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Late Adulthood Physical and Cognitive Changes
Introduction
Late adulthood can be described as the age from sixty five years (65) and above. This age constitutes about 7 percent of the entire Worlds population with 13 percent in the developed World. This percentage increase has been attributed to increase in life expectancy due to due to breakthrough in medical area; diseases like heart diseases which killed the many people at middle age have reduced drastically. Thus a lot of people are reaching the age of sixty five and above (old age) (Kathleen, 2004. pg. 47-70).
Cognitive and Physical Changes
Old age or late adulthood is characterized by changes in physical appearance, sensory adaptation, memory, brain and health of the person.
Appearance; in old age or late adulthood, the skin starts to get wrinkled, becomes less supple and becomes thin. Small blood vessels set up on the surface of the skin, warts, skin tags and age spot may also emerge on the surface of the skin. As the melanin level drops, the hair starts to become gray and thin. One may become an inch or two due to decrease in the bone mass (James et al, 2008. pg 67-89).
Senses; all the senses reduce as one ages and they include: Vision, which is reduced to dim light and close focus. This means that an old person can not see things that are far, moreover, he or she does not see clearly. This is because the cornea is translucent and scatters light resulting to blurred images. His or her eye lens become stained and inflexible, this reduces his or her ability to read and to distinguish between different colors. Hearing: as one ages his or her hearing is impaired due to reduced blood supply and death of the hearing organ, cilia and the auditory cortex in the brain. The elderly can not detect the high pitch sound or differentiate sounds and may develop suspiciousness or little distrustfulness. This is very risky as it inhibits safety of an individual ((Louw et al, 1993. pg 9-16).
Test and Smell; elderly people can not detect the different tastes of different food especially when the foods are breaded. The taste receptors in the tongue are lost and the tongue does not differentiate sweet and bitter. This has been attributed to excess drinking of alcohol, medication stroke or smoking. The elderly people also loose 60 percent of their ability to smell. Smell makes one enjoy what he or she is eating, smell perfumes, smoke and other odors.
They also loose the perception of all kinds of odors; to them all odors are the same. Touch; the elderly people lose their sense of touch by 70 percent. This is due to slow rate of blood flow in the veins and arteries. This slow circulation of blood makes the reception of sense to the brain slow (Louw et al, 1993. pg 9-16).
Health; being the centre of general well- being of an individual, many old people are regarded to have a good health. Even though as one ages his or her health may be at risk, the elderly people have an ability to cope in areas concerning health and only those that live in a poor areas are at a risk of having heath problems. Old people are capable of overcoming disabilities especially if one has the desire to change or rehabilitate.
Memory; old age or late adulthood is associated with loss of memory; old people receive information at a slower pace and synthesis or process this information for a long time; they do not think fast. They tend to retrieve the information that seemed important when they were young thus they will only take in very little of the current information (American Psychological Association, 1999. ch. 1). Moreover, old people tend to have problems in solving a problem and thus they will use a partner who will assist in solving the problem. However, old people have more wisdom than the young, this is because the old people have experienced more in life and thus they can deal with issues more maturely, listen attentively and apply knowledge more wisely than the middle aged and young adults.
Brain; as people get old, the brain starts to deteriorate as blood circulation is low. The brain decreases in size as less food is supplied and is less active (Kathleen, 2004. pg 450- 478).
Middle childhood is the age between seven to ten years. Both girls and boys have a continuous stable growth in body size as they grow 5-6 cm yearly. However, by the age of 7, boys grow faster the girls in height and they are 2 cm taller them though the weight is the same. This changes when they reach the ten years where the girl becomes I cm taller than the boy and weighs a kg heavier than him. Moreover, the thickness of adipose tissue differs significantly where the girls adipose tissue is 25 percent thicker than that of the boys. In middle childhood, running, ball game, jumping and hopping becomes more perfect. This is because the motor skills have improved and thus he child is flexible, can balance and can apply force. The response to stimuli also has improved and he or she can respond faster than a 5 or 6 years old child (James et al, 2008. pg 123-150).
However, the girls are less involved in play and other activities than the boys. For instance, in a school one will find boys dominating the playground while girls are grouped in small groups talking. This has been reflected even in adults where male teacher are more often seen in the field than their counterpart female teachers.
Aging Successfully
Successful aging can be termed as getting into late adulthood and maintaining an energetic, healthy and vital life. To age successfully one has to stay healthy, fit and engage him or herself with life by contributing to the society. People aging successfully have a number of qualities and these include: participating in life, a person who is aging successfully will participate fully in all activities that go around him or her.
My eldest aunt Tamar who is 70 years old is having a successful adulthood. She is engaged in a number of physical activities such as walking as a daily exercise, cleaning her house and even gardening. This has kept her physically fit and very flexible. She belongs to merry-go round clubs in her home area. Most of the activities there involve planning thus giving her mental exercise. Her current health has been due to her keen and healthy diet. I have chosen her because of how she has managed to put her life in track to date and which have kept her on the move. I am very familiar with her lifestyle. She is living a healthy and active lifestyle which you cannot imagine at her age (Louw et al, 1993. pg 9- 16).
Comparison of adults real life to the textbook context
A successfully aging person is outgoing. A person who is aging successfully will be seen more regularly out side his or her home as she or he goes to meet up with his or her friends. In the case, aunt Tamar usually goes out for dates with her other old friend and comes home very happy. She rarely stays inside her house when she has no work to do because she cannot stand a lonely moment. This helps her to be emotionally fit considering that she is a widow.
Another quality of aging successfully is participating in physical activities. A person who is aging successfully will participate in physical activities such as gardening of her or his flower garden. For instance, Aunt Tamar weeds her flower garden occasionally with no help. She also cleans her house and dusts it on weekly bases single handedly.
A person who is aging successfully will have a fit body; this is achieved through doing some exercise to help in flexing the muscles for flexibility. Aunt Tamar walks during the morning hours before taking breakfast as her daily exercise. This helps in keeping the body fit and strong
A person who is aging successfully has a good health which is acquired through eating healthy foods. One should also stop smoking and taking alcohol and also avoid fatty foods that can make him or her increase the level of cholesterol in the body. This reduces stress, fatigue and tension and helps one to sleep better. Aunt Tamar eats healthy foods especially those rich in Iron and Calcium to prevent diseases such as arthritis and other old age diseases. She neither smokes nor takes alcohol. This has helped to make her old age successful. (Kathleen, 2004. pg 78)
In addition, successful ageing is concerned about active engagement in life. In active engagement, an elderly person will engage him or her self in all activities that are happening around. Aunt Tamar participates in merry- go- round group activities in her home area. These merry-go round activities involve both financial and communal affairs which call for corporation. (American Psychological Association. 1999. ch. 2).
Conclusion
Old age or late adulthood is a very delicate age for all those who reach it. Late adulthood has been associated with various diseases which include; heart diseases, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis among other diseases. Thus all old people should ensure that they eat healthy food and do exercise occasionally (Kathleen, 2004. pg 70-78).
References
American Psychological Association, (1999), Psychological Abstracts. University of Michigan. Michigan. Ch 1 & 2.
Kathleen, S. B. (2004). The Developing Person through the Life Span. Worth Publishers. New York. Pg 45-78, 450-600.
James, W. V., Thomas, L. C. & Corinne, H. C., (2008). Human Development. University of Michigan. Michigan. Pg. 34-56, 67- 89, 123-156.
Louw, D. A., Van, D. M., & Louw, A. E., (1993), Human Development. Person South Africa. Johannesburg. Pg 9-16.
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