Essay about Coping With The Aging Body

As we age, our brain and nervous system go through natural changes. An aging adult may experience memory loss, decreased touch sensation, change in the perception of pain, change in sleep pattern, decreased coordination and increased risk for infection (Ignatavicius, 2013, p. 912) .

From birth, the body and mind go through physical and cognitive changes that human beings will have to adapt to throughout life. Some individuals lose mental and physical abilities age they age that allow them to live a normal lifestyle. The most common age-related physical changes include hearing impairment, weakening vision, and the increasing probability of multiple chronic conditions such as arthritis, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis (Abeles, 1998). The most common cognitive changes associated with normal aging are short-term, or primary, memory loss, long-term, or secondary, memory loss, and the overall levels of performance in sustained attention. Other issues relative to aging and cognitive memory impairments are anxiety disorder, panic disorder, chronic pain, and mood disorders. This issue may cause several social, medical and family problems as individual

The human organism is a collective structural and functional integrated system. It consists of many components; chemicals, cells, tissues, organs and systems. Atoms being the smallest unit of matter comprise the cell. Cells are the basic structural and functional units that build the body.

Today people who are age 65 or older make up more than one tenth of the U.S. population and are the quickest growing age group (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman,  2010). As adults reach later adulthood, they begin to undergo mental, physical, and social transformations. All of these changes are experienced and handled differently by each individual. Time and planning help to alleviate stress and can make these changes easier to deal with. Family and friends are an exceptional source of support during these tough times.

A topic I learned more of this semester in regards to the older population was dementia. Some loss in memory function is an inevitable consequence of aging, and as one ages, it takes more time to process information and retrieve memories. However, "Dementia is a general term that refers to progressive, degenerative brain dysfunction, including deterioration in memory, concentration, language skills, visuospatial skills, and reasoning, that interferes with a person's daily functioning" (Mauk, 2014, p. 377). This loss of mental skills affects the ability to function over time, causing problems with memory and how one thinks, impacting these individual's overall quality of life.

There are also cognitive changes during middle adulthood. There is a mixed pattern of positive and negative changes in cognitive abilities. Processing speed starts to decrease during this time period however crystallized thought does not decline until older age (pg. 456). Working memory begins to decline however semantic memory continues to increase as we learning throughout our older years (ph 456). Usually most memory decline is during older age and can be attributed to Alzheimer’s disease of dementia.

Many studies have been broad, studying the vocabulary, reasoning, memory, and speed of the person, but zoning in on one thing specific may lead to further understanding. Studying the effects of cognitive aging in relation to memory possibly will open so many more areas of study. Studying specific age groups could also be helpful when attempting to understand cognitive aging as a whole. Learning about how speed, memory, vocabulary, and reasoning all work within a child, 10-15 years old, might be helpful when comparing that data to that information of an adult. between 50-60 years

As age increases, we can expect some loss of heart, lung, joint, and sexual functioning. Some loss of brain cells and mental efficiency is a normal part of

As aging is a stage of development that cannot prevented, the question of “can one’s aging be more successful than another?” is posed my many. Researchers continually consider the differences between aging successfully, and aging unsuccessfully. As researchers work to complete their studies, many find a reoccurring basis of successful aging. A basis of successful aging can be set including: physical health disease free, chronic illness free, mental health disease free, among many others. The only problem with this basis is the difference from person to person in terms of what makes aging successful. As individuals age, their mental state is a large predictor of how the person will age. A positive mental state about aging, will have a more positive effect on a person’s aging process. Many factors may influence the positivity of aging, such as negative aging stereotypes and discrimination because of older age. These negative aging stereotypes include but are not limited to: older adults are not as smart, older adults are angry all the time, older adults are bad drivers, older adults are isolated and never socialize. In adult aging and development, having a positive outlook on aging will lead to better mental and physical aging.

Aging comes naturally and people should not be frighten be it. As it turns out the fear of this process is enough to speed it up. The negative attitude is a very powerful factor in this process and has a great effect on the physical aspect of aging. It is enough to put people into deep depression or lose their confidence with many other things like good posture. On the other hand maintaining a positive thinking can really slow the process down. In fact it can do miracles, regular exercises and healthy diet can bring new life. Often people feel threatened by aging and put a hold on their lives, while they should be constantly evolving as they go through life. With positive thinking, it is all possible. This paper will show that despite

We all are currently aging. We live in an again paradox. But, it is what we choose to do with our time while we have it that counts the most. As a young adult, and before this class I was very unaware of the importance of planning your retirement as early as possible. There are many things that go into planning for a successful retirement. Such as, but not limited to: Where will I choose to live? What will I do to stay mentally active? Or even, when will I choose to retire. In this paper, I will go over a plethora of aspects for my personal plan for aging.

Telomeres are directly correlated to the aging of a human body. Although some people might think that shorter telomere lengths are detrimental, the natural shortening of these telomeres are essential to healthy and normal aging. It is natural for cells to divide through mitosis, but each time cells are split telomeres are lost through the process. This is why the telomere maintenance system was evolved to protect the ends of chromosomes (Prescott, Kraft, & Chasman, 2011). Every time a cell is divided, its telomeres are weakened, and stress can accelerate this weakening, and biologically age the person. As a

There are numerous ways to define successful aging. The word “aging” usually has a negative connotation. However, when putting the word success behind it introduces positive aspects that can essentially promote a long-term developmental outcome for an individual. Happening around midlife and late adulthood, successful aging is simply when an individual has complete development and maintenance of control throughout life, has achieved in the selection of goals and purposes, as well as maximization of gains and compensations of failure. This is the complete and ultimate goal for those in their late adulthood and is quite fascinating to developmental scientist. Those who engross themselves with attempting to achieve a successful aging will most likely have characteristics which in turn encourage and advocate for things such as health, growth, and vitality, maintaining social encounters and productive activities, and lastly maintaining high physical and cognitive functioning. Two developmental scientist, Vaillant & Mukamal, have discovered the factors that predict satisfaction of life are those an individual is able to control. These factors include are health habits, marital stability, years of education, and coping strategies. On the other hand those factors that are out of an individual 's control can not predict the level of happiness or satisfaction with life. These include the length of life of a family member, early health status, parental SES, and family warmth in

Aging causes structural and functional changes in brain. As aging population has become a burden, it is essential to study aging brain aiming to maintain cognitive integrity. Previous studies indicated that young blood improves the function of stem cells in organs including brain by heterochronic parabiosis model. However, data is lacking whether regeneration or beyond occurs by this model. The authors Villeda et al., hypothesized that aged animal exposed to young blood can counteract aging process and rejuvenate brain cognitive function. Therefore, the authors conducted research to examine within molecular, structural, functional, and cognitive aspects.

Humanity has come a long way as we evolve and adapt to the changing environment. Through the years, we have managed to overcome several limitations, which in the past were nothing more than dreams. We succeeded in landing on the moon and communicating over long distance, yet there are still some boundaries we have yet to cross despite our best effort. Aging is an inevitable process of nature. While we cannot stop the ticking clock in our body, we have made it possible for aging to be delayed and relieved to a great extent through advance technology and modern governance. High-tech equipments and medications are available for the treatments of more illnesses as our understanding of medicine improves and governments nowadays are doing