Understanding Aging

Source: Senior Resource

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Positively Getting Older

We hear much about the negatives of aging - the pull of gravity and wearing down of systems. What are the positives? Read More!

* Creativity learned early, does not diminish with age.
* Stimulating living causes brain cells to grow more branches.
* We are sexually more relaxed.
* Our ability to cope increases and stress levels decrease.
* We take more responsibility for our health.
* We understand ourselves with better perspective.
* We are more confident and care less what other people think.
* We know better what it takes to satisfy ourselves.
* Our capacity to love increases, as does curiosity and altruism.
* Levels of anxiety diminish.
* Gratitude deepens.
* Sense of humor is heightened so keep your Aging Funny Bone tuned.


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Sociologic Changes

With age, sociologic changes occur between aging individuals and family and friends due to the loss of peers and contemporaries -- a spouse, siblings, other relatives, old friends and neighbors. This can lead to isolation unless a concerted effort is made to stay socially active. Getting out and being involved presents opportunities to meet new people. New friends may never replace the lost closeness shared with someone who knew you before your hair turned grey, or before your first child was born. But the support network that comes with sharing life with peers can counter loneliness and goes a long way toward dispelling feelings of isolation. The more people you interact with daily, the more chance there is to form new bonds. The more people there will be to bond, with in years to come.

Being involved and busy, focused on the present and future.

If we lose close contemporaries we have less opportunity to touch others. As babies thrive when cuddled and touched, so do adults. Opportunities to hug and be hugged diminish with losses. It's important to create new ones. A handshake, or pat on the back helps. Go out of your way to practice these, making it okay for others to touch you. Grandchildren can provide opportunities for physical closeness. If you don't see them often create opportunities through surrogate grandparenting. Retirement can be a beginning not an end.

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Physical Changes of Aging

Physical changes of aging are the easiest to recognize. Diseases that affect the elderly are not the same thing as changes which occur as part of the aging process.

* Vision
* Hearing
* Temperature Sensitivity
* Touch
* Taste

Want to better understand some of the changes that accompany aging?

* Look through a pair of glasses sprayed with hairspray.
* Put un-popped popcorn kernels in your shoes.
* Wear a blindfold and a nose-clip and try to tell the difference between a barbecue potato chip and a plain one.
* Turn the pages of a book wearing cloth gardening gloves.
* Look through the wrong end of binoculars and try to follow a right turn line on the ground.

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Metabolic Slowdown with Age
The slowdown and changes in metabolism that occur with age can result in more than needing to eat less and exercise more to keep the pounds from piling on.

As we age, we may process drugs more slowly, or become more prone to drug reactions and interactions than the younger population.

Add to this the fact that many of the elderly are seen by a variety of specialists, each of whom prescribes drugs that provide treatment within their field of expertise. But some of these drugs interact with other drugs. Each physician, or one physician needs to accept responsibility for reviewing the regime of drugs taken, and reviewing it against possible drug interactions.

Drug¬Drug, Drug¬Food and Drug¬Laboratory Test Interactions information is available at www.gerrygraf.com

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Physiological Changes in Sedentary Adults

from American Fitness, Sept/Oct 1997

o Aerobic capacity decreases 10% per decade.
o Pulmonary function decreases.
o Maximal cardiac output decreases.
o Muscular strength is reduced.
o Substantial loss of muscle mass.
o Number of muscle fibers decrease 10% per decade.
o Size of muscle fibers decrease.
o Movement time and reaction time decrease.
o Bone mass decreases.
o Body fat increases.
Physically active people are able to reduce the course of the physiological effect of aging.

I enjoyed surfing around your site, very interesting.
Sid Ewing
VitalityMedical.com

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A Positive Attitude

New stimuli and a positive attitude are attributed to "successful" aging. (It's not enough to just tick off the birthdays.) Specifics to think about to achieve this are:
o Take risks in life.
o Respect your own opinion.
o Be flexible and adaptable.
o Take on new challenges and learn new things.
o Treat retirement as a beginning
o Deal with pain and losses, but don't hold on to the suffering they bring.
o See the half full glass.
o Take care of yourself with healthy eating and regular exercise.
o Don't accept societies myths as true about you.