older adults living in Japan. The intervention group showed significant improvements in cognitive functions of attention function (p < 0.01) and short-term memory (p < 0.05). These results indicate that the continuous intake of natural reduced water improves several cognitive functions.

Natural reduced water is natural water that contains active hydrogen and reduces oxidation. It is rare in the world, and in Japan, it is produced in the Hita area of Oita Prefecture (Hita Tenryosui water). Previous studies in humans have examined the effects of natural reduced water on diabetes, which is one of the known risks for dementia. Animal studies of natural reduced water have revealed anti-obesity and anti-anxiety effects. However, the effects of natural reduced water on cognitive function, body composition, and psychological function in humans are unknown. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between these items in elderly people who continuously consume natural reduced water. In this study, we recruited participants aged between 65 and 74 years. The participants were randomly and blindly assigned to a natural reduced water (Hita Tenryosui water) group or a control (tap water) group and drank 1 L of water daily for 6 months. Cognitive function, body composition, and psychological function were measured before and after the 6-month intervention period.

Objectives: We examined whether deep emotions, which were strongly felt but not always expressed, positively or negatively affect chronic fatigue in non-clinical young adults. Background and aims: Fatigue is a complex conscious sensation and emotion affected by related deep emotions. In daily activities, loneliness and hostility cause stress and cumulated stress leads to chronic

Aim: Brain training games offer a promising avenue for promoting cognitive engagement and healthy aging among older adults. However, little is known about how design features align with the specific needs of this demographic to promote sustained usage and thereby cognitive intervention. The aim of this study was to characterize how all aspects of the game design and player experience might influence adherence mechanisms, and assess the feasibility and acceptability of a wearable brain-activity measuring device. Methods: We use an exploratory mixed-methods approach with n = 6 community-dwelling older adults (mean age 68 ± 3.94) within a smart-home-style Living-Lab. Participants played two commercially available brain-training games. One of the games uses a wearable brain-activity measuring device. We collected System Usability Scale (SUS) and User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) scores and conducted focus-group interviews and structured observations. We performed a qualitative theory-informed analysis through the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) framework. Results: Participants reported high motivation to play brain-training games for dementia prevention. They preferred large, high-contrast text, intuitive navigation, touch-based controls, and a relaxed pacing. The wearable device was acceptable and comfortable for home use. There were requests for a clearer meaning of brain activity scores and the integration of personalized brain data with other health apps and broader health metrics. Quantitative scales (SUS and UEQ) showed similar ratings for both games, with both meeting the threshold for acceptability. Conclusions: In this formative study, concrete design features that plausibly increase engagement, persistence and adherence were identified, alongside evidence for the feasibility of integrating a wearable brain-sensor. Our findings motivate a follow-on trial testing whether an adherence-optimized design increases the training dose and downstream cognitive outcomes.