PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT · The brain changes in late adulthood by losing 5 to 10 percent of its weight between the ages of 20 and 90, decreasing in volume, and a decrease in memory.
· In the late adulthood the functions of the immune system begins to decline. Stress and diminished restorative processes begins to accelerates
· From 30-50 years old, men lose about 1.27 in height, then lose another 2 cm form 50-70 years old
· Women ages 25-75 years old lose 5 cm
· The bone loss in the vertebrae causes us to get shorter
· Most obvious signs of aging are wrinkled skin and ageing spots
· Weight decreases after 60 due to loss of muscles
· Sensory changes in late adulthood include vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch and pain
· In late adulthood the cardiovascular disorder increases
· High blood pressure is treated with medication, exercise and a healthy diet
· Blood pressure in late adults can rise due to the number of modifiable factors
· Lung capacity drops
· In the late adulthood the functions of the immune system begins to decline. Stress and diminished restorative processes begins to accelerates
· From 30-50 years old, men lose about 1.27 in height, then lose another 2 cm form 50-70 years old
· Women ages 25-75 years old lose 5 cm
· The bone loss in the vertebrae causes us to get shorter
· Most obvious signs of aging are wrinkled skin and ageing spots
· Weight decreases after 60 due to loss of muscles
· Sensory changes in late adulthood include vision, hearing, taste, smell, touch and pain
· In late adulthood the cardiovascular disorder increases
· High blood pressure is treated with medication, exercise and a healthy diet
· Blood pressure in late adults can rise due to the number of modifiable factors
· Lung capacity drops
Physical and mental health and wellness
· Women in late adulthood have a higher incidence of arthritis and hypertension and more likely to have visual problems
· Low income is related to health problems in late adulthood
· Over two-thirds of all older adults die due to heart disease, cancer or stroke
· Alcohol use and abuse declines in older adults
· Physical exercise improves physical and mental health, reduces risks for heart attacks, strokes, falls, injuries, breast cancer and obesity
· Aerobic exercise and weightlifting is greatly recommended
· Nutritionist recommend a well-balanced, low-fat diet for older adults but not an extremely low calorie diet
· Major depression: is a mood disorder in which the individual is extremely unhappy, demoralized, self-derogatory and bored
· Depression is treatable, however, a majority of older adults never receive treatment
· Dementia: deterioration of mental functioning
o Individuals lose the ability to care for themselves and an lose the ability to recognize familiar surrounding and people
· Alzheimer’s disease: progressive, irreversible disorder in which the primary symptoms involve a deterioration of mental functioning
· Approximetly 250,000 people over the age of 60 have Alzheimer’s disease in Canada
· The brain deteriotes and shrinks as the disease progresses
· Scientists are not 100% of the causes for Alzeimers although, age and genes play an important role
· Researchers found out that older adults with alzeimer’s disease are more likely to also have cardiovascular disease than individuals who do not have alzeimer’s disease
· Most alzheimer’s patients, once diagnosed, live approximetly eight years and progress problems of memory loss and declining intellectual function
· Cholinerase inhibitors are drugs used to treat those with alzheimer’s disease
· These drugs are donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine
· They are designed to improve memory and other cognitive functions
· Multi-infarct dementia involves a sporadic and progressive loss of intellectual functioning caused by repeated temporary obstruction of blood flow in cerebral arteries. Multi-infarct is more common in men than women. Many patients recover from multi-infarct dementia, whereas Alzheimer’s shows a continuous deterioration. Symptoms for this disease include confusion, writing impairment and numbness. Exercise, good diet, and appropriate drugs can slow or stop the progression of the disease.
· Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, progressive disease characterized by muscle tremors, slowing of movement and partial facial paralysis. L-dopa is a drug, which is the main treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Taking ibuprofen and drinking coffee are two factors associated with a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
· Women in late adulthood have a higher incidence of arthritis and hypertension and more likely to have visual problems
· Low income is related to health problems in late adulthood
· Over two-thirds of all older adults die due to heart disease, cancer or stroke
· Alcohol use and abuse declines in older adults
· Physical exercise improves physical and mental health, reduces risks for heart attacks, strokes, falls, injuries, breast cancer and obesity
· Aerobic exercise and weightlifting is greatly recommended
· Nutritionist recommend a well-balanced, low-fat diet for older adults but not an extremely low calorie diet
· Major depression: is a mood disorder in which the individual is extremely unhappy, demoralized, self-derogatory and bored
· Depression is treatable, however, a majority of older adults never receive treatment
· Dementia: deterioration of mental functioning
o Individuals lose the ability to care for themselves and an lose the ability to recognize familiar surrounding and people
· Alzheimer’s disease: progressive, irreversible disorder in which the primary symptoms involve a deterioration of mental functioning
· Approximetly 250,000 people over the age of 60 have Alzheimer’s disease in Canada
· The brain deteriotes and shrinks as the disease progresses
· Scientists are not 100% of the causes for Alzeimers although, age and genes play an important role
· Researchers found out that older adults with alzeimer’s disease are more likely to also have cardiovascular disease than individuals who do not have alzeimer’s disease
· Most alzheimer’s patients, once diagnosed, live approximetly eight years and progress problems of memory loss and declining intellectual function
· Cholinerase inhibitors are drugs used to treat those with alzheimer’s disease
· These drugs are donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine
· They are designed to improve memory and other cognitive functions
· Multi-infarct dementia involves a sporadic and progressive loss of intellectual functioning caused by repeated temporary obstruction of blood flow in cerebral arteries. Multi-infarct is more common in men than women. Many patients recover from multi-infarct dementia, whereas Alzheimer’s shows a continuous deterioration. Symptoms for this disease include confusion, writing impairment and numbness. Exercise, good diet, and appropriate drugs can slow or stop the progression of the disease.
· Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, progressive disease characterized by muscle tremors, slowing of movement and partial facial paralysis. L-dopa is a drug, which is the main treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Taking ibuprofen and drinking coffee are two factors associated with a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
Cognitive functioning in older adults:
· The speed of processing information declines in late adulthood
· Due to the decline in functioning of the brain and central nervous system
· Health and exercise helps to influence how much decline in processing speed occurs
· Attention in late adulthood does change
· In divided attention, on simple tasks adult age differences are minimal, but on difficult tasks older adults do worse than younger adults
· Memory- older adults have more difficulty retrieving semantic information, but will eventually retrieve it
· Younger adults have better episodic memory than older adults
· Healthy, education and socio-economic status are linked to memory in older adults
· Education, work, and health are three important influences on the cognitive functioning of older adults
· Education- educational experiences are positively correlated with scores on intelligence tests and information- processing tasks such as memory
· Older adults seek better education because they want to better understand the nature of their aging, or they might want to learn more bout the social and technological advances that have produced dramatic changes in their lives
· Work- successive generations have had work experiences that involve a stronger emphasis on cognitively-oriented labour
· Older adults were more likely to have done manual labourers whereas, adults are more likely to be involved in cognitively-oriented occupations
· Health- successive generations have been healthier in late adulthood due to better treatment for illnesses and diseases that have developed
· Many illnesses have a negative impact on the intellectual performance of an individual
· Researchers found out that older adults who are involved in cognitive activities have higher cognitive functioning than those who do not use their cognitive skills
· The speed of processing information declines in late adulthood
· Due to the decline in functioning of the brain and central nervous system
· Health and exercise helps to influence how much decline in processing speed occurs
· Attention in late adulthood does change
· In divided attention, on simple tasks adult age differences are minimal, but on difficult tasks older adults do worse than younger adults
· Memory- older adults have more difficulty retrieving semantic information, but will eventually retrieve it
· Younger adults have better episodic memory than older adults
· Healthy, education and socio-economic status are linked to memory in older adults
· Education, work, and health are three important influences on the cognitive functioning of older adults
· Education- educational experiences are positively correlated with scores on intelligence tests and information- processing tasks such as memory
· Older adults seek better education because they want to better understand the nature of their aging, or they might want to learn more bout the social and technological advances that have produced dramatic changes in their lives
· Work- successive generations have had work experiences that involve a stronger emphasis on cognitively-oriented labour
· Older adults were more likely to have done manual labourers whereas, adults are more likely to be involved in cognitively-oriented occupations
· Health- successive generations have been healthier in late adulthood due to better treatment for illnesses and diseases that have developed
· Many illnesses have a negative impact on the intellectual performance of an individual
· Researchers found out that older adults who are involved in cognitive activities have higher cognitive functioning than those who do not use their cognitive skills
Socio-emotional development
Theories-
Erikson’s theory- integrity versus despair is Erikson’s eight and final stage of the human life span occurs in late adulthood. This stage involves reflecting on the past. Older adults are either satisfied and happy with their past or believe their life was not well spent.
Activist theory- states that the more active and involved older adults are, the more likely they will be satisfied with their lives. Researchers have found that when older adults are active, energetic and productive, they age more successfully and happier then if they are not involved in society.
Strategies for effectively engaging in selective optimization with compensation
There are three main factors when it comes to successful aging.
Selective strategies:
· Focus on the most important goal at a particular time
· Think about what you want in life
· Commit to a major goal
Optimization strategies
· Keep working on what you planned until you are successful
· Keep trying until you reach your goal
· Patience
Compensation
· When things don’t go they way you wished, search for other ways to achieve what you want
· Let others help you
Self- esteem
· Deteriorating physical health and negative societal attitudes towards older adults cause self-esteem to decline in older adults. Researchers have found that being a widow, institutionalized, physically impaired, low religious commitment, decline in health are all factors which lead to low self- esteem in older adults. The government has changed policies to ensure a better quality of life for seniors, including working rights, health care support and financial support.
Policy issues in an aging society
Health, wellness and security are important elements in the quality of an individual’s life and successful aging. Older adults have more illnesses than younger adults, which is a reason why provinces have made cuts to the budgets of their ministries of health.
· Poverty is a main concern for older adults. Poverty rates are high, especially among women who live alone.
Generational inequity: the idea that older people have more than other younger people and this is unfair. They receive more advantages and there are many younger people, especially children who are very advantaged.
Theories-
Erikson’s theory- integrity versus despair is Erikson’s eight and final stage of the human life span occurs in late adulthood. This stage involves reflecting on the past. Older adults are either satisfied and happy with their past or believe their life was not well spent.
Activist theory- states that the more active and involved older adults are, the more likely they will be satisfied with their lives. Researchers have found that when older adults are active, energetic and productive, they age more successfully and happier then if they are not involved in society.
Strategies for effectively engaging in selective optimization with compensation
There are three main factors when it comes to successful aging.
Selective strategies:
· Focus on the most important goal at a particular time
· Think about what you want in life
· Commit to a major goal
Optimization strategies
· Keep working on what you planned until you are successful
· Keep trying until you reach your goal
· Patience
Compensation
· When things don’t go they way you wished, search for other ways to achieve what you want
· Let others help you
Self- esteem
· Deteriorating physical health and negative societal attitudes towards older adults cause self-esteem to decline in older adults. Researchers have found that being a widow, institutionalized, physically impaired, low religious commitment, decline in health are all factors which lead to low self- esteem in older adults. The government has changed policies to ensure a better quality of life for seniors, including working rights, health care support and financial support.
Policy issues in an aging society
Health, wellness and security are important elements in the quality of an individual’s life and successful aging. Older adults have more illnesses than younger adults, which is a reason why provinces have made cuts to the budgets of their ministries of health.
· Poverty is a main concern for older adults. Poverty rates are high, especially among women who live alone.
Generational inequity: the idea that older people have more than other younger people and this is unfair. They receive more advantages and there are many younger people, especially children who are very advantaged.