Psychology Facts

▼ Aging Process ▼

》 Ageing or aging is the process of becoming older.

》 Aging is ultimately a combination of physiological changes in our bodies and the environmental factors we are exposed to.

》 The aging process generally results in changes and lower functioning in the brain, leading to problems like decreased intellectual function and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

》 Many of the changes in the bodies and minds of older adults are due in part to a reduction in the size of the brain as well as loss of brain plasticity.

》 The very young and the very old are both more likely to practice good health habits than adolescents and young adults. This may reflect the fact that both the very young and the very old are more likely to have someone else monitoring and influencing their behavior

》 Types of Aging:

Digging deeper into the process of aging, there are several theories that describe how and why our bodies age -

Metabolic Aging

Cellular Aging

Accumulative Damage

Hormonal Aging

》 Memory degenerates in old age, so older adults have a harder time remembering and attending to information. In general, an older person's procedural memory tends to remain stable, while working memory declines.

》 Surveys consistently show that, in the absence of serious illness, older people generally report higher levels of happiness or life satisfaction than young people. One reason for this is that as people age they seem to devote increasing attention to the task of managing their affective states and avoiding sadness or anxiety.

》 As people age, they become more dependent on others. Older adults may struggle with feelings of guilt, shame, or depression because of their increased dependency, especially in societies where the elderly are viewed as a burden.

》 About one–third of problem drinkers develop their alcohol abuse problem late in life, and this problem of alcoholism among the aged is indeed more acute for women than men.

》 Aging cannot be avoided. With that said, there are several things you can do to mitigate the environmental factors that influence aging:

Read labels. If you buy packaged foods for convenience, check the label to ensure that you limit your sodium intake to under 1,500 milligrams (mg) per day, your sugar intake to around 25 mg per day, and your saturated fat intake to less than 10% of your daily calories.

Get ample sleep. Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to poorer health and shorter life spans.

Eat well. Added sugar, salt, and saturated fat wreak havoc on the body, increasing the risk of hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease.

Reduce stress. Chronic stress and anxiety can be damaging to your body as they trigger the release of an inflammatory stress hormone called cortisol.

Socialize. Socialization keeps us psychologically engaged and may help influence longevity as well.