What Is Normal Aging
What is Normal Aging?
The aging process happens during an individual’s lifespan. We are all involved in this process and none can escape it. When one is young, aging is associated with growth, maturation, and discovery. Many human abilities peak before age 30, while other abilities continue to grow through life. The great majority of those over age 65 today are healthy, happy and fully independent. In spite of this, some individuals begin to experience changes that are perceived as signs of deterioration or decline. We must try to forget the stereotypes and look at older individuals as unique individuals, each with a particular set of resources and challenges.
Normal Aging
The changes aging individuals experience are not necessarily harmful. With age, hair thins and turns gray. Skin thins, becomes less elastic, and sags. There is a slowing down of functions which goes forward throughout adulthood – loss of function of bodily organs. In the gastrointestinal system, for example, production of digestive enzymes diminishes, reducing the body’s ability to break down and absorb the nutrition from food. Some of these losses may not be noticeable until later life.
Scientists theorize that aging likely results from a combination of many factors. Genes, lifestyle, and disease can all affect the rate of aging. Studies have indicated that people age at different rates and in different ways. Normal aging brings about the following changes: * Eyesight – loss of peripheral vision and decreased ability to judge depth. Decreased clarity of colors (for example, pastels and blues). * Hearing – loss of hearing acuity, especially sounds at the higher end of the spectrum. Also, decreasing ability to distinguish sounds when there is background noise. * Taste – decreased taste buds and saliva. * Touch and Smell – decreased sensitivity to touch and ability to smell. * Arteries – stiffen with age. Additionally, fatty deposits build up in your blood vessels over time,
The aging process happens during an individual’s lifespan. We are all involved in this process and none can escape it. When one is young, aging is associated with growth, maturation, and discovery. Many human abilities peak before age 30, while other abilities continue to grow through life. The great majority of those over age 65 today are healthy, happy and fully independent. In spite of this, some individuals begin to experience changes that are perceived as signs of deterioration or decline. We must try to forget the stereotypes and look at older individuals as unique individuals, each with a particular set of resources and challenges.
Normal Aging
The changes aging individuals experience are not necessarily harmful. With age, hair thins and turns gray. Skin thins, becomes less elastic, and sags. There is a slowing down of functions which goes forward throughout adulthood – loss of function of bodily organs. In the gastrointestinal system, for example, production of digestive enzymes diminishes, reducing the body’s ability to break down and absorb the nutrition from food. Some of these losses may not be noticeable until later life.
Scientists theorize that aging likely results from a combination of many factors. Genes, lifestyle, and disease can all affect the rate of aging. Studies have indicated that people age at different rates and in different ways. Normal aging brings about the following changes: * Eyesight – loss of peripheral vision and decreased ability to judge depth. Decreased clarity of colors (for example, pastels and blues). * Hearing – loss of hearing acuity, especially sounds at the higher end of the spectrum. Also, decreasing ability to distinguish sounds when there is background noise. * Taste – decreased taste buds and saliva. * Touch and Smell – decreased sensitivity to touch and ability to smell. * Arteries – stiffen with age. Additionally, fatty deposits build up in your blood vessels over time,