Changes In Late Adulthood

At the age of 65 years old, people enter the stage of life known as Late Adulthood. Often, families find it hard to believe that they have entered this stage, as this stage ends at death. For example, my wonderful grandmother who recently has just turned 68, has been in late adulthood for 3 years. She still does way more than the average teenager, like gardening, working on the farm, and she can even still do cartwheels! However, she knows that this is her last stage and that it is important for her to remain as happy and as comfortable as possible as she goes through all of the changes that this stage will hold. She will go through a number of physical, psychological, and social changes.
In the U.S., almost 16.5 people will be in late adulthood
within the next 3 years. This is great news for those who work in long-term care because their company's patient census will go up and they will get more hours, As crude as it seems, some people have made jokes about tripping "old ladies" and putting nursing home cards in their pockets. Most elderly people unfortunately will have to deal with these types of selfish people, who would rather have a job than have more healthy people in the U.S.. Fortunately, today's youth can take control over whether or not they end up in long care, because most of the changes that they will go through actually depend on their past and present life style. (Weebly)
The long list of changes that the person will endure begins with the most noticeable, physical changes.
There are a few changes though that will occur naturally. The skin will loosen and the person will lose adipose tissue, which will cause wrinkles. This will also cause the blood vessels in that person's skin to become a little more visible and appear like they are closer to the outside. Of course, their hair will grey, fat will collect under their chin and around other parts of their body, like the abdomen. They will also go through some loss of eyesight and can develop a loss of hearing. These changes happen because aging does affect each body system, no matter what lifestyle the person has had. Some of these systems include the reproductive, integumentary, cardiovascular, renal, and as well as some of our special senses, like touch, taste, hearing, sight, smell, and other senses like balance and pain. The changes that the person could control by having a healthier lifestyle during the past stages include disese related changes and organ failure. For example, if a person smokes all of their life, there's a pretty good chance that they will have some type of lung disorder, or even have respiratory failure. Other examples include obesity and pre-existing complications from diseases that were not handled, like diabetes mellitus. (All Psychology Careers) There was a study conducted by Veteran's Affairs Medical Center that showed that as a person ages, they will lose some matter of their brain. However, it is hard to tell if this study was completely correct due to the lack of background knowledge on the patients that they observed.
(JAMA)
Next are the cognitive changes. The normal cognitive changes of late adulthood actually includes some memory loss. However, diseases like Dementia, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's are NOT normal parts of aging. These diseases must always be treated by a doctor. The normal memory loss that should occur will include short-term memory loss, like forgetting your keys. The person should not begin to forget the three W's: who they are, where they are, and what time of the year/month/week it is. There are however, a select few lucky people who remain "sharp" until their death. (All Psychology Careers) For example, there is a woman at a local nursing home who can tell you anything and everything you want to know about the Bible, even older copies that are no longer available to her.
Last is the psychosocial changes. Unfortunately, when the person hits late adulthood, it may be time to say goodbye to lifestyles, jobs, passing friends and family, and even children who may be moving away with their own families. This means that the person will feel many different things as they go through these major changes and losses. With the help of support groups, activities, and just keeping busy, the aging person can get through all of these changes and continue living a happy life until their death.